GleeEqualityProject

Although we don’t know what the future holds for Brittany and Santana as a couple, it’s nice to see the people at FOX can learn and improve.

ALT-BRITTANA-PR: Though it’s been several days more than the 5-day gap between the posting of the Finchel and Klaine relationship scrapbook cards, GleeonFOX has not, as yet, posted one promoting Brittana’s journey. This is what we think a Glee on FOX scrapbook card for Santana and Brittany could have looked like.

Ryan Murphy, in a 2nd January 2013 NPR broadcast, said “If you’re going to show a straight couple kiss, show a gay couple kiss. So that they feel like, okay, there’s hope for me, there’s a way for me. I’m worthy of that happiness.”

HELP GLEE ON FOX GET THAT MEMO BY TWEETING:

@gleeonfox
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The Glee Double Standard

hall-and-totes:

http://i.imgur.com/RaAbN.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KoeS4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/q2WOD.jpg

The above charts (along with the one I posted last week) are more evidence of Glee’s obvious double standards when it comes to the writing of female/female romantic relationships. The data was collected from seasons two, three, and four of Glee.

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*hall-and-totes isn’t affiliated with the GEP

Equality Report 410 “Glee, Actually”

…

It was upsetting seeing Kurt once again bullied for his sexuality, even if only in Artie’s fever dream.

We thought that this would be the episode where we would hear a good deal more about Kurt’s point of view regarding his relationship with Blaine. But the promised “heart to heart” has yet to take place. Despite that, Blaine comes to NY to see Kurt, at Burt’s invitation. Kurt as a character needs to have more agency in his life, and to be able to express himself.
Santana continues to be erased from the narrative while her bisexual ex is allowed to date and even marry (at least in intent) a male – something Santana and Brittany would not be able to do. Brittany seems to have forgotten she even ever dated, let alone loved Santana – even when she thought she only had four days to live she did not mention Santana once.

Equality Report 409 “Swan Song”

Kurt was shown as a strong and triumphant young man, and his plot in this episode showed no hints of the effeminophobia that has clouded his portrayal in the past.

Unique is back, but makes the point that her reason for joining the floor hockey team is to ‘slip a wig under the face mask [so] nobody will be the wiser,’ allowing her to be herself while simultaneously hiding from the world.

hall-and-totes:

Just one piece of evidence of Glee’s double standard, assuming what happens in the promo still airs in the episode Thursday night.

Here’s a link to the chart in HQ. http://i.imgur.com/XRJsu.png

Graph posted with the kind permission of hall-and-totes: grateful thanks for allowing the GEP to reblog.

(hall-and-totes isn’t affiliated with the GEP)

Reaction Post 409 “Swan Song”

In this episode, Brittany reminds us that “love is love,” but is that what they show us? We are very disappointed with the double standards displayed on Glee in its depiction of same sex versus opposite sex romantic relationships. The Brittany/Sam storyline makes these double standards abundantly clear.

A quick reassurance: we are NOT saying that Brittany should stay single or only date girls. This is not a shipping campaign, and Brittany is bisexual. We encourage all Glee fans to not be guilty of bisexual erasure in their commentary on this issue.

However, there are some clear examples of Glee’s double standards in the way this relationship has been portrayed. Brittany and Sam sing a duet together, share private conversations, and kiss in this episode, the same episode in which they first showed romantic interest in each other. These are all things that Brittany/Santana fans had to actually fight for, for months, to see on screen with the two girls. It took Santana and Brittany 10 episodes to kiss after becoming official (and that’s not even counting Seasons 1 and 2, when they were having sex with each other but not “official”). Brittany and Sam? 1 episode. Brittany and Artie back in Season 2? 1 episode. The contrast for Santana and Brittany is stark. Santana and Brittany didn’t even have one single private conversation in Season 3, when they were in a happy and stable relationship. Their only private conversations in Season 4 thus far served their breakup. This is unequal treatment, and a double standard.

