Glee has always been a tv series open to all kinds of diversity, it has always focused on the personality of the characters and their uniqueness, keeping their sexual preferences, body types and cultural heritage as a background only. Examples are countless, considering just the main characters, we can count: a gay couple (Kurt and Blaine), a lesbian couple (Santana and Brittany), an Asian girl (Tina), an Hispanic girl (Santana), an overweight girl of colour (Mercedes), a boy on a wheelchair (Artie), a Hebrew girl (Rachel), a gay boy who only performs dressed as a woman (Wade “Unique”), a girl with Down syndrome (Becky).
Concentrating on the gay-friendly side of the tv series, we can say that the latest season has changed (for the better) the flavour of the episodes:
+ informative lexicon
– stereotypes on the gay world
The first character to make this change possible is Shannon Beiste (portrayed by the actress Dorothy-Marie Jones, openly lesbian). The coach Beiste is presented as a tomboy, a big woman of stocky built, a sports person. Despite everyone in Glee universe being sure of her homosexuality, Shannon surprised the other characters over the seasons, by dating various men and engaging in heterosexual relationships.
In S06E03 (Season 06 – Episode 03) something special happened though. The coach revealed to the Prince Sue Sylvester (portrayed by Jane Lynch who is also openly lesbian) that she suffers from gender dysphoria and that she had started the path toward the change of sex, to become a man (in technical jargon it is called: “F to M”, “Female to Male”).
During that dialogue, Shannon explains her condition to the Principal and to the assistant coach Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet): she always felt a man, therefore she will make her looks match her gender identity. This will not change her sexual preferences in any way, these were and still remain directed at men. Shannon will become a gay man, in other words, who he always felt to be.
Thanks to these five minutes of television, the difference between gender identity (identifying oneself as a male or a female) and sexual orientation was explained to boys and girls everywhere in the world. Moreover, by using the correct term “gender dysphoria” (when the sexual characters of a person don’t mirror the vision that person has of him/herself – I was born a woman, but I feel a man; I was born a man, but I fell a woman) the public now has the chance to be informed and deepen the issue.
The second character to bring a breath of fresh air to the tv series is the new football player Spencer Porter (Marshall Williams). Spencer is gay and he has no problem in admitting it. Yet, he has really nothing “feminine” or “fragile” about him, not a bit. In Glee we are used to seeing gay guys who fit in the stereotypical effeminate, tender and sensitive type, who loves performing and singing.
When the former student and now new co-captain of the Glee Club Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer, openly gay) goes to see him in the changing rooms of the gym, to convince him to join the Glee Club (S06E02), Spencer’s answer opens everyone’s eyes:
“So, why aren’t they here trying to recruit me? Why’d they send you? ‘Cause we both like guys?
I can’t stand Gaga, I’ve never seen Newsies, and I don’t write Archie fan fiction where Archie and Jughead are hot for each other. Just because you and I happened to be born in the same ten percent of the population that would choose Andrew Garfield over Emma Stone, doesn’t mean we have anything else in common. So, I’m not saying no to your glee club because it’s gay or straight; I’m saying no because I think it sucks. I’m sorry, man”.
In an instant, the stereotype is crushed, and the viewer understands that “being gay” only means to “be attracted by people of the same sex”. Not all gay people like the same things, because before being gay they are human beings, and each human being is unique.
(He joins the Glee Club in the end, but that’s another story…)
What are your thoughts? Do you follow Glee? Did you notice these openings?
I hope that this season will gift us with more similar moments.
In the meantime, let us treasure these.
