Glee Throws High School Students under the Bus

From: Bill Johnson
To: Friends
Date: November 10, 2011
Re: Glee Throws High School Students under the Bus

Tuesday night FOX TV aired the much-hyped episode of Glee, entitled “The First Time.” As we reported last week, this episode centered on a high school girl losing her virginity with her boyfriend as well as two high school homosexual boys also having sex for the first time.

Some reviewers lauded this episode glorifying teenage sex for its “tasteful” depiction. Such as this writer from tvfanatic.com: “…if you tune in to be taken deeper into the teenager world, to watch a show that sometimes tries to deliver a message more than a joke, to have a serious experience... then you probably have a satisfied smile on your face right about now. …

If Glee is going to tackle the issue of losing one's virginity straight (or gay!) on, this is how it should be done.”

And then there were other TV reviewers who actually seemed to be disappointed because the sex wasn’t graphic enough!

However, the issue isn’t how explicit the sex scenes were - as the gushing reviewer writes above – it’s the message delivered to millions of teen and pre-teen viewers. And the message perpetuated by Glee is that teens who wait to have sex (let alone until marriage) are freaks and weird oddities of nature.

In this episode one student, shocked to find out two of his classmates are still virgins, convinces them that losing their virginity will make them better performers in the school musical, stating: “How do you expect to convey the human experience to an audience when you haven’t even opened yourself up to (the) most basic and primal one?”

The girl who ultimately loses her virginity seeks advice from other girls beforehand. Yet, even though statistics show in the “real” world that at least half of teens are abstinent, this one lone girl is the only one in the group who hadn’t yet engaged in promiscuous sex. As one of these girls tells her: “Losing my virginity was a great experience for me …”

Contrary to the fictional accounts in the show, the "first" experience for most girls is very much a disappointment and source of shame and guilt.

What irresponsible message is this conveying to vulnerable young people tuning in to Glee, a show with a fan base of millions? Instead of using their influence to at least portray abstinence as a positive choice in a culture rampant with teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and the negative and harmful consequences that often result, Glee and other teen-based shows throw their young audience under the proverbial bus, profiting from them while they contribute to their downfall and abasement.

One of the greatest dangers of Glee is the fact that the seductive messages of the show are mixed in with the entertaining song and dance performances, numbing viewers – especially young, impressionable ones – to the often subtle, indoctrinating ideas they’re absorbing.

While teens are not even considered mature enough to make a decision to legally get tattoos or piercings without parental permission, Glee mocks the idea that kids may not have the wisdom needed for such a monumental, irreversible step. Instead of supporting the fact that it is in the best interest of teens to practice abstinence, Glee creators are telling kids that their sexuality has no more consequence or significance than beasts in heat.

And then there’s the whole issue of the promotion and legitimization of homosexuality among teens on Glee - not only giving viewers messages in “acceptance” of any and all lifestyles, but also depicting several male on male kissing scenes, discussions of sex, as well as showing the two boys in bed together.

These types of themes on Glee shouldn’t come as a surprise since Glee’s creator, Ryan Murphy, has made clear his agenda to push illicit sexuality on our youth and erode television standards even further, having stated:

“It is tough to get that sexual point of view across on television. Hopefully I have made it possible for somebody on broadcast television to do a rear-entry scene in three years. Maybe that will be my legacy.”

And by choosing to align with Glee with their advertising dollars, the corporations sponsoring Glee empower these ideas and themes.

Take Action! Contact the sponsors of Glee by clicking on the link below.
http://americandecency.org/take_action_form.php?message=130