That said, Bill might've bumped up against the truth here.
I don't watch Glee. I don't care about it either.
But kids watch it and so we all better pay attention to it. Kids take messages away from these shows whether we like it or not and kids grow up to become adults and either healthy tax-paying citizens or else trashy, unemployed, uneducated bums that we" must" support - like my ex.
Some of the show contents discussed below do get my attention.
Yes, its nice the show stays well-rounded, BUT, let's be honest here. What is "well-rounded?"
Cross-dressing, lesbians, and two students making a sex tape.
Not your mother's teen show, is it? Hell, its not even my older sister's!
Yes, some people cross-dress. I don't get it. But its a free country. Do what you like. Cross-dressing hurts no one. Who cares, honestly. However, the lesbianism, I may take a shade of exception to. Are both girls REALLY, pure, born, straight-up lesbians? If so, that's fine. But I have to wonder.... do either have SERIOUS problems with a parent, a mom, perhaps? I've never met a lesbian who didn't have a SERIOUS problem with mom as well as some seriously bad relationships with boyfriends in the past. The only point being, are the girls being given ALL the options they need? Are they getting counseling? Are their parents aware of their problems? Are people in the family openly discussing the girls feelings at all? I'm guessing not. I'm guessing the family is a total mess; maybe this isn't the best thing to show, FROM A SINGLE SIDE, at least.
As for making a sex tape? Uhhhh..... I dreamed of making one of me and a super model once, when I was a teenager, sure. I was full of hormones. Should that be made into a t.v. show? I don't think so, no. I hate the "you'll give them ideas" excuse for not doing things, but this one counts. Kids are having sex at absurdly young ages as well as having babies out of wedlock in likewise ABSURD numbers. This not good for anyone, including the kids themselves or society as a whole. We used to stick kids in church and at least scare them with God. Now they get handed a box of condoms.
We could do without the goddamn teens-making-sex-tape episode of our favorite teen comedy on t.v., couldn't we?
And another thing, a little class wouldn't kill us, or the kids. I'm not saying we have to go back to Leave It to Beaver, but could we at least DIAL IT DOWN A NOTCH?!?!?! When I hear how many men the average 18 year old girl has slept with these days, I get sick to my stomach. The rates of every "ugly thing" from teenage pregnancy to suicide to abortion to eating disorders have been too high for too long. Give the kids a break.
I remember teachers and counselors telling my friends and I in High School: you all have to worry about entering college and moving on with your lives. Buying your first car, living away from home, a serious boyfriend or girlfriend, making new friends in college, maybe working while studying as well; you have a ton of responsibilities and worries coming up; give yourself a break and skip the STDs, AIDS, unwanted pregnancy, drug abuse and all the rest. Just skip it. Trust us. You really don't need any of those headaches.
They were right.
Bill O'Reilly: 'Glee' Might Encourage Kids To Experiment With 'Alternative Lifestyles'
After watching a clip of one character cross-dressing, guest Gretchen Carlson heaved a huge sigh. "Here we go again, pandering to .3% of the American population that considers themselves transgender," she said. "Now I get to explain this to my 8-year-old, if i want her to see a nice family show with some nice music."
She also took issue with a storyline about two cheerleaders who are lesbians, and two seniors who are engaged to be married. "[The show seems] to have a positive message about hopes and dreams and taking risks," Carlson opined. "But why do they have to come up with these wild story lines to prove their point? I don’t get it."
O'Reilly said that the problem was that the storylines, like the one featuring two students making a sex tape, were unrealistic. Kids "might go out and experiment with this stuff," he warned.
Pirro was extremely skeptical. "Do you really think this kind of thing is contagious?" she asked incredulously.
Carlson interjected, saying that watching "Glee" wouldn't change someone's sexuality, but would encourage experimentation.
"I wholeheartedly believe in today's society that kids are experimenting with homosexuality," she stressed. "We see it in celebrities who maybe just do it on the side, and it may be drug-fueled."
Speaking to Pirro, O'Reilly maintained that "Glee" — which he said was "undeniably a good program" — made the issues dealt with on the show "glamorous."
