(Thread necromancy, I've been watching the show in marathon for the past three nights...)
How dare a fictional non-Christian be an open homosexual!
lol.
Actually, more because it's
glee club. Anyone who has been involved in theatre, band, choir, etc. knows that there are a lot of gay guys. The show would be unrealistic if it
didn't have at least one gay character. There are actually two, Kurt, the young gay kid and the creepy old glee club director, Stacey, who got kicked out for inappropriate behavior. As long as Kurt doesn't grow up to be like Stacey...
Sure, Kurt is a bit of a stereotype but it's fun. Also, gay guys in high school are either totally in the closet or flaming gay and couldn't be in the closet if they tried (like how the first couple of episodes Kurt was like "I'm not gay" but everyone knew he was lying). After all, it really does seem like the actor is really that gay rather than a straight person playing a stereotypical gay character, which happens far too often. If often takes a while before a "baby gay" (someone newly out) ditches the rainbows and gay angst for a more balanced life.
And it really does suck being gay in high school. My ex-fiancee was harassed so much after only one year of high school that she couldn't even walk down the street without people yelling things at her from passing cars, she dropped out and went to an alternative school. I also went through a lot of drama between the kids at school and my parents. The geeks, goths, punks and other kids I hung out with didn't care and eventually I met other GLB kids but it was really hard.
It's one thing to talk about homosexual acts being sinful and how we deal with that in reality. Just like we can talk about premarital sex being sinful but we also don't want to be like Quinn's dad who kicked her out of the house for getting pregnant. Islam is false and dangerous but that doesn't mean we need to accuse every Muslim of being a terrorist.
How we approach topics matters just as much as
what we are teaching -- they must both be in line in order for us to be effective.
So it doesn't really phase me that Rachel has two gay dads or that Kurt is "queer as a three dollar bill" (as his dad put it) or that the creator of the show is gay. Gay people exist and it's simply a fact of life and all of us have to deal with gay people in our lives, whether family members or co-workers or neighbors, television shows are the least of our problems.
Also, regarding promiscuity, there is relationship drama on the show, as in any television show and in any high school, but there is no sex. My mom watches shows like Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice where relationship drama involves sexual portrayals. I haven't seen anyone do more than kiss on the show.
But mostly, I like to see geeks on TV and people getting excited about watching them on TV (I sell a fair number of the soundtrack CDs, that's what made me curious). Maybe high school kids
should watch it, they might learn to be nicer to kids who are different.
). There are things, good things, one can learn. History, cooking, health and animal programs to name a few. You just have to be selective on what you allow in.
