University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Versus the fans

(USC Thesis Other)

Versus the fans

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

VERSUS THE FANS

by

Renée Y. Fabian

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM – THE ARTS)

May 2014

Copyright 2014 Renée Fabian

ii

Acknowledgements

Thank you especially to Sasha Anawalt for your help, support and encouragement not only with
this thesis, but also over the course of the program. In addition, special thanks to Tim Page,
Alison Trope and Taylor Nygaard for their wisdom and guidance with this work. I could not
have done it without any of you, and I am grateful for this opportunity.

iii

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iv

1. Introduction 1

2. Faking it – A Lesbian Nightmare 8

3. Diversity done right – ‘The Fosters” 12

4. Speak for Yourself – Creating Better Representations 16

5. Sex and Blue is the Warmest Color 22

6. The Trouble with “Glee” 25

7. Conclusion 29

References 31

Appendix A: Brittana Fans Launch Counterattack on “Glee” 35

Appendix B: Versus the Fans screen shots 47

iv

Abstract

Founded in December 2012, Versus the Fans (versusthefans.com) is a blog, which aims to
amplify and celebrate the value of popular art, especially television, in giving a voice to women
and the LGBT community, in addition to serving as a media watcher. This thesis is mostly
written content from my blog, Versus the Fans, including articles about the representation of
queer women both in entertainment and entertainment reporting.

1

1. Introduction

During a season four, December 2012 episode of the television show, Glee, titled “Swan Song,”
a bisexual character, Brittany, spit out the following dialogue as her reason for not wanting to
start a relationship with a male character shortly after breaking up with her lesbian girlfriend,
Santana:

“No, it’s not just Santana. It’s like, all the lesbians of the nation and I don’t know how they found
out about Santana and I dating, but once they did, they started sending me, like, tweets and
Facebook messages on [my cat’s] wall. I think it means a lot to them to see two super hot,
popular girls in love, and I worry if they find out about you and I dating that they’ll turn on you
and get really violent and hurt your beautiful face and mouth.” – Brittany, Glee, Season 4,
Episode 9, “Swan Song”

Though perhaps meant as comedy, the show went out of its way to break the fourth wall and
imply lesbians are angry man haters. The comments were found offensive and uncalled for by
Glee’s substantial queer female audience, an audience, which according to a 2012 fan survey
may make as much as 40% of Glee’s fandom (Glintz 2012). These same fans were already angry
about an obvious double standard set against queer women on the show, evidenced by a lack of
intimate conversation or public displays of affection between the lesbian couple in comparison to
screen time afforded heterosexual couples. For example, Brittany twice dated a male character
and they kissed within one episode, whereas when Brittany dated lesbian character Santana, 32
episodes passed before the couple kissed on screen.

2

Yet the problematic dialogue in the “Swan Song” episode was either ignored or given a pass by
mainstream media reporting on the show’s episode. While hundreds of articles were written by
fans about the offensive dialogue and passed around on individual blogs and through social
media, the double standards and damaging stereotyping of lesbians that occurred in the episode
went largely unnoticed by the mainstream publishing outlets and general audiences, seeming to
render Glee’s young queer female fan base invisible and meaningless to the show’s creators and
the network.

This episode of Glee and the critical, passionate writing from other queer women that came out
of it inspired my blog, Versus the Fans. One of the first and most successful posts on Versus the
Fans directly related to the “Swan Song” episode of Glee. Titled “Brittana Fans Launch a
Counter Attack on Glee” (see Appendix A), this post garnered over 2500 views and became part
of a fan-driven campaign lobbying FOX to address Glee’s offensive comments. Founded in
December 2012, Versus the Fans (versusthefans.com) aims to amplify and celebrate the value of
popular art, especially television, in giving a voice to women and the LGBT community, in
addition to serving as a media watcher.

The blog itself currently has a modest regular viewership of around 40-50 readers a week, with a
total lifetime readership of more than 15,600. Through newly instated Twitter and Tumblr
accounts, Versus the Fans will become more active through social media to build and interact
with its audience, as well as look for other ways to build community around common interest in
queer women and entertainment. Young queer women in fandoms surrounding LGBT-friendly

3

TV shows, such as Glee or Pretty Little Liars, between the ages of 15 and 25 are its primary
target audience.

Blogs that focus on LGBT representation are hardly unique. Websites such as AfterEllen and
Autostraddle are both written primarily for and by queer women and focus on TV, film and
music. AfterEllen, hosted by Viacom’s Logo, includes TV show recaps, entertainment news and
artist features in addition to several related columns. Written with a fan girl tone, AfterEllen
champions shows, characters or actors whom the authors love, often with over-the-top
enthusiasm and little critical objectivity. I would argue that this type of content alienates readers
looking for writing that is more than biased service towards very specific TV shows and
characters of special interest to the authors.

For example, though not updated recently, After After Ellen is a blog dedicated to criticizing
AfterEllen’s content, which included pointing out articles that were “kind of ridiculous” (After
After Ellen 2009). AfterEllen reader, Aoife O’Riordan complained about bi-phobia following an
AfterEllen author’s comment condemning a bisexual actress for becoming engaged to a man
(O’Riordan 2011). Tumblr-user Alex expressed similar frustration and bisexual woman, Lisa,
states she has “never been a fan” of AfterEllen (Alex 2014; Yunannmom 2014). Discussion
forums on The L Chat contain thirty-nine pages and counting of comments decrying AfterEllen’s
coverage. The thread has been active since 2011 with forum members expressing that AfterEllen
is “no longer a site for lesbian visibility in the media” or, is “incredibly damaging” (The L Chat
2011-2014). However, with a Twitter following of 88,000 and Facebook following of 51,500,
AfterEllen remains one of the largest queer-women dedicated blogs.

