All hail Glee! The champion of the LGBT community! This revolutionary show has dismantled dozens of taboos against the queer community by encouraging the depiction of sympathetic kids in queer relationships…right?
It has introduced one fabulously effective transgender character, a terrific female impersonator named Unique…right? It features two gay couples who have been largely embraced by the mainstream press…right?
Then why can’t Glee‘s gay couples kiss on television?
Oh, they have, you say? Well, I guess you could say that. Kurt and Blaine got to kiss each other, quite effectively and famously, in “Original Song” last year, and then again in “The First Time” this year. Brittany and Santana got their kiss in “Heart.” And…that’s it. Meanwhile, I think it would be quite possible to put together an exhaustive, very long episode-by-episode guide of every kiss Finn and Rachel have ever shared. That list of kisses would stretch into the hundreds.
This week was really jarring in its almost pointed, deliberate contrast between the open affection shown by virtually every straight couple on the show this past Tuesday. In addition to the regular scheduled Finchel Smooch-a-thon, we had guest kisses from Tina and Mike, Rick the Stick and his girlfriend, Will and Emma, and an endless line of face-sucking extras playing straight characters.
The only major characters that did not get to kiss were Brittany, the Class President, who did not kiss her girlfriend, the two-time Prom Queen nominee… and Kurt and Blaine. Kurt even had a moment in the episode that practically screamed for a kiss; he encourages Blaine, who is feeling embarrassed about his hair, to be proud of his appearance. Kurt is proud to be seen with Blaine…but not, apparently, enough to warrant a kiss. This is the same couple who, earlier this season, patched up a relationship-threatening fight about betrayal and lack of intimacy with a chaste hug.
This episode was written by Ryan Murphy, himself obviously a very staunch gay rights advocate. At first I wonder why Murphy would betray his gay characters by denying them the moments of tenderness that seem to be the birthright of all the other characters. Then, I wonder if he highlighted the double standard on purpose. According to one article I read, there were 35 straight kisses in this episode. The important gay characters satisfied themselves by dancing together. Is Murphy constrained by the dictates of Fox? Does he wish to make the inequality really obvious? Or is Glee abandoning its mission to celebrate the LGBT community?
Please read my Glee episode recaps at my blog.
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