Hanging out on Facebook I’ve seen some racy photos of Glee cast members a little naked in GQ Magazine. I saw it first on Revolution of Real Women and then my good friends at Shaping Youth and Pigtail Pals.

The photos were . . .

well.

You can see what they are.

But, what I found most confounding are the comments on Facebook from all the parents who are letting their tweens and teens watch this show.

Revolution of Real Women writes, “A show that has (mostly) been a positive influence in the media… a show that is SO popular they haven’t needed to look for controversial ways to get press… has stepped into sleazetown. Shame on the producers of Glee for allowing this.”

What? I’m a Gleek. I enjoy the show and love how they handle controversy. But, to me the show IS controversy itself. It takes the most controversial aspects of American life, puts it in a high school setting around show tunes and plays with it.

What is uncontroversial about . . . .

• Two high school cheerleaders whose proclaimed goal it is to sleep with every boy on the football team, and who fool around with each other when the boys are busy. Sex is a toy for both of them and there are no feelings involved. Brittany, most recently, took a wheelchair-confined nerd’s virginity and caused his heart to break. (Those photos are “sexualization of girls,” but the story lines of these two characters are somehow not?)
• Will Schuester’s wife attempted to steal/buy/adopt/extort (I was never sure which) his student’s baby last year, while faking a pregnancy.
• The Jewish mohawked bad-boy fooled around with the Jewish girl, instead of his usual “anyone he can sleep with,” in an attempt to please his parents.
• The head cheerleader got pregnant, lied about who the father was, and then gave the baby up for adoption.
• The head Gleek herself, yes the one pictured in the above photos (which do no justice to her character) is really an ambitious performer with big, big dreams and not a lot of ethics around what she’ll do or who she’ll use to achieve her dreams, has two gay dads and last year found her mother who turned out to be ill-equipped to carry on a relationship with her.
• The stereotypical gay boy is openly gay, but continues to call his sort-of-step-brother at homophobe for drawing a boundary that said, “I’m straight and you’re freaking me out every time you try to sleep with me.”
• The Cheer Coach, the hysterical Sue Sylvester, is opportunistic  and downright evil and fills every conversation with sexist remarks, racist remarks and whatever you call inappropriate and insulting remarks to handicapped people and everyone else.
• In every episode someone is getting bullied, the adults bully the adults and the children bully the children and there is a lot of cross-over between them.

What surprises me is that week after week people can watch all this “high school” drama, this fun and campy theater of the insane, and believe they are watching good, clean television fit for young children or teenagers.

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The following is a press release issued by Parents Television Council at parentstv.org. I’m printing the release in its entirety because the information is so important.

In a new special report, the Parents Television Council found that storylines depicting violence against females are increasing and being shown more graphically and in ways that have not been seen in the history of television.

The PTC’s report, Women in Peril: A Look at TV’s Disturbing New Storyline Trend, examined fatal and nonfatal female victimizations on prime time broadcast television and found that there was a significant increase in all forms of female victimization storylines; an increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims; an increase in the use of female victimization as a punch line in comedy series; and an increase in the depiction of intimate partner violence.

“Our new research points to a disturbing trend: by depicting violence against women with increasing frequency, or as a trivial, even humorous matter, the broadcast networks may ultimately be contributing to a desensitized atmosphere in which people view aggression and violence directed at women as normative, even acceptable,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

In October, actresses like Nicole Kidman testified before the Congress that Hollywood probably has contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects.  We all must pay attention to the fact that this is a problem in our society.  The fact is that children are influenced by what they see on TV and that certainly includes media violence, said PTC Director of Communications and Public Education Melissa Henson.

The study compares the qualitative and quantitative differences in the treatments of violence against women on prime time broadcast television between 2004 and 2009.  PTC analysts examined all primetime programming (excluding sports and news programs) on the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC)* during the February and May 2004 and 2009 sweeps periods for a total of 209.5 hours of programming.

Major Findings

1. Incidents of violence against women and teenage girls are increasing on television at rates that far exceed the overall increases in violence on television.  Violence, irrespective of gender, on television increased only 2% from 2004 to 2009, while incidents of violence against women increased 120% during that same period.

• The most frequent type of violence against women on television was beating (29%), followed by credible threats of violence (18%), shooting (11%), rape (8%), stabbing (6%), and torture (2%).  Violence against women resulted in death 19% of the time.
• Violence towards women or the graphic consequences of violence tends overwhelmingly to be depicted (92%) rather than implied (5%) or described (3%).

1. Every network but ABC demonstrated a significant increase in the number of storylines that included violence against women between 2004 and 2009.

1. Although female victims were primarily of adult age, collectively, there was a 400% increase in the depiction of teen girls as victims across all networks from 2004 to 2009.

1. Fox stood out for using violence against women as a punch line in its comedies — in particular Family Guy and American Dad — trivializing the gravity of the issue of violence against women.

1. From 2004 to 2009 there was an 81% increase in incidences of intimate partner violence on television.

“Our study today serves as a clarion call to all Americans about a critical issue with dire consequences.  We are calling on television producers and network executives, members of the advertising community, elected representatives and appointed government officials, and most importantly, the viewing public, to stand up against this disturbing trend.  In a country where more than 60% of children have been exposed to violence in their daily lives, according to recent research by Justice Department, we must take the utmost care not to normalize violent behavior – especially violence against women – through our television programming,” Winter added.