4

Autostraddle, twice nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the category of ‘Outstanding
Blog,’ covers a wide range of content (GLAAD 2014). This includes entertainment news, recaps,
or columns on anything from comic books to sex toys. With a focus on diversity within the
LGBT community, Autostraddle includes a mix of critically based journalistic articles to fun
light-hearted pieces appealing to a wide range of women. Autostraddle currently has 24,600
Twitter followers and 25,000 Facebook followers, making it a substantial blog in the space for
LGBT women.

Versus the Fans, like AfterEllen or Autostraddle, features content about queer women and
entertainment, but what sets Versus the Fans apart is the function of media watcher. Male critics
still dominate entertainment reporting. Based on recent bylines and staff lists, three well-
respected sources for entertainment news and criticism, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and
New Yorker have a combined total of sixty-five male reporters and only thirty-eight women (Los
Angeles Times 2014; New Yorker 2014; New York Times 2014). That is nearly twice as many
men to women reporters; the New York-based publications are the worst offenders. Popular
online-only entertainment website, TVLine is led by three men and only one woman (Mitovich
2014).

The result of a male majority taking it upon themselves to judge whether representation of queer
women is good, bad or otherwise, can lead to reporting that glosses over important moments of
visibility or gives passes to problematic stereotypes. TVLine’s Michael Slezak, for example,
laughed at Glee’s offensive comments about lesbians in the episode “Swan Song,” calling the

5

dialogue “cheeky,” making light of what many fans characterized as hurtful (Slezak 2012). Mike
Hale at the New York Times wrote off The Fosters, an ABC Family show including a racially
diverse lesbian couple, in a breezy, dismissive tone as nothing more than “demographic
engineering” “so obvious that […] even the characters notice it” (Hale 2013). But in reality, The
Fosters handles same-sex parents and its racially diverse cast with gravitas, as noted regularly by
queer-focused blogs such as AfterEllen or Autostraddle, who are arguably better qualified to
judge The Fosters as the people the show aims to represent.

As a final example, the French film, Blue is the Warmest Color, has a notable lesbian sex scene
between its female protagonists. Quick to weigh in on this representation of queer women
making love, male critics such as Jordan Mintzer at The Hollywood Reporter said of the sex
scene, “Once the two girls get into bed together, they forge a sexual bond that [the director]
captures in ways few directors have done before him, allowing their lovemaking to play out in
extended takes that definitely cross the barrier between performance and the real deal” (Mintzer
2013). Mintzer’s word choice, “the real deal,” implies first hand participation in lesbian sex. By
definition as a man, Mintzer does not have this experience to definitively claim “real” portrayals
of lesbian sex on behalf of queer women.

Meanwhile, Julie Maroh, a real-life lesbian and actual creator of the graphic novel, Blue is the
Warmest Color, says: “It appears to me this was what was missing on the set: lesbians. I don't
know the sources of information for the director and the actresses (who are all straight, unless
proven otherwise)... Maybe there was someone there to awkwardly imitate the possible positions
with their hands, and/or to show them some porn of so-called "lesbians" (unfortunately it's hardly

6

ever actually for a lesbian audience). Because—except for a few passages—this is all that it
brings to my mind: a brutal and surgical display, exuberant and cold, of so-called lesbian sex,
which turned into porn, and made me feel very ill at ease” (Maroh 2013).

As a man, Mintzer has no lived experience participating in lesbian sex, yet he still catalogs Blue
is the Warmest Color’s lesbian sex scenes as “definitely” “the real deal” despite having zero
grounds to make this claim (Mintzer 2013). Unlike Mintzer, there are other male critics who
report fairly about queer women. New York Times’ A.O. Scott, for example, concluded that Blue
is the Warmest Color is “ardently and sincerely committed to capturing the fullness of [the girls’]
experience — sensory, cerebral and emotional. The sex is essential to that intention, even though
[the director’s] way of filming does not quite succeed in fulfilling it" (Scott 2013). Scott remains
objective, accomplished through his respectful tone, word choices, and empathetic observations,
which avoid defining other peoples’ experiences for them.

The important difference between these two critics is Mintzer implies he knows “the real deal”
about lesbian sex, when he absolutely cannot. Scott on the other hand, comments on the more
universal human observation of the sex scene failing to convey the protagonist’s “sensory,
cerebral and emotional” experience, an occurrence that could hold true with any combination of
genders. Mintzer strips agency from queer women by defining their experiences for them,
whereas Scott chooses to focus on an overarching human understanding, thus keeping queer
women’s agency intact and still making an insightful criticism about the film. Fair, open-minded
reporting about visibility that takes into account real queer women’s experience leads to honest,
human characterizations on screen, which in turn leads to personal and cultural acceptance.

7

Critics like Slezak, Hale or Mintzer, who lack inherent or learned understanding, do a disservice
by writing off the validity of representational concerns of queer women, as Slezak did with
“Swan Song” or Mintzer with Blue is the Warmest Color. These critics need to be held
accountable not only through media watchdog organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) or the Women’s Media Center, but also by calling them
out when they misstep. For this reason, media watching is the cornerstone mission of Versus the
Fans, as will be demonstrated in most of the following posts.

Content from the blog Versus the Fans serves as my thesis. Text here from the posts is exactly as
it appears published online, with citations substituted where links would appear in the online
version.