We also note that Brittany is allowed to explore a new relationship with a guy but there is no evidence of Santana doing likewise with a girl. We have barely seen Santana this season, and there has been minimal focus on her romantic life. There are no indications so far that this will change in the immediate future. Glee seems happy to show a new heteronormative relationship but not a new lesbian relationship? This is an example of lesbian erasure.

Finally, Glee has provoked fans deliberately with the meta statement in this episode about “lesbians of the nation…for whom it means a lot to see two super hot popular girls in love” in this episode. Given Ryan’s previous negative interactions with Brittana fans on Twitter, this is, at best, insensitive and, at worst, malicious in their dismissal of fans’ concerns

Love is love, but that’s not what we have just witnessed on Glee.

Please look out for our Glee Equality Report on Monday and, in the meantime, we encourage you to let FOX know of any concerns you may have.

DO YOU WANT GLEE TO DO BETTER? WRITE FOX:

Kevin Reilly
FOX Broadcasting Company
10201 West Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

We always encourage you to write FOX as that has more impact than email, but if you send a copy of your letter to askfox@fox.com your voice will be heard right away. Be sure to include a one-sentence summary of your email (or letter) at the top to ensure your key message gets through even if it gets only the briefest skimming, e.g. GLEE: unhappy, Brittany/Sam pairing, heterosexual versus lesbian relationship double-standards

Equality Report 406 “Glease”

With all four individuals from the two recently-broken up LGBTQ couples in Lima, each ex-couple interacted and spoke about their relationships.
The audience saw Kurt’s pain and anger in the aftermath of his break-up with Blaine in this episode. He was allowed to express his feelings and make decisions for himself.
Kurt and Blaine spoke about their relationship briefly, but alone in an almost empty corridor
Brittany and Santana had an honest conversation about the romantic feelings that they still share for each other. But in that conversation, Brittany stated that she is not dating anybody new, boy or girl. This acknowledges that either would be possible for her.
Brittany was included in a girls’ slumber party without any question or awkwardness about her sexuality.
When Kitty tried to resist the idea of Unique joining the girls’ slumber party, Marley spoke up in Unique’s defence.

Season SitRep: Episodes 1 - 4

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING FOR & HOPING FOR WHEN GLEE RETURNS

Four episodes of Glee have aired thus far, and the five week hiatus comes to an end in the U.S. on Thursday, November 8th. There have been big changes for all of the LGBTQ characters. We’re curious to see where their new journeys will take them.

Reminder: We are a spoiler-free zone, so this post is safe for spoiler-phobes

THE COUPLES

We ended last season with many couples intact, and within the first four episodes of this season, it seems they have all broken up (with the exception of Will and Emma). Some of the couples (both LGBTQ and straight) may never come back together, while others could reunite in the future. Individual characters might move on to new relationships and stay in them or break up again to go back to their former partners. Whatever the pairings, familiar or new, we hope to see communication, affection and intimacy portrayed for any LGBTQ couples in the same manner as their straight counterparts.

We do NOT want a repeat of the double standards that plagued Season 3. We hope to see important personal conversations take place in private. We hope to see the couples not needing chaperones.

On balance, so far, Glee seems to have made an effort not to shy away from displays of affection among the LGBTQ couples in Season 4, the glaring exception being Kurt and Blaine getting neither a kiss goodbye nor a private goodbye scene in 401. The lack of a private scene about their break up in 404 also falls into this category. We will be watching how the show progresses from here with interest.

Equality Report 404 “The Break-Up”

A reminder of our position on break-ups:

Is the GEP just about the Brittana and Klaine ships? What if they break up?

Our campaign is not about shipping specific couples. It’s about glaring double standards we’ve noticed in regards to the portrayal of LGBTQ relationships on the show. If any of the LGBTQ couples break up, we hope the breakups will be treated equally to those the straight couples experience. If they move on to other relationships, we support seeing communication and affection happen in those without the double standards that plagued Season 3 portrayals.

What we don’t want to see is a situation where the straight characters move on to other love interests while the gay characters become the only gays in their village, lacking entirely in romantic plots or options. Breakups should happen because it makes sense for the characters and the changes in their lives, not to remove the pesky problem of how to portray LGBTQ relationships on television.

