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L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin is an American documentary film directed by Lauren Lazin. The film follows the lives of various lesbians living in Mississipi, documenting the hardships and religious opposition that they face due to their sexuality. L Word Mississippi premiered on Showtime on August 8, 2014, and was produced by Ilene Chaiken and Magical Elves Productions as part of The L Word franchise.

The film received positive reviews, with critics praising its "heartbreaking" depiction of the real-life homophobia faced by LGBT people in the rural parts of the Southern United States. It won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary in 2015.

Contents summary
Over the course of several months, the film follows the lives of various lesbians living in religious communities in Mississippi. It examines the bigotry, hardships and religious opposition they face due to their sexuality, made worse as Mississippi offered little to no anti-discrimination protections to LGBT people at the time. The film also delves into the personal struggle some of the cast face in reconciling their Christian faith with their homosexuality. L Word Mississippi also briefly covers the Mississippi subculture of "gay families"; these "families" function as "sororities mixed with non-violent gangs" and provide support structures to LGBT people who have been abandoned by their biological families.

Among the dozen or so women the film follows is Rene, a deeply religious "reformed homosexual" with a gay son. Another cast member with strong Christian beliefs is Cameron, an African-American lesbian who despite being in a committed relationship with her partner Amber, believes her sexuality is a sin. BB, a former pastor who lost her job after being outed as a lesbian to her congregation. Sara and LB, who are expecting their first child together while LB transitions as a transgender man.

The film also explores the point of view of those opposed on religious grounds, with interviews with a ...

Production and release
L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin was produced by Ilene Chaiken, Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, the latter two under the banner of Magical Elves Productions, for Showtime. It serves as an expansion of The L Word franchise created by Chaiken; Cutforth and Lipsitz both previously served as executive producers on the franchise's reality show spinoff The Real L Word.

Unlike previous entries in the franchise which were set in Los Angeles and New York City, the film's producers wanted to explore the "darker side" of being a lesbian in the United States by depicting the experiences of lesbians living in religious communities in the Bible Belt. Casting crews were initially sent out to various states before the producers decided to focus solely on the state of Mississippi. The producers were also conscious of their own pro-LGBT biases and wanted to show the perspective of the anti-LGBT opposition.

The film premiered on Showtime on August 8, 2014.

Critical reception
The film received positive reviews, with critics praising its "heartbreaking" examination of the daily homophobia, isolation and internal conflict faced by queer women in the deeply religious parts of the Southern United States. The LGBT website Autostraddle felt the film was essential viewing for the lesbian community, while HuffPost's E. Oliver Whitney called Chaiken's film "one the most important documentaries about gay women."

Reviewers also praised the "strong, likable, down-to-earth" cast, noting that the bleak reality depicted in the film was a stark departure from Chaiken's previous work in The L Word franchise. Slate's June Thomas opined the film's association with The L Word franchise, noting: "The women in the movie have almost nothing in common with the glamorous L.A. lesbians of The L Word or the spoiled, rage-prone coastal lesbians of The Real L Word."

L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary in 2015.