8

2. Faking it - A Lesbian Nightmare

In January 2014, MTV announced at a critics press tour that a new show called Faking It would
air in April 2014. Faking It follows two high school aged best friends who, when mistaken as
lesbians, decide to run with the lie because of the new attention they receive. Media outlets such
as The Hollywood Reporter regurgitated teaser information about the show and interviews from
creator Carter Covington without judgment on the issue of lesbian representation (Ng 2014).
Lesbian-focused AfterEllen championed Faking It, which led to a deluge of criticism from
readers, who said such things as, “girls faking their attraction to other women for attention isn’t
anything new or revolutionary” or “what people are going to take away from this is
that…fetishizing lesbians is okay” (Halterman 2014). Yet, coverage on Faking It that pointed out
possible representational issues in the show, like the views expressed in the comments on
AfterEllen, was missing from the discussion about this new show. My post, “Faking It – A
Lesbian Nightmare,” serves the purpose of calling out Faking It for seeming exploitation of
lesbians.

Faking It – A Lesbian Nightmare
Posted on Versus the Fans January 11, 2014

MTV announced this week it will air a new comedy series starting April called, Faking It (Ng
2014). The premise of the show centers on two high school friends who are mistakenly outted as

9

lesbians, and then they run with it, exploiting their mistaken identity as a lesbian couple in
exchange for popularity. This raises so many red flags; it’s hard to know where to begin.

Show creator, Carter Covington, doesn’t think Faking It will be controversial. He says: “For the
young people today, this show is not going to be controversial. I genuinely think it’s going to
feel like, an exaggerated version, of course, but very much based in the world they live in now”
(Reiher 2014).
What Covington doesn’t seem to realize is he missed the boat completely. It’s not the content
that’s controversial, but the way it’s done. Girls getting together, making out to attract (male)
attention (new popularity because of it.) All that bullshit is not TV news. Lesbians have a long
history of being exploited for sweeps week ratings and fulfilling the fantasies of men who think
two women together are hot—even better when they’re straight women, because hello,
threesome! No thanks.
Convington never considered two male protagonists, which might have been a little less
offensive and if done well—actually groundbreaking. He says, “Female friendship is a very
unique bond that I don’t know is replicated in male friendship” (Ng 2014). What he meant to say
was he didn’t consider male protagonists because women have a mass appeal to male viewers
and the long standing appeal of two women together for all the wrong reasons. Covington took
the easy target of women couples instead of breaking down any real boundaries by showing two
straight men faking it as a gay couple.
It’s also problematic that Covington perpetuates the stereotype that really close female
friendships are in some way sexual. Oprah and Gayle already debunked this tired myth about

10

female friendships, and it would be nice if we could move on to something different all around
instead of making young women have to defend their platonic friendships exhaustively (Kogan
2006).
While Convington claims this show is about identity and figuring out who you are, the need to
do this by trotting all over lesbians is tasteless. There are real young queer women out there and
watching girls ‘fake it’ exacerbate fears for young women looking for authentic romantic
relationships. It’s hard enough to come to terms with being LGBT in high school without the
complication of ‘fakes’ playing with emotions.
Though inspired by calls Convington received while at the Trevor Project from young LGBT
people worried their friends only liking them because they were gay, this hardly represents the
dominant feeling among LGBT teens or the cultural climate (Reiher 2014). Great strides have
been made, but nearly half the country still opposes equality for the LGBT community. This
show isn’t going to help, either.
While yes, as Covington states, this kind of TV content on the surface is no longer controversial,
there is a difference between being progressive to break down barriers and simply re-branding
old tricks. Faking It does the latter, masquerading as positive and edgy, but really, it’s a cheap
new twist on old tropes—exploiting lesbians.
The whole idea about lesbianism being just an act until finding the right man is still a very real
thing in real life. Faking It, by glorifying that performance between these straight girls, only
exacerbates that damaging and still prevalent idea about lesbians. Lesbianism is an act for

11

popularity and to get men to look at you. That could not be further from the truth, and that’s not
how I want to be portrayed.
Which brings me to the next tidbit from Faking It: “an interesting love triangle between two best
friends and [some dude]” (Ng 2014). If this isn’t the worst storytelling nightmare, I don’t know
what is. The large majority of (real) lesbian storylines, on even the most LGBT friendly shows—
Grey’s Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars, Glee—at one point or another have a man involved with the
lesbian characters, not just the bisexual/fluid ones. Again, perpetuating that women, even women
who identify as loving other women, somehow can’t exist without a man interfering.
There is nothing interesting about a threesome—sorry, love triangle—between two fake lesbians
and a man. As a matter of fact, shows like Glee have love triangles–squares, hexagons–down to a
science, even for their LGBT characters (Sleasman 2013). Faking It’s version sounds like just
another horrible stereotype with a modern twist. The fact that these are straight women and not
actually lesbians does not give the show a pass either. Fake or not, they are portraying a lesbian
couple, so what they do matters.
Maybe Faking It will somehow redeem what already looks pretty exploitive and progressively
backwards. It’s hard to say without seeing an episode, and I would love to be pleasantly
surprised. But based on creator Carter Convington’s ill-informed thoughts about female
friendships and lesbians and his inability to identify what’s really controversial about the show, it
sounds to me like Faking It will be a lesbian’s worst nightmare.

12

3. Diversity done right – “The Fosters”

Mike Hale, critic at the New York Times, wrote off The Fosters, an ABC Family show featuring a
racially diverse lesbian couple, as nothing more than “demographic engineering” “so obvious
that […] even the characters notice it” (Hale 2013). But in reality, The Fosters handles same-sex
parents and its racially diverse cast with gravitas, which has been noted repeatedly on LGBT-
focused sites such as AfterEllen and Autostraddle. My post, “Diversity Done Right – ‘The
Fosters,’” not only supports the quality of the show, but as a media watcher, calls out Hale,
whose hasty and inaccurate criticism about The Fosters undermines the show’s importance to
queer women visibility.