The conversation between Santana and Brittany where Santana talks about the problems of long-distance relationships is realistic, and treats their relationship and feelings respectfully.
Kurt and Blaine, and Brittany and Santana, are allowed to kiss in the same episode. Usually, if one couple kisses, the other does not. Achievement!
Despite the troubling context of cheating and relationship breakdown, we do acknowledge that in terms of equality, both Blaine and Kurt are presented as sexual beings. Their sexual intimacy as a couple is acknowledged when Blaine speaks of missing “messing around” with Kurt, Kurt agreeing that he misses it too.
When Blaine surprises Kurt by coming to visit him in New York, they greet each other with a kiss, their first since 305 “The First Time.”
Chase Madison is shown to be completely accepting of Kurt’s sexuality.

Equality Report 402 “Britney 2.0”

Brittany was allowed to have feelings and talk about how she misses Santana. She also talked to Santana in private (albeit via Skype).
A reference to “scissor Skype” was used as shorthand to establish the welcome fact that Brittany and Santana are maintaining a sexual relationship.
Unique is Unique throughout the episode without anyone batting an eyelid (also she refers to herself as a girl. Given this, we at GEP have decided to do the same) and she was shown talking to Marley about cute boys. They didn’t desexualise the trans* character nor did they depict her sexuality as threatening.

Where does the GEP stand on Klaine or Brittana breaking up?

An addition to our updated and extended Frequently Asked Questions.

Is the GEP just about the Brittana and Klaine ships? What if they break up?

Our campaign is not about shipping specific couples. It’s about glaring double standards we’ve noticed in regards to the portrayal of LGBTQ relationships on the show. If any of the LGBTQ couples break up, we hope the breakups will be treated equally to those the straight couples experience. If they move on to other relationships, we support seeing communication and affection happen in those without the double standards that plagued Season 3 portrayals.

What we don’t want to see is a situation where the straight characters move on to other love interests while the gay characters become the only gays in their village, lacking entirely in romantic plots or options. Breakups should happen because it makes sense for the characters and the changes in their lives, not to remove the pesky problem of how to portray LGBTQ relationships on television.

We will be decidedly unimpressed if the only one to move on to another relationship is the bisexual girl and she goes back to dating boys. An unfortunate trend in the portrayal of bisexuals on television is that they engage in one same sex relationship, then it’s back to opposite sex relationships from there out.

We’ll be watching and reporting.

WMHS Yearbook: The Lost Pages, part 9

Different people like different aspects of the characters and couples on Glee but here are some of the things we’ve heard about the current LGBT couples. This page features Santana and Brittany; the previous page featured Kurt and Blaine.

Do you want Glee to do better? Write Fox:

Kevin Reilly
FOX Broadcasting Company
10201 West Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Want to see Kurt & Blaine, Brittany & Santana together in S4 promo photos?

FOX is doing the Glee Season 4 gallery photoshoot today. It would be a positive gesture from the network if they were to photograph Kurt & Blaine as a couple, Brittany & Santana as a couple. The girls were side by side for the Season 2 slushie photoshoot and they had Brittany carrying Santana as they ducked those dodegballs last season, but we’ve never had an official photo of Kurt & Blaine together. Even when they won the FOX facebook competition for favourite couple, FOX just [badly] photoshopped them.

If you want FOX to provide an official Kurt & Blaine portrait, or an official Brittany & Santana portrait, tweet @GleeonFox today and respectfully request that. And please re-blog this as widely as you can.

EDITED TO ADD: Chris is in LA today as he’s attending both the Teen Choice Awards [Lea will be there too] and Outfest tonight.

If enough people tweet @GleeonFOX respectfully to provide an official portrait of Kurt & Blaine, Brittany & Santana as a couple, it’s something FOX could do at a later date if not today. This would be an important, positive and public gesture from the network.

Please don’t tweet the actors!

WMHS Yearbook: the lost pages, part 1

Do you want Glee to do better? Write Fox:

Kevin Reilly
FOX Broadcasting Company
10201 West Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035