I’m generally on the fence about Glee. Some things it does well (like including diverse characters), some things it does really terribly (like tell consistent stories, or keep plots meaningful or interesting), and some things are incredibly inconsistent (like the musical performances that occasionally have me glued to the screen, when gorgeous group numbers come on, and occasionally put me to sleep, when I’m expected to watch solo after solo.)
This week was definitely a high point. One of the things Glee does famously well is tell stories about queer teens. [Spoiler Alert] I have never been more touched by a coming out narrative than I was when Santana ran from Sue’s office, crying “I haven’t even told my parents yet.”
Following the culmination of Kurt’s love story ending in his presumed loss of virginity with boyfriend, Blaine, last week, emerged the outing of Santana. Both of these stories are remarkable when compared to the depictions of queer teens in the past.
Representing gay teenagers on teen television has always been seen as a delicate balance. How to tell realistic stories, without getting too graphic. How to accept gay teenagers, without making straight teens feel uncomfortable. Glee broke from many of the traditions of the genre, while significantly holding on to others.
The very fact that Kurt has a steady boyfriend, and begins experimenting with sex in high school breaks the typical mould of the lonely, insecure gay boy, waiting for his love life to finally start once he graduates. However, as with Rickie (MSCL) and Jack (Dawson’s Creek), who came before, Kurt is mercilessly bullied throughout most of high school, a reality for gay teens that Glee does not want its audience to forget.
Although there have been lesbian characters on American teen television in the past, rarely have they been included in the cast of main characters. (I say American, because of course Emily and Naomi were a groundbreaking couple on the British Skins.) More likely, girls are depicted as bisexual, or even more common, are just experimenting, or going through a phase, as with Adriana on 90210, Marissa on The O.C. and even Paige from Degrassi TNG, here in Canada. Possibly the one exception that sharp readers might raise is Willow and Tara’s relationship on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but these two met and got together in college, and Willow never realized she might be gay in high school.
While Santana originally seemed to follow in this tradition, a sexy, experienced girl teen who has sex with boys (like Finn) and fools around with her girlfriend for fun, clearly, as this week’s episode has shown, Glee would like to move beyond that. Continuing in the tradition of emphasizing the culturally accepted bi-curiosity of teen girls, Glee has used that acceptable framework to launch a rarely seen lesbian character arc, that I hope will continue as strongly as it started.