Diversity done right – “The Fosters”

Posted on Versus the Fans January 5, 2014

In honor of its return to ABC Family on Monday, now seems like a good time to talk about The
Fosters, the drama about “a multi-ethnic family mix of foster, adopted, and biological kids being
raised by two moms” (IMDB 2013).

Upon the initial airing of the pilot over the summer, Mike Hale, a critic at the New York
Times, decided the diversity of the show was nothing more than “demographic engineering” “so
obvious that […] even the characters notice it” (Hale 2013). But, Hale’s hasty conclusions
about The Fosters, which represents at least two communities of which Hale does not belong to
as a straight man, are just plain wrong.

13

Based just on lesbian parents, Stef (Terri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum), and their multi-faceted
identities, The Fosters is obviously not just about diversity for show, but does a bang up job
representing the lives of women, the LGBT community, and people of color.
The Fosters creates stories that point out Stef and Lena’s specific struggles around their identities
as women, lesbians or Lena’s race, but also as working parents, partners, friends and family. By
doing this, Stef and Lena are three-dimensional characters identifiable to a wide range of
viewers. The Fosters avoids damaging stereotypes at nearly every turn, thus breaking down
misconceptions about the LGBT community.

For example, Stef struggles with her homophobic father:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ZzXffBolU

Here, the show has addressed homophobia in a realistic, compelling manner, authentic to Stef’s
identity as a lesbian. The struggle for acceptance is something that most LGBT people will face
at one point or another. It is not; however, the only issue LGBT people face in their lifetime, but
one piece of an intricate tapestry of experience. That is exactly how The Fosters portrays it—no
room for preaching here. The point is not belabored, and Stef owns her identity—disinviting her
father to the wedding—reaffirming that there is nothing wrong with her sexual orientation.

The Fosters further demonstrates their commitment to accurately portraying diverse characters
by addressing Lena’s racial identity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBjbKeHXwXk

14

This conversation between Lena and her mother, Dana (Lorraine Toussaint) highlights both the
racism experienced by people of color outside and within their own communities, and the
complications of expressing one’s racial identity. It’s more impactful that this conversation
happens between Lena and Dana, because black women are even less visible in society than
black men (Crenshaw 1991).

There is a lot of discourse packed into this conversation between Lena and Dana about race,
highlighting some important issues about race, but does not pretend to offer any sort of solution,
because a solution does not exist yet. To present some, quick, after-school-special type lesson
here would cheapen both complex social issues and Lena and Dana’s characters. Lena walks
away, leaving the conversation hanging in the air, initiating important discussions about race
among viewers.

But, Stef and Lena are more than their sexual orientation or race, and Stef and Lena spend more
time just living their lives as working parents, partners, friends, family and three-dimensional
people. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VavVt6RJX0

This struggle of balance between partners, work and children is common for parents of any
combination of genders. By including that same-sex partners have an active love life without it
being sensationalized, The Fosters represent Stef and Lena as comparable to any other couple.
They are shown being physically affectionate with each other, as any married couple would be.

15

Stef and Lena are humanized in other ways as well. Lena worries about Stef getting injured in
her work as a police officer. They disagree about how to discipline their kids. Stef and Lena also
have a social life outside of their family, inviting friends over for dinners or parties and going out
to events with straight and other lesbian couples. These are just regular people who happen to be
diverse in some aspect of their identity.

The Fosters represents diverse communities with gravitas, and makes these characters into
complex people that nearly everyone can identify with on some level. As Manisha Aggarwal-
Schifellite eloquently states, “On The Fosters, every character is nuanced in their relationship to
the world, and their stories are clearly shaped by their personal experiences and identity
markers” (Aggarwal-Schifellite 2013).

The real life diversity of The Fosters’ creative team may have something to do with their success
in creating relatable, complex and diverse characters. Show runner, Johanna Johnson, is an out
lesbian wife and mother with adopted children (Faye 2013). Peter Paige and Bradley
Bredeweg join her as openly gay executive producers (Halterman 2013). Executive
producer, Jennifer Lopez, lived with her lesbian aunt and cited this as her inspiration for getting
involved with The Fosters (Morgan 2013). When asked in an interview if the diversity of the
creative staff was necessary for diversity on the screen, Bredeweg confirmed, “Yeah, I think so,”
and Paige added, “we would be remiss to not give people real, true, personal, interesting stories
and translate those for the screen” (Faye 2013).

16

Corroborated by the largely positive reception by the queer female population, as evidenced over
at AfterEllen, and positive criticism by African-American women, The Fosters transcends Hale’s
accusations that the unusually diverse cast of characters is only for show (Snarker 2013; Okafor
2013). The Fosters makes an important, positive and compelling contribution to the
representation of marginalized communities through complex, relatable characters like Stef and
Lena.

4. Speak for Yourself – Creating Better Representations

To support and further clarify Versus the Fans’ mission of media watcher, this post, “Speak for
Yourself – Creating Better Representations,” explains why reporting on issues of visibility for
women, the LGBT community and people of color should be permeated with voices from those
communities and not left to critics such as TVLine’s Michael Slezak or New York Times’ Mike
Hale, who are insensitive to the importance of representation.

