The word on the lips of more people queer OR straight in Japan this year had to be: "L". Yes, we mean as in "L culture", "L girls", and "L talk", all expressions that have recently taken root owing in no small part to the queer-positive punch of the hit drama, The L Word.

"L" made its mainstream press debut on the cover of the January 30th issue of the popular TV magazine, TV Bros, and talk of this show-stopping affair soon spread like wildfire among excited LGBTers.

The phenomenal cover of the magazine was fearlessly emblazoned with the international "L" mark of interlocking female symbols (♀♀). Below the eye-popping, steely pink graphics lay the title for the featured article, "The Forefront of L Culture", which not only served as a provocative header, but also accurately suggested the lesbian boom to come. The article itself included material on Tokyo Wrestling and the author of Honey & Honey, manga writer Sachiko Takeuchi, evidencing the Japanese mainstream press's growing interest in "L" culture.

There was also the Feel "L" Culture event held in Shinjuku's Nichome this summer.

The days we spent catching up on the photo exhibition, crowding in to see the program screening, and listening to the panel talk are still fresh in our minds.

Now, getting back to our Number One word - surely one part of the draw behind "L" is its hint of "Lesbian - as in The L Word". In fact, this sexy nuance is just what was needed to brush away old & antiquated negative images in favor of a new, more open and stylish association. Now, we're getting things back on track.

Also, more and more people are beginning to see that the "L" storm will only be picking up more speed this next year. One sign of this is the announced late-night New Year's broadcast of TV Tokyo's "Gokujo Jikara (Ultra Power Girls)" , a program designed to turn a keen eye to the growing influence of the Japanese "L" community.

So it's settled. 2008 was roundly dressed in the spectacular colors of "L", a word that sums up a brilliant phenomenon still gathering momentum.

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