Glee S1 E4 : Preggers

Glee is a musical T.V show that depicts different teens who are all very different, but are connected through their love for music. I must say, I was very skeptical about watching a show at first because of the constant singing. When I finally watched the show I fell in love with the drama of the teens and adults. Glee touches upon all problems of teenagers from self -confidence, sexuality, alcohol, popularity, etc. The women to men ratio are balance to me in my opinion and I believe the show is very contemporary.
In this episode Kurt is struggling with coming out to his father about his homosexuality. In his struggle Kurt decides to try out for the football team in order to impress his dad. Kurt hopes that by trying out for the team it would hide his sexuality from his father. Kurt is also bullied by the football team, and the football team believes he has very little athletic ability. This part of the episode in my opinion brings up the issue in society about Homophobia and the fear of being homosexual.
Another issue in this episode is When Quinn tells Fin that she is pregnant. Though it was impossible for Fin to be the father, Quinn was confronted with the issue that she cheated on her boyfriend. As well she broke her celibacy vows also she did not want to face the fact that Puckerman was her baby’s father. This issue is a representation of the double standards of the female and male society. Meaning if a girl has sexual relations with more than one boy she is a slut versus a boy can do the same thing and it is okay. Women are preached to, to save themselves for marriage versus the males are loosely cared for.
Gender issues are very important in Glee and it takes on issues that most teens struggle with in a humorous and musical way. I think that Glee allows the viewers to dive deep into to the show and connect with the characters. There are so many issues dealing with teens as far as gender and I think that glee does a wonderful job with showing those issues.

Victorious Season 2, Episode 11 "Terror on Cupcake Street"

Victorious is about Tori Vega, a girl at Hollywood Arts High School, and her friends. The show tells all of the adventures and problems she goes through. Tori has a sister, Trina, who goes to the same school. Her friends are Robbie, Jade, Cat, Andre, and Beck.

In this episode Mr. Sikowitz, Tori's teacher, asks her and her friends to design and create a float for the 'Parade' Parade. They randomly choose Cat to pick the theme for the float, which turns out to be a giant pink-frosted cupcake. On the way to the parade at 1:00 in the morning, the float gets a flat tire in a dangerous back street of LA. Mr. Sikowitz goes to find help, but ends up getting his pants stolen by 'hooligans', then getting arrested by a couple of police officers. Tori finds a few scary looking men who were really quite nice, and they help her change the tire. The men had actually been planning to watch the parade, and Tori invites them to come along in the float. Mr. Sikowitz escapes while the policemen are distracted, and the episode ends with him running after the float being chased by the policemen.

Victorious has a fairly balanced cast, though there are slightly more girls than boys. Tori is the main character and often solves the problem unconventionally. Cat and Trina are stereotypical dumb, pretty girls. Jade gives Cat her 'shiny' keys to occupy her, and Cat ends up eating one of them. Cat also designs the float to be pretty and cute. Jade is more of a dark, mean girl. She can be a bully and scares people into doing what she wants. Robbie is kind of a nerd, while Andre and Beck are more 'tough guys'. At one point in the episode, Tori tells Andre and Beck that they should go look for Mr. Sikowitz because they are the only guys in the float. Robbie is offended at not being considered a boy, which brings up the fact that many people think that guys who don't act tough or follow the stereotype are not really guys. Mr. Sikowitz, who teaches improv, dresses eccentrically and acts like he is high most of the time. The police arrest Mr. Sikowitz, because they think he is crazy or on drugs when he asks them to help children inside a giant cupcake. Tori is scared of the men that she finds, even though they turn out to be helpful and polite. They do not act like thugs, nor like the 'hooligans' that jumped Andre and Beck. Overall, the show has pretty solidly stereotypical characters.

Skins Season 5, Episode 1: Franky

Skins is a contemporary British show whose popularity stems from its dramatic and wild portrayals of groups of teenagers. The first episode of Skins season 5 focuses on Franky, but introduces a new gang as well. This season stars girls Franky, Minnie, Liv, and Grace with boys, Alo, Rich, Nick, and Matty (an even balance of girls and boys. The show is an ongoing drama about the trials and tribulations of teenagers in Bristol, England. The drama of adolescence is heightened by the inclusion of pretty heavy drug and alcohol usage, which serve to complicate gender interactions and romantic relationships.

Franky is the star of this episode and her character presents a unique gender presentation showcasing traditional and atypical gender behaviors. Overtly she is rather gender non-conforming wearing masculine clothing and sporting cropped hair, and indeed she is ridiculed for her style of dress, with a focus on her presumed sexuality which is not ever revealed. Yet unlike Minnie, the blond stereotypical feminine popular girl, Franky’s personality ranges towards the traditionally feminine. She is demure and described by her adoptive father as “fragile”, whereas Minnie is highly aggressive.

Despite an atypical lack (for this series) of sex in the episode, the theme is not entirely lost. When Minnie and pals Gracie and Liv take Franky to the mall (an appropriately feminine activity) they work feminize her. Putting makeup on Franky for the first time, the girls are pleased with the result telling her she has “fuck me” eyes. The suggested goal of makeup and ultimately of looking “pretty” seems to be becoming sexually desirable, wherein the characters take it upon themselves to look pretty for men, not themselves.

The boys in this episode play only a minor role though they do come out of the woodwork in following episodes. In this first episode however the boys serve primarily to do the bidding of the girls. Minnie’s boyfriend Nick, an appropriately fit and mindless jock does her bidding in hanging up humiliating photos of Franky and acting and her arm candy. Alo and Rich mainly appear when they do Grace’s bidding in helping her to “kidnap” Franky, taking her to have fun. The only boy who is entirely self-motivated is Matty, who appears in the episode when rescuing Franky, pulling her from a tearful breakdown and calling her beautiful. In this episode it would seem that men are only for manipulating or acting as heroes, two very flat and stereotypical roles that also demean women by painting them either as bitches of victims.

Despite the use of traditional gender roles, I think the show, if not his specific episode, gives each character enough depth to show that they do in fact break from traditional gender roles in some ways.