'Glee' 'Raised the Bar' For TV Inclusiveness With Gay Kiss

By John Mitchell Posted Mar 16th 2011 10:50PM

On last night's 'Glee,' the New Directions won regionals after hitting the stage with a pair of original songs -- a first for the series -- but that isn't what anyone is talking about this morning. After months of hints and winks, fans of FOX's hit musical finally got what they've been waiting for: The characters of Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) kissed for the first time. And it wasn't a peck. It also wasn't overtly sexual or desperate, it wasn't rushed or clouded with turmoil, and it certainly wasn't played for laughs, the way many kisses between men are on TV. It was perfect.

"It's hard to overstate the significance of the kiss between Kurt and Blaine on 'Glee' last night," Michael Jensen, editor of Logo's AfterElton.com tells PopEater. "Even better, it wasn't the sort of kiss we saw back in the 1990s where the guys pecked each other on the lips -- or worse, the camera cutaway -- but this was a real kiss that hinted there is much more to come in this relationship. If we still needed proof how far gay characters have come on network TV, 'Glee' just gave it to us."

"'Glee' has raised the bar of what it means to be inclusive on TV, and viewers are tuning in by the millions, sending a clear message to networks that Americans not only accept gay and lesbian characters, but they are beginning to expect them," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios tells PopEater. "It's stories like Kurt and Blaine's that continue to remind gay youth everywhere that there's nothing wrong with being who you are."

The characters portrayed by Colfer and Criss, who is nominated for Logo's annual NewNowNext Awards 2011, which honors what is up-and-coming in popular culture, in the Brink of Fame: Actor category, are arguably the highest-profile gay characters on television right now, and, as the LGBT community continues to recover from the wave of bullying-related suicides late last year, it is especially important that Kurt and Blaine represent a pair of openly gay teenagers comfortable with who they are and seemingly on the verge of a real romantic relationship grounded in mutual respect.

"The two most recent episodes have represented queer youth and coming of age in a way I've never seen on broadcast television before, let alone one of the most popular shows in the country, with a mostly young audience," AfterElton's Christie Keith wrote in her recap of 'Original Song.' Keith is also referring to last week's 'Sexy,' in which Santana (played by Naya Rivera) confessed her love for Heather Morris' character, Brittany. Also on last week's episode, Kurt's father Burt (Mike O'Malley) sat his son down for a straightforward discussion about sex, providing him pamphlets and telling him, "This is gonna suck for both of us, but we're going to get through it together, and we will both be better men because of it. ... Kurt, when you're ready, I want you to be able to do everything, but when you're ready I want you to use it as a way to connect to another person, don't throw yourself around like you don't matter."

Since its debut, 'Glee' has been lauded for its inclusiveness, with characters representing myriad ethnicities, religions and sexual orientations. Last year, GLAAD honored 'Glee' with the GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Comedy Series, and the show is again a nominee this year. Colfer is set to attend this year's GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 10.

For how often the show delights in being over-the-top, these recent storylines have been grounded in a way that can only benefit 'Glee's' millions of young LGBT viewers, who rarely get to see themselves represented as fully formed, multi-dimensional characters and not stereotypes on prime-time network television. The show has been dealing with the issues they deal with daily directly and with great care, and it's heartening to know that in FOX's 'Glee,' a generation of young gay teens has been given something no generation of LGBT persons has had before them -- a group of peers to relate to.

Watch 'Original Song' here (kissing scene begins at 17:30):

Tags: chris colfer, glaad, Glee, logo

Comments

(164)

Wednesday 16 March

By ocrose

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Don't want to see it? Change the channel. I'm ashamed of narrow minded bigots. Really. Grow up.

By Britt

Ahh yes... the oft forgotten hatred and bigotry our country was founded on. Keep on keeping on!

By ukchg

OK, narrow minded, 'Christian' RB, let's go back in time to what made this nation once so 'great': slavery, lack of rights for women, rampant anti-semitism, xenophobia. What a wonderful nation for racists and misogynists: clearly your ancestors. While you're thumping your Klan bible, why not look up 'judge not, lest ye be judged' or 'do unto others as you would have done unto you', or even Jesus' 'love one another as I have loved you'. Pathetic.