Speak for Yourself – Creating Better Representations

Posted on Versus the Fans December 15, 2013

In a growing stream of artists called out for racism, Katy Perry’s American Music Awards
performance has been called into question. For those of you who missed it, Perry performed her
song, “Unconditionally” dressed in a kimono, surrounded by a mix of Japanese and other
borrowed Asian cultural elements.

17

An article over at Vulture regarding Perry’s performance, which basically reported Perry was
being condemned as racist and then asking for comments, received reactions that included: ‘It’s
just a performance.’ ‘It demonstrates the beauty of Asian cultures for those who have little
regular exposure to them.’ And, thanks to Perry’s mixing of Asian inspirations, ‘it reinforces the
stereotype that all Asians are the same’ (Fox 2013).

Then, one self-identified white person said that nobody other than the represented culture has the
right to judge what constitutes racism or not (Fox 2013). This concept, allowing people to speak
and judge for themselves, got me thinking beyond music to film, television, and frankly, all the
arts, and which voices are loudest in discussing issues of representation, such as racism, sexism
or homophobia.

In regards to Perry, considering her performance is not still a topic of hot debate months later
(I’m looking at you, Miley Cyrus), it seems Perry is off the hook for now. However, these
conversations happening about music, and also film and television, bring up an excellent point.
Are the voices writing about these issues members of the community being represented? And if
they aren’t, are they really able to give a fair and balanced critique on issues like racism, sexism
and homophobia when these issues don’t directly affect their personal lives?

Not surprisingly, the mainstream media discussion is led predominantly by male voices, and
while the field is diversifying, a lot of these men are also white. And these men are leading the
criticism and discussion about all the music, film and television that permeates popular culture,

18

therefore informing the largest number of readers on how to view and appreciate art. This begs
the question, how could these guys REALLY understand what representations mean to women,
the LGBT community or people of color?

Patricia Hill Collins, a well-respected Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland and
expert in intersectionality and feminism says, “Knowledge is based on lived experiences”
(Collins 2000). Often; however, the people writing about representations are not talking from
personal experience. Taking an example from film criticism, a New York Times piece, titled,
“‘Blue’ Through Lesbian Eyes” is aggregated and written by a MAN, Tim Teeman (Teeman
2013). I find this slightly hilarious, as I have serious doubts this author, Mr. Teeman here, has
lesbian eyes, seeing as a lesbian is by definition, a woman…

To their credit, many critics (including Teeman) get it right despite lacking personal experience.
In Teeman’s article, he collects lesbian reactions to the film, Blue is the Warmest Color. He
correctly reports, largely from his sources’ expertise, the male gaze that tends to permeate
lesbian sex scenes in film. In addition, he in no way disparages the opinions of the lesbians
represented in his article, thus his ability to respectfully and meaningfully comment on a
community which he does not belong to (Teeman 2013).

But often times, reviews about art involving marginalized communities that come from
mainstream critics downplay important moments of representation, fail to mention them at all, or
worse, poke fun at them. Taking an example from TV, after the airing of a Glee episode called
“Swan Song” in December 2012, which included disparaging, fourth wall breaking comments

19

portraying lesbians as irrational, angry people, a review by Michael Slezak on TV
Line lauded Glee’s harmful dialog as simply “meta hilarity” and “cheeky-good writing” (Slezak
2012). To which, the comment responses looked, and rightfully so something like this:

“The ‘cheeky writing’ was offensive. Double standards galore, and a low blow to the Brittana
fandom, who are not all lesbians. Those comments about lesbians were not necessary and VERY
hurtful to a large group of people who want nothing more than to be represented equally. I don’t
think that is too much to ask, and they don’t deserve to be made fun of for it” (Sara 2012).

Slezak, as a man, saw nothing wrong with Glee’s damaging comments during the episode.
Perhaps if he were a member of the lesbian or queer female population, or took the time to
educate himself on why Glee’s comments are hurtful, he might understand how deplorable his
conclusions are, even in a comedic situation. Not only is Glee guilty of perpetuating harmful
stereotypes, but critics such as Slezak who lack a depth in perception or personal experience
further marginalize communities when they write off damaging representations which directly
impact lived experiences, as “cheeky.” It’s in the comment section on articles like these and on
social media where general audience members are left to discuss these issues of representation
with more empathy and understanding than critics of the Slezak variety.

In an article titled, “Television as a Cultural Forum,” television theorists Horace Newcomb and
Paul M. Hirsch argue that TV “functions as a forum in which important cultural topics may be
considered” (Newcomb & Hirsch 1987, 565). It has become part of television’s DNA to incite
discussion, particularly around cultural and social issues. Newcomb & Hirsch also point out that

20

the collective work of professional critics alone is not diverse enough to have a holistic
discussion on the cultural meanings TV has for the diverse audiences it represents or fails to
represent. It is the “ordinary” audience; therefore, whose voice is important to the
conversation. These are the people commenting on articles and writing their own articles just out
of sight of the mainstream media. “[Audiences] find in television texts representations of and
challenges to their own ideas, and must somehow come to terms with what is there” (Newcomb
& Hirsch 1987, 569).

And this is exactly what is happening, largely thanks to social media and blogging. Audiences
talk about TV representations through the lens of their own identity and experiences, creating a
meaningful body of criticism that remains invisible to those who don’t know where to look for it.
For example, surrounding FOX series, Glee (again), “ordinary” audience members comment
regularly on issues such as the double standards between the show’s gay and straight
couples (see above), or questioning the repeated and disturbing use of the stereotype all black
people look the same (Wayne 2012; Gurl Chocolate 2013).

