Guest Post by MoleWife

So I just finished watching the pilot episode of Glee.  It is a terribly hokey show in the finest traditions of 80’s underdog movies — the only thing it didn’t have is a training montage, and I’m SURE that’s coming.  But it had everything else:

1. Tiny (6-person) underfunded, under-appreciated collection of misfits drawn together by their talent and love of music?  Check.
2. Handsome, popular teacher struggling to keep said glee club alive?  Check.
3. Evil, popular, well-funded football team and cheerleading squad?  With associated evil, territorial, elitist, conformist and ball-busting coaches?  Check.
4. Incredibly talented and well-funded competition doing extreme production numbers to popular songs while we see our misfits rehashing Grease?  Check.
5. Inspiring female friend of glee club teacher who teaches him to follow his passion instead of going for money?  Check.
6. Inspiring journey of hot football player who decides he won’t let conformity and peer pressure keep him away from his love of music?  Check.
7. End on inspiring 80’s song (Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’)?  Check.

And the flip side:

1. “Misfit group” comprises aforementioned football player, beautiful diva pursuing fame at all costs, one disabled boy in a wheelchair, one Asian girl, one African-American Girl (who together make up apparently 66% of the POCs in the entire town) and one gay boy?  Check.
2. Gay kid and disabled kid bullied in completely approved ways?  Check.
3. POC in glee club sassy, fat, and hip?  Check.
4. Gay boy loves his designer clothing and sings soprano?  Check.
5. Inspiring teacher’s wife a lazy, shrill, gold-digging bitch who complains of having to work three 4-hour shifts a week and only wants more THINGS? Check.
6. Other female characters the aforementioned diva (raised by two gay dads, see what happens to you?), emasculating ball-busting cheerleading coach, and pretty young female friend teacher who cries to herself in car over love of hot inspiring male teacher, and hot cheerleader who is head of the celibacy club and bursts into prayer during makeout sessions?  Check.
7. Only other POC in the whole episode an apparently Hispanic worker at a TV “linen’s & things” who is comedically too clumsy and stupid to fold sheets?  Check.

Not to mention that the original glee club teacher is fired for molesting a singing student in an absolutely HYSTERICAL way — see, he was stroking the gay boy’s chest to give him encouragement, and the diva was pissed because he gave the solo to the gay boy SHE should have gotten, so she ratted him out to the principle and AREN’T WOMEN SCHEMING AND UNDERHANDED???

And our sassy fat black chick gets approximately three token lines in the whole episode.  Enough for us to know SHE is BEYONCE, not a BACKGROUND singer.  But she’ll meekly fall back into line for “just this one song.”  But that beats out our Asian chick, who gets one line and a “we’ll figure out what you’re good for” at the very end.** The gay and disabled boys can, quite frankly, sing circles around our hot football player, but they aren’t capable of keeping up vocally with our Diva, for some reason.  And the “next on Glee” preview shows us the shrill bitchy wife lying about being pregnant in order to manipulate her husband to get a job as a CPA instead of a teacher so she can have THREE MAHOGANY TOILET PAPER HOLDERS from Pottery Barn, because Dr. Phil says there’s nothing wrong with wanting THINGS.

And don’t even get me started on the gay ex-teacher as pedophile, or how molesting a student is FUNNY, SEE?

I will probably watch the show.  I’m a sucker for underdog stories and large musical production numbers of any variety.  And this was just a pilot, and there’s a chance the characters will be developed as something other than caricatures.  But some days I honestly have to ask if all TV studios get all their ideas from the Conservative Stereotype Vending Machine(TM).

**Oh, I just read the Asian girl is supposed to be a lesbian.  Clearly, this was indicated by her singing “I kissed a girl” for her audition, since she had no other lines or displayed any evidence of being attracted to women.

Now, I do understand the reality of the comic book industry. But Joe, the cover is the least of the problems here. While I actually do think Marvel Divas could do something interesting, I strongly suspect it will end up being (as has been noted) Carrie Bradshaw bullshit and thinly veiled lesbian subtext.
Read the below and follow the link to Jezebel too.

io9 – Marvel Boss: We’re Not Sexist, Just Loud – Marvel Comics

Sadly, in much of the middle east, serving a little time is the best possible outcome.  She’s lucky she wasn’t stoned to death.  Probably because she’s from the UK, and doesn’t have a family who would rather slaughter their daughter than put up with her evil ways.

Dubai jails UK woman for adultery – CNN.com

A British mother-of-two looks set to serve a three-month jail sentence for adultery after losing her appeal against the conviction in Dubai.

But an appeal court halved the six-month term initially imposed last November, the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed.

Lets summarize first.

1. Rick Warren is anti-gay.
   

   Dr Warren said that homosexuality is not a natural way of life and thus not a human right. “We shall not tolerate this aspect at all,” Dr Warren said.