By Lynn

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Because, Perry, Deb only says she's open minded because it sounds good. In reality, not so much.

By Amanda

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wow..you should really put spoiler alert at the top of the page.

By royal8282001

So what is so wrong with 'the kiss'? Gay and Lesbian teens have had to watch hetro kissing on shows for forever. It's about time they were given characters to look up to. If you are str8 and sure of yourself and secure in your sexuality, then a 'gay kiss' shouldn't be so upsetting to you.If it does upset you, maybe you need to look inside yourself and check your insecurities....just saying.
I give 2 thumbs up to GLEE for creating positive gay characters that gay teens can identify with.

By wht

You're part of the Problem

By Keli

I haven't been watching 'Glee' b/c of the gay relationship. If I want to watch it I pay for HBO and premium chanels. It does not need to be on primetime t.v. that young kids are watching. Be who you are but don't ruin a good show by shoving it down my throat. The music made the show, the drama is killing it.

By penguin01_99

I use to really love this show. Season 1 was amazing. But they are really straying from their original plot. They seem to be using it more for a political agenda than anything. I get they are trying to show that we should be accepting of everyone and that's good, but they need to truly be accepting of everyone and not just one particular group of people. If they really want to accept everyone then quit bashing Christianity. It's not funny or entertaining. Why is it ok to dig on religion but the minute someone says something bad about homosexuality there's an uproar.
On a different note, I'm a huge Darren Criss fan and have been for a long time and I will support him in everything he does. He is the only reason I tune in to this show every week. Even if I don't particularly like the role he's playing.

I agree with you 100% Kym! Very well said!

By Ted

Hey all of you who think Gay is bad what would you do it your Child or Grandchild were Gay. There are a lot of things in the Bible that they say is wrong like how many women are Virgins when they get married? It say's in the Bible if they aren't Virgin's when they get married the fathers could stone them and same with kids if they didn't behave they also could be stoned. How is that working for you all. There has to be Gay's in the world to take all the baby's that all you Str8ts are throwing away. Just because you know how to have sex doesn't make you any better then a Gay person. Also sit and write the good and bad that you have done. Remember Jesus said he who is with out sin cast the first Stone. So think about that and only God can judge us.

By Spirelli

It's not only the overtly gay story lines but the whole tone of the show has changed since it started. I really miss the pure entertainment value that is now clouded over by the liberal social/political agenda being demonstrated. Do we really need television to educate us on these very important issues? They should at least consider moving the show to a later time slot and put something more family friendly in the 7:00 slot. Oh well, good thing I have 200 other channels to choose from. Won't be watching Glee anymore.

By soread

@Coco that was way twisted and sick to even think about that. But
considering the source it makes good and TOTAL sense.

By Tiffany

I loved last night's episode. I thought it was done tastefully. I love Blaine's character (a bit more than Kurt's), and I think that the two did an amazing job of pulling off that scene. GLEE pushes the envelope, but it does it in all of the right ways. We can't be blind to the fact that there are different types of people in this world, and we aren't put here to judge... we are put here to love. I think GLEE represents love. It represents loving all types of people: black, white, Asian, gay, straight, fat, skinny, Jewish, Christian etc. Kudos to you, GLEE. Keep up the good work. :)

By kfskater

Inclusive story line? Why all the Tea party, conservative bashing? Do the writers/actors think only lefties watch and enjoy Glee?

By Tip

Because ALL the libs ARE Queer.

By Kristine

Jesus had two dads and he turned out fine...just sayin'

Glee did it right! Blaine and Kurt together forever! Best kiss ever!!

Thursday 17 March

By ronoct12

You really are sick!!!!!!

By Drew

I started watching Glee because I needed something to entertain me on
Tuesday nights. However gay story line in this show along with all the other shows that have been doing a gay-themed story
is just too much. As a gay man I find it very offensive they are
portraying gay men as effeminate, limp-wristed, guys who speak with a
lisp. On the subject of showing children-appropriate material, the
networks would need to remove all programming to fit that criteria. I
would also prefer to not see anyone making out, whether they be
straight, gay, bi, etc. That type of behavior should be in the privacy
of the person's home away from public view.

By Nenicho1211

Thank you. You are so right. Sex is not new...we all know about it, I'm just sick of showing so much of it.

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