In comedy, these damaging LGBT representations or moments of racism are sometimes intended
to blow those stereotypes to pieces. But, as Kimberle Crenshaw, Critical Race Theory professor
at UCLA points out in her article, “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality Identity, and
Violence Against Women of Color,” “the black community’s historical and ongoing criticism of
such humor suggests widespread rejection of these arguments” (Crenshaw 1991, 1293). Without
African-American voices—who are already talking about these issues online—reaching the

21

mainstream media, shows like Glee, and other attempts at representing marginalized
communities, will continue with harmful representations unchecked.

Again, the communities directly affected by popular representations of themselves in mainstream
art are talking and writing about the arts that get it right, and those that get it really wrong. These
voices should be leading the conversation when issues of representation are called into question.
Furthermore, having a range of criticism from women, the LGBT community or people of color,
affords a fair perspective. Too often one woman, one gay person or one person of color is tasked
with commenting on behalf of entire, diverse communities that are more than their gender,
sexual orientation or color of their skin, or any combination thereof. The same goes for issues of
classism, ableism and beyond.

I am not implying only people from the represented communities have the right to comment.
Diversity in criticism of popular music, film and television is vital. For this same reason, these
important conversations already happening among audience members needs to trickle into the
mainstream media discussion, and lead it. Allowing women, the LGBT community and people of
color to speak for themselves—and more importantly, be heard—about the accuracy and effects
TV, film or music have for their lives, will ultimately create better representations and a more
equal society.

22

5. Sex and ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’

Shortly after the film, Blue is the Warmest Color opened in the United States, Ashton Cooper
from Jezebel noted that many critics had something to say about the lesbian sex scenes in the
film, but too few of those voices were queer women (Cooper 2013). This post, “Sex and Blue is
the Warmest Color,” provides my queer perspective on the film.

Sex and ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’
Posted on Versus the Fans November 25, 2013

Since its inaugural showing at the Cannes Film Festival this year, taking the top prize, Palme
d’Or, the media conversation surrounding Blue is the Warmest Color continues to simmer
(Chang 2013). The focus of the conversation about the lesbian-themed French film is
overwhelmingly about the graphic sex scenes between the two women. As writer Ashton Cooper
over at Jezebel noted this past weekend, in the media reporting on Blue is the Warmest Color,
plenty of commentary exists from male critics, but few female, especially, queer female voices
(Cooper 2013). So, to add to the growing number of queer discussions about this lesbian-filled
film, I add my two cents.

Blue is the Warmest Color follows teenage Adele (Adèle Exarchopoulos) who realizes she has
feelings for another woman, blue-haired art student, Emma (Léa Seydoux). Grappling with this
realization, Adele tries to avoid her feelings before inevitably wandering into a lesbian bar where

23

she encounters Emma again. The pair have immediate chemistry, and from here, the film tells an
honest story about the highs and lows of Emma and Adele’s epic love, which becomes more
complicated than a happily-ever-after.

In the world of lesbianism, I consider myself pretty liberal. I feel no need to barricade myself in a
desolate cabin in the woods screaming, “It’s womyn with a ‘Y’!” and things like Katy Perry’s “I
Kissed a Girl,” don’t ruffle my feathers. I mention this because a lot of disagreement exists
within the queer community on what constitutes acceptable representation, and Blue is the
Warmest Color has incited quite the debate. The fact that a man, Abdellatif Kechiche,
directs Blue is the Warmest Color and the leading ladies are both straight women is enough for
many to write the attempt off completely. I would argue this portrayal of lesbian sex falls short
based on a lack of emotional connection and drawing from porn or stereotypes instead of the real
experiences of queer women to inform the sex sequences.

Though theoretically by definition, there are not men involved, mainstream lesbian porn is
primarily produced by men and for men. This becomes especially obvious when the women have
long acrylic nails, and are peering over the other woman’s vagina or breast to look into the
camera, lustily inviting in the male gaze. In its defense, Blue is the Warmest Color avoids having
Adele and Emma focus on anything other than each other during the sex scenes. Kechiche’s
intent was to show the passion these two women had for each other, not exploit their sexuality.
He may have fallen short, but the attempt does not feel merely titillating to make a film about
lesbians more appealing to male viewers. What Blue is the Warmest Color shares with porn;
however, is an absence of a connection between the two women beyond the physical.

24

The lack of emotion between Emma and Adele makes the sex sequences seem off,
uncomfortable and disingenuous. The two women’s actions feel more clinical than passionate,
like they are checking off from a list of actions people conceive lesbian sex to consist of; oral
sex, fingering from various angles, 69ing, scissoring and so on.
As Julie Maroh, creator of the graphic novel the film is based on, now famously stated, “It
appears to me that this was what was missing on the set: lesbians” (Maroh 2013). This statement
rings true. Without enough involvement of real women who have sexual experience with other
women, all the filmmakers and actors have to go off of are mainstream stereotypes of lesbian
sex. The scenes were bound to garner a lot of attention because of their explicit nature, but
refreshingly, not because they are outright offensive. There was an effort made here to show
something real. It just didn’t quite work.

The extreme strength of this film is it does not make a big deal about the sexuality of the
protagonists. In an evolving body of work surrounding the LGBT community, Blue is the
Warmest Color strives to tell a realistic, sometimes uncomfortable story about imperfect people
who fall in love, screw up and grow in different directions.

In reality, Adele and Emma could have been any combination of genders and the story would
feel just as realistic. These representations, which humanize the romantic experiences of the
LGBT community, are the most powerful narratives to affect change. You don’t need to be an
LGBT person to understand Adele’s hurt as Emma looks adoringly at another woman, or
Emma’s frustration at Adele’s inability to be faithful; you just need to be human.