2. Rick Warren is anti-woman (see #32) I don’t see how you can tell a woman to let a man beat her instead of getting a divorce and be anything but anti-woman
3. Rick Warren is anti-AIDS prevention.  His ‘main man’ in Uganda is named Ssempa:
   

   Ssempa’s stunts have included burning condoms in the name of Jesus and arranging the publication of names of homosexuals in cooperative local newspapers while lobbying for criminal penalties to imprison them.

And this man isn’t run out of town on a rail?  Why?  Because of the most insidious aspect of religion.

It justifies anything and everything.  Once in a blue moon, as in the case of Madeline Kara Neumann, there will be a cry for people to be held accountable for their religions beliefs and the actions that stem from them, but as a rule, anything goes.  If I said the things Rick Warren said, and my only justification was “because”, I’d been called a monster.

This is the twisted result of backwards tolerance.

You see it in some Middle East and African countries where women are treated like property ON A GOOD DAY.  We say to ourselves “Well, thats just their way”.  We can’t question their religion because then, y’know, you might have to apply that to religion here too.  Further, most people don’t fully understand that this isn’t ‘their’ way, its forced upon the women.  The idea that there is ABSOLUTELY NO CHOICE doesn’t fully compute to us, and so we make the assumption that the women want to be treated worse than dogs and that religion can justify this anyhow.

Any other name put on this would make these people devils.

Surprisingly, a religious leader feels OK ignoring the needs of people (and, as usual, its women) in order to satisfy his own bizarre myths.
Film at 11.
Rick Warren: Abuse is no excuse for women to seek divorce : The New Agenda

Having been involved as a pastor in situations of abuse, there’s something in me that wishes there were a Bible verse that says if they abuse you in such kind of way, then you have a right to leave them.
…
It’s not like you can escape the pain… You don’t — you don’t escape the pain. And I’d always rather choose a short term pain and find God’s solution for a long term gain, than try and find a short term solution that’s going to involve a long term pain in life.

(not for nothing, for all those of you who think religion is a good thing, this is how religion almost always goes. Theism is all about submission, regardless as to consequence. Take your beatings now, or God will beat you senseless later.)

Yet another rule allowing doctors to deny treatment
Yes, this is aimed at abortion, and yes, I know there are already rules allowing this bullshit. But it angers me every time it comes up. Doctors can decide what care you do and don’t get, but god forbid they make your little girl get vaccinated against HPV.
I wonder, what if the doctor belonged to a religious group that said surgury was unethical? Or drugs?
The rule allows doctors to NOT EVEN PROVIDE INFORMATION.
So, if I felt that surgury was wrong, I could recommend, y’know, lots of tea to get rid of that tumor.
Or if I thought medicine was sinful, I could prescribe drinking lots of water to manage your diabetes.
Or, maybe, I think your STD is punishment and nothing should be done about it at all. If you end up infertile, you got what you deserved.
Thank god. For a moment there, I thought my well-being might come before the desires of my doctor.
Whew.

Really? This guy is the face the Republicans want to put out there?

Nugent: I was in Chicago last week I said—Hey Obama, you might want to suck on one of these you punk? Obama, he’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on one of my machine guns…Let’s hear it for them. I was in NY and I said hey Hillary—you might want to ride one of these into the sunset you worthless bitch…Since I’m in California, I’m gonna find– she might wanna suck on my machine gun! Hey, Dianne Feinstein, ride one of these you worthless whore. Any questions? Freeeeedom!

I’m sorry, why, exactly, do women vote Republican?
(yes, I know he doesn’t actually say ‘rape’, but I’m not sure you can get much closer)

So Campbell Brown took a remark from a politician and really twisted it around.
Whats unfortunate is that many of her points are absolutely spot on. They just have nothing to do with the actual remark.

Rendell: Janet’s perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it

Calling this sexist, without any context is just silly. For all we know, he might have said the same thing if a single man was nominated. For all we know, he might have then gone on about how qualified Janet is for the job.
Now, she could have just used the comment as a jumping off point, sort of saying “this makes me think about…”, but she doesn’t. In fact, she makes it very clear that she sees the remark as sexist.

Again Gov. Rendell, I don’t mean to rake you over the coals.

And, in fact, she’s practically deceptive:

But it is fascinating to me that that is the quality being highlighted here as so perfect. C’mon. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is married with two grown children. His predecessor, Tom Ridge, had a family. Anybody remember a debate about whether they would have trouble balancing the demands of work and family?

I’m sorry, did I miss this debate? Because I’m pretty sure Ms. Brown just implied that handful of words was a debate.
Campbell makes a number of good points about how women are treated differently based on their age and relationship status. These are things that DO need to be talked about, these are things that are real problems.
But, lets talk about them, not point fingers and cry ’sexism’ for no reason.