Pledging My Love - and Justice - SPOILERS for Hellcats 1x10
I have just realised that I had started to take Hellcats far too seriously. Hellcats is supposed to be my fun, mindless hour of tv, complete with Gale Harold occasional goodness and, given last week's episode, surprise David Hewlett goodness.
Except that after this week's, I am left wanting to throw something at the writers.
So here's the thing. I don't think that this episode was meant to be a PSA response to the many recent gay teen suicides, certainly not the way Glee went. (Badly, badly went, if not for Teenage Dream.) Otherwise the episode would have centered around Damian more, or around the gay cheerleader even.
But no, this was not a gay storyline. It was, however, a 'bully' storyline. The typical jock and excellent football player Damian has been getting away with stealing shit for a while, due to how good a player he is. He steals his teammate's phone and forwards to a bunch of school e-mails photos of his teammate's naked girlfriend that were on the phone.
What a jerk, right? What a gay, in-the-closet jerk, in fact. The girlfriend in question, the bitchiest cheerleader that ever bitched at that school, learns about this and plans to out him.
No, I do not think that it would be right for her to out him. (Although it would absolutely have been in character, but Alice is not exactly known to do the Right thing, no matter how much I love her.) But I do have a major issue with not only her boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend, football player and ex-football player, but also two teachers, telling her that it would ruin Damian's life more than he has ruined hers. I have a major issue with that, when earlier in the episode one of these two teachers pointed out to her that this might just seriously hinder her when trying to get a job.
I'm the first one to condemn homophobia, and homophobic bullying. But this feels like this recent rush of homo-sympathy caused by the number of gay teen suicides is making people put 'gay suffering' above 'women's suffering' (or *insert other minority*-suffering, for that matter, I'm sure), and I cannot agree, not one bit. Of course Alice shouldn't out him. But what he did to her? Is just as bad as what she wanted to do to him.
It quite simply enrages me that they're making Alice into the slut that sent naked pictures of herself to her boyfriend. What is wrong with sending naked pictures of yourself to your boyfriend? Yes, she took a risk, in case her boyfriend was a jerk (which he kinda is, but not that much of a jerk). This was not her fault. This was Damian's fault. There is no 'responsibility' that she should have to take. And yet her female coach asks her to take responsibility, as if part of the blame was hers. I know the parallel is kind of out there, but this feels like saying to a raped girl that she has to take responsibility for her rape, because she was in a miniskirt to go see her boyfriend when the rapist clocked on to her.
There is no excuse for what Damian did. There would have been no excuse for Alice if she had outted him. I just wish they had put the two on the same level.
Somewhat related, and because I never pimped this here: Cheek's "Don't be a dick" video on gay marriage, and his "It gets better" video. I think both are spot on.
Except that after this week's, I am left wanting to throw something at the writers.
So here's the thing. I don't think that this episode was meant to be a PSA response to the many recent gay teen suicides, certainly not the way Glee went. (Badly, badly went, if not for Teenage Dream.) Otherwise the episode would have centered around Damian more, or around the gay cheerleader even.
But no, this was not a gay storyline. It was, however, a 'bully' storyline. The typical jock and excellent football player Damian has been getting away with stealing shit for a while, due to how good a player he is. He steals his teammate's phone and forwards to a bunch of school e-mails photos of his teammate's naked girlfriend that were on the phone.
What a jerk, right? What a gay, in-the-closet jerk, in fact. The girlfriend in question, the bitchiest cheerleader that ever bitched at that school, learns about this and plans to out him.
No, I do not think that it would be right for her to out him. (Although it would absolutely have been in character, but Alice is not exactly known to do the Right thing, no matter how much I love her.) But I do have a major issue with not only her boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend, football player and ex-football player, but also two teachers, telling her that it would ruin Damian's life more than he has ruined hers. I have a major issue with that, when earlier in the episode one of these two teachers pointed out to her that this might just seriously hinder her when trying to get a job.
I'm the first one to condemn homophobia, and homophobic bullying. But this feels like this recent rush of homo-sympathy caused by the number of gay teen suicides is making people put 'gay suffering' above 'women's suffering' (or *insert other minority*-suffering, for that matter, I'm sure), and I cannot agree, not one bit. Of course Alice shouldn't out him. But what he did to her? Is just as bad as what she wanted to do to him.
It quite simply enrages me that they're making Alice into the slut that sent naked pictures of herself to her boyfriend. What is wrong with sending naked pictures of yourself to your boyfriend? Yes, she took a risk, in case her boyfriend was a jerk (which he kinda is, but not that much of a jerk). This was not her fault. This was Damian's fault. There is no 'responsibility' that she should have to take. And yet her female coach asks her to take responsibility, as if part of the blame was hers. I know the parallel is kind of out there, but this feels like saying to a raped girl that she has to take responsibility for her rape, because she was in a miniskirt to go see her boyfriend when the rapist clocked on to her.
There is no excuse for what Damian did. There would have been no excuse for Alice if she had outted him. I just wish they had put the two on the same level.
Somewhat related, and because I never pimped this here: Cheek's "Don't be a dick" video on gay marriage, and his "It gets better" video. I think both are spot on.