25

Despite the seemingly good intention of the film, the sex scenes are not the only problematic
elements of Blue is the Warmest Color. Particularly, Kechiche’s cinematography choices, which
focus inappropriately on Adele’s body parts, have been called to attention by film critic,
Manohla Dargis at The New York Times (Dargis 2013). Regardless, Blue is the Warmest
Color continues to be an important facilitator of discussion surrounding the representation of
lesbians, sex and the female body in film.

But most importantly, once the conversation about the sex wears out, Blue is the Warmest
Color simply tells a realistic love story, a bit of a messy one. The fact that the main characters
are lesbians is an added bonus.

6. The Trouble with ‘Glee’

One of the first writing assignments I had to complete for this Master’s program was a personal
essay, leaving “blood on the page,” about my favorite piece of art. Picking Glee and lesbian
character Santana’s coming out storyline was the easy and obvious choice, but it took hours to
figure out how to put the ‘why’ in words. Talking about Glee required me to explore the depth of
how that lesbian storyline affected me both personally and professionally in a way I wasn’t sure I
was ready for at the time. The result of that assignment, and now blog post, “The Trouble with

26

‘Glee’,” describes my deep personal connection with that show and defines the direction of my
work with Versus the Fans.

The Trouble with ‘Glee’
Posted on Versus the Fans September 30, 2013

I was frantically running around my bedroom, angling my computer just right to capture the
action on the TV screen and making sure my computer wouldn’t go to sleep in the middle of
recording. (This is what I call poor woman’s DVR.) I chewed all my fingernails off with anxiety
before I even left the house in fear my sad attempt at recording a live television
show wouldn’t capture what I needed it to. I barely made it out the door on time. What was
wrong with me?

On that night, Glee was airing its season three Valentine’s Day episode. At the time, I was still
trying to convince myself I wanted to be a professional saxophone player (along with denying
other parts of my identity). So, I was out the door to rehearse a big saxophone solo I was
performing with a local orchestra. Unfortunately, the rehearsal time was scheduled so that I
might miss all or part of the Valentine’s Day episode of Glee. Sure, I could watch it later, but
there was no way that was going to cut it. Not at all. Rumor had it, and oh, I don’t know, maybe
twenty episodes overdue, that the beautiful moment when Santana and Brittany would kiss for
the first time was happening that night.

27

It was crazy. It’s just a television show. Even as a kid, (with the exception of Power Rangers,
circa 1994), I never cared about TV and I never understood why other people got so excited
about it. That is, until Glee wrote a lesbian character, Santana, and couple, Santana & Brittany.
Santana’s coming out storyline during seasons two and early season three was life changing for
thousands of young people around the globe. And fine, me too.
It took me months to understand why I was having a late-life fan girl crisis. It was (and still is)
slightly humiliating. But, here’s the truth. It’s way more than that. Yes, Santana may just be a
fictional TV character, but the story resonated so much deeper than just another TV
show. Glee marked the first time I had ever seen a lesbian or lesbian couple on TV, and Santana
& Brittany looked so happy in that Valentine’s Day episode, a possibility I had given up on for
myself. Fiction or not, Santana & Brittany’s story was also part of my story, and that changed
things in a big way.

I realize now Santana singing “Rumor Has It/Someone Like Me” at the pinnacle of her coming
out arc took my breath away because my personal story should have been like Santana’s. I had
known from a young age I was different, that I was gay, but I didn’t know what that meant. I
lived in a conservative, rural town in a homophobic family. By the time I got to high school,
Santana’s age, it would be many more years before I could even think about untangling my
sexuality from sexual abuse. I never got the chance to come of age as a queer woman like
Santana did, but somehow watching her story unfold on TV years later as an adult filled a void I
didn’t realize I needed to address.

28

In that moment, I was convinced that TV is a place where magic happens. I can’t change my past
anymore than the next person, but what I can do is heal it by making the world easier for other
young women. When TV characters resonate so strongly with our own souls, they transcend
being ‘just’ fiction: they become our hopes, dreams, experiences and identities projected on the
small screen week after week. I never imagined a campy TV show about a singing troupe of
teenagers would be so important to me, but it is.

Me frantically trying to MacGyver my computer into a DVR to capture that first Brittany &
Santana kiss on Glee is simultaneously highly embarrassing and a perfect example of why
positive representation for minorities is so important on TV; it helps people understand and
accept who they are. Even after years of studying music and trying to find a deeper meaning in
my saxophone playing, I could never get anywhere close compared to the emotional impact of
Santana bearing her soul time and time again, leading to her coming out speech to her abuela,
which concluded: “I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m just too tired. I just have to be me.”

And so, in all its inspirational and infuriating glory, Santana’s story on Glee is the unexpected
key that unlocked my own path to just being me.

29

Conclusion

Queer female representation in entertainment has an enormous impact on the women portrayed
and their acceptance by society. According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GLAAD), “polls commissioned by GLAAD and The Hollywood Reporter found that seeing
LGBT characters on television was a contributing factor in viewer’s opinions of LGBT people
growing more favorable over the years” (Kane 2013). Positive visibility leads to political and
cultural change. Accurate, fair and relatable representations are crucial in making strides towards
equality (Guccini 2013). While the TV shows themselves are the epicenter of focus, the entire
entertainment eco-system—show creators, industry executives, audiences, fandom, advocacy or
watch dog groups, and entertainment reporters and critics—are all essential for continuing to
improve and increase visibility for the LGBT community.

