TV helping with gays’ acceptance; what about others?

By Jennifer Bioche

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Reaching into the mailbox, I brace for the usual deluge of one part junk mail, one part bills I'd rather not receive. My 10-year-old son, Joseph, is sitting in the front seat of our minivan, watching the contents and hoping that something is addressed to him.

“Just wait until everything that comes has your name on it, particularly from companies that want your money,” I said, trying to reason with him. His eagerness continues, and suddenly he is reading intently the cover of my just-arrived Entertainment Weekly, a magazine that follows Hollywood.

When I realize that Joseph is staring at the headline “Gay teens on TV - How a bold new class of gay characters on shows like Glee is changing hearts and minds in Hollywood,” I grab the issue and toss it in back.

The premise of the article is that a new generation of storytellers, 21 and younger, are setting the stage for gay-themed story arcs in television and film, and how if we blink, we might miss some very important enlightenment: “Gay teens are finally having their stories told. We take an in-depth look at how producers and networks are making up for years of on-air silence … .”

Finally having their stories told? The statement implies that there was some aggressive, underground movement in the media trying to squeeze homosexual teens out of the spotlight. And that now a golden age of equality was ushering itself in.

The article went on to discuss how important it is to incorporate gay characters for the purpose of having real-time gay teens feel loved and accepted by their families and societies at large: “A 2009 study found that LGBT teens rejected by their families were eight times more likely to commit suicide, which makes series that feature accepting parents all the more critical.”

“It role models to parents that the right answer is to love your kid,” says Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Jarrett Barrios.

As the mother of two teenagers, I don't need anyone role-modeling for me how to love my children. I can't think of any parent who looks to television for children-loving training. To imply that it's even possible is to dilute the love of a parent to a trivial, one-dimensional formula.

But on the subject of discrimination: Maybe we're on to something regarding stereotypes. What about creating a teen show where traditional Christians who are shy about their faith, or even ridiculed for it, are portrayed as popular and fun-loving? We could really blow the lid off misunderstandings such as students praying before lunch, or not wanting to play football on Sunday, with a couple of episodes around these issues.

Finally, we could really bring a lot of viewers to the Lord. And all without offending anyone.

Every time Hollywood promoters say they want to educate, insert the word “indoctrinate,” and you'll get to the heart of their ambition.

It's fine if they want to portray homosexuals as what I believe to be already true: that everyone is a flawed human being with good and bad traits. I just don't want my shows geared toward teens to be lacking other real presences in the high school crowd - namely the Christian student.

Surely, there's room on the big and small screens for everyone?

Jennifer Bioche of Marion lived in Los Angeles for four years before moving to the southern California suburbs and then Iowa. She and her husband have four children, and attend St. Joseph Parish in Marion. Comments: jbioche@mchsi.com