To read at the full report and view video clips from the study, visit:

http://www.parentstv.org/womeninperil.

*CW and MyNetworkTV did not exist in 2004. (Gossip Girl surely accounts for some of the increase.)

To speak with a representative from the Parents Television Council, please contact Kelly Oliver (ext. 140) or Megan Franko (ext. 148) at (703) 683-5004.

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What really pissed me off about conservative “outrage” about the President of the United States giving a speech to motivate students to stay in school is conservative in-authenticity and duplicity.

The thing is, there really are inappropriate things going on in our schools and I have yet to see conservatives voice any outrage. Capitol One has its logo on my conservative town’s high school sign. That’s marketing that contributes to irresponsible credit card usage, which contributed greatly to our 2008 economic collapse. But, isn’t it great they got a “free” sign?

Let’s face it, we don’t really care what our children are exposed to in this country. We allow marketers and advertisers on Channel One and Bus Radio in our public schools across the nation. Bus Radio has been targeted by the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood for playing extremely inappropriate commercials for the smutty Beverly Hills 90210 to Kindergartners.

The FCC has recently taken action against Bus Radio.

This is the first time since I began reporting on these issues three years ago that I’ve seen the Federal Communications Commission do a single worthwhile thing. Under President George W. Bush it was a complete free-for-all for marketers and advertisers targeting children in school settings, on playgrounds, and on children’s television. It’s not much better now. God willing, this is only the first step of the FCC coming off the sugar rush of hyper-capitalism to actually do what their supposed to do – protect our children’s brains.

Taken from the CFCC email the FCC charged BusRadio with:

• BusRadio’s claim of a maximum of 8 minutes of ads per hour vastly understates the amount of its commercial content (p. 18).
• BusRadio exploits the relationship between its on-air personalities and young listeners by having its DJs pitch products directly to students, a practice which is prohibited by the FCC in broadcast media for children (p.20).
• BusRadio’s programming and website for students fail to maintain a clear distinction between editorial and commercial content, as required by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (p.20 & 21).
• BusRadio  “fails to enable parents to avoid exposure of their children to undesirable content” (p.13).
• BusRadio may make school buses less safe by distracting drivers (p.23).

What does this tell me?

What President Obama should do to make sure kids hear his positive message in schools is to BUY AN AD because Conservatives, nay Americans, are more than willing to allow them access to America’s impressionable children.

Make sure it’s only the first step the FCC takes to do. their. job. by signing a CFCC petition to stop marketing sexual and violent PG-13 commercials to preschoolers.

I, personally, am all-out rooting for CCFC’s efforts to ask the Obama Administration, the FCC and the FTC to re-examine policy about children’s television.

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Goodbye Hannah Montana.

I’m sick and tired of hearing your bratty little attitude and disrespect come out of my daughter’s mouth.

Months ago I tried to blame ME for my daughter’s snotty tone and disrespectful banter. I tried to ban my “tone” and keep you, Hannah, as harmless entertainment.

But, here’s the thing: I add quality to my daughter’s life whether I take a tone or not. I’m her mother and she’s definitely better off with me than she is without me. There’s no question that the benefit of me outweighs the cost of my tone.

It’s unfortunate, but I can’t say the same about you.

It has nothing to do with your back-exposure Miley, which I felt was a trumped up way for the media to call yet another girl a Whore, as we know that’s their hobby. I feel bad about that.

It’s Hannah’s mouth and Hannah’s attitude. That mouth and that dialogue is being used against ME.

My daughter thinks it’s funny to imitate.

And I agree. It’s funny to imitate.

But, if it’s a choice between YOU and ME in my daughter’s life. Well, I pick ME. Because I add quality and you, well, you don’t. When your snotty, bratty, disrespectful banter comes out of my daughter’s mouth – well, to be completely truthful, I feel like slapping her. I don’t. But, really, it shouldn’t take so much effort to stop the impulse.

Also, you’re not really age-appropriate no matter how small you make the t-shirts or commando market to Kindergarteners and pre-schoolers.

She’s listening to you talk about your “needs” and how your super-protective body guard is getting in the way of those needs.

Now I feel you’re” needs” are probably to be kissed and to hold hands, though you left it vague.

But, that’s too much information, and too vague, for my 6-year-old daughter. And again. I didn’t really like your tone when you discussed your “needs” up with your dad. In fact, I thought your dad handled it poorly – like a shmuck. (While we’re speaking of your parents I have to wonder – why exactly has Disney killed off all the girls’ mothers, including yours?)

So, I took control of the remote. I couldn’t figure out how to just block Hannah Montana so I blocked the entire Disney Channel. Truth be told I’m not a huge fan of your other influences Disney, what with the snotty attitude from Zack and Cody and the Princess Culture nightmare I’ve had to wade through with my daughter. Christine Fugate of Mothering Heights is banning you too.

So, there you are Disney Channel.

Blocked – Along with the Pay-Per-View Porn.

Read Tone Turtle.

“Tone Control”

Hannah Branding

Empowering Girls: Miley’s Photo

Empowering Girls: Princess Culture Examined

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When I am a teenager I’m going to wear a dress like that.

Ainsley, please wait until you are an adult.

If you wear that as a teenager all the other mothers will judge me.

Note to my mother: I. Am. So. Sorry!

Image Source: Knoxnews

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