LGBT representation on TV has improved almost yearly, as tracked by GLAAD’s “National
Responsibility Index,” a report that quantitatively tracks the hours of LGBT content on
primetime TV. Between the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 TV seasons, four out of five broadcast
networks and six out of ten cable networks increased LGBT content in their programming (Kane
2013). However, these same gains in visibility do not seem to transfer to male-dominated
reporting on entertainment, especially for queer women. Entertainment reporting from the most
recognizable publications, such as New York Times, New Yorker, The Hollywood Reporter or
TVLine, still allow a disparate number of men to comment on what fair representation looks like
for queer women.

30

Larger publishers cluttering valuable space with judgments from reporters with no lived
experience or sensitivity, obscures and possibly obliterates any gains in visibility for queer
women on actual TV screens. An understanding to report on visibility for marginalized
communities with empathy can be learned through talking to or reading the thoughts of members
of those communities, but this is not reflected in the reporting yet. Furthermore, queer women
need space in the journalistic arena to speak for themselves. Sites such as AfterEllen and
Autostraddle allow this to happen, but the authors on these sites need to find their way to a much
broader audience to continue to fuel the political gains for the LGBT community that TV shows
and the discussion surrounding them foster. For this reason, Versus the Fans will continue not
only to provide a queer female perspective on entertainment, but also take to task reporters who
get queer women coverage wrong. Media reporting about queer women is nearly as important as
the representations themselves.

When both TV shows and media coverage constantly strive for honest and real representation,
queer women will truly have a visible, better place not only on screen, but also in the real world.
As actress Gabourey Sidibe says, “If I get to see myself on screen, then I know I exist” (Von
Berg 2012).

31

References

"After AfterEllen's Blog | Just another WordPress.com weblog." After After Ellens Blog.
http://afterafterellen.wordpress.com/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Aggarwal-Schifellite, Manisha. "Love & Relationships." The Fosters and the Successes of
Representation. http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2013/09/the-fosters-and-the-successes-of-
representation/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Alex. "Curiouser and Curiouser (So today the beautiful Monica Raymund (Gabriela...)."
Curiouser and Curiouser (So today the beautiful Monica Raymund (Gabriela...).
http://littleladyfabray.tumblr.com/post/76218825561/so-today-the-beautiful-monica-raymund-
gabriela (accessed March 1, 2014).
Chang, Justin. "CANNES: ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ Wins Palme d’ Or." Variety.
http://variety.com/2013/film/news/cannes-blue-is-the-warmest-color-wins-palme-d-or-
1200488202/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Cooper, Ashton. "Blue is the Warmest Color and the Lesbian Experience." Jezebel.
http://jezebel.com/blue-is-the-warmest-color-and-the-lesbian-experience-1459688416 (accessed
March 1, 2014).
Dargis, Manohla. "Seeing You Seeing Me." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/movies/the-trouble-with-blue-is-the-warmest-
color.html?_r=0 (accessed February 28, 2014).
Faye, Denis. "The Fosters' Peter Paige & Bradley Bredeweg." The Fosters' Peter Paige &
Bradley Bredeweg. http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5272 (accessed March 1,
2014).
Fox, Jesse David. "Music Awards Racism Spot-Check: Katy Perry Edition." Vulture.
http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/awards-racism-spot-check-katy-perry-edition.html (accessed
March 1, 2014).
GLAAD. "GLAAD Media Awards Nominees #glaadawards." GLAAD.
http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/nominees (accessed March 1, 2014).
Glintz. "Glee Shipper Census ." Glee Shipper Census - Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1A6pdfhGJSTS8J7zxil9bmh9RCiScWqZKi_vsOGt2piY/
edit#slide=id.g2f950234_4_64 (accessed March 3, 2014).
Guccini, Jill. "Black Lesbians on Reality TV: The Good, The Bad, the In-Between."
AfterEllen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/black-lesbians-on-reality-tv-the-good-the-bad-the-in-
between/11/2013/?xrs=synd_facebook_ellen (accessed November 27, 2013).

32

Hale, Mike. "Gay, Hispanic, Adoptive: A Triple-Threat Family." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/arts/television/the-fosters-on-abc-family.html?_r=0
(accessed March 1, 2014).
Halterman, Jim. "Peter Paige and Bradley Bedeweg: The Men Behind “The Fosters”."
thebacklot.com. http://www.thebacklot.com/video/peter-paige-and-bradley-bedeweg-tthe-fosters/
(accessed March 1, 2014).
Halterman, Jim. "“Faking It” has straight girls pretending to be lesbians." AfterEllen.com.
http://www.afterellen.com/faking-it-has-straight-girls-pretending-to-be-lesbians/01/2014/
(accessed March 1, 2014).
IMDb.com. "The Fosters." IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262532/?ref_=nv_sr_1
(accessed March 1, 2014).
Kane, Matt. "2013 National Responsibility Index." GLAAD.
http://www.glaad.org/files/2013NRI.pdf (accessed March 1, 2014).
Kogan, Lisa. "Gayle King and Oprah Uncensored - The O Magazine Interview - Oprah.com."
Oprah.com. http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Gayle-King-and-Oprah-Uncensored-The-O-
Magazine-Interview/2 (accessed March 1, 2014).
Los Angeles Times. "Editorial Staff." Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/la-
mediacenter-editorial_staff,0,6379061.htmlstory#ixzz2uewalW7Q (accessed March 1, 2014).
Maroh, Julie. "Adele's Blue." The original color. http://sd-4.archive-
host.com/membres/up/204771422545612119/Adele_blue.pdf (accessed March 1, 2014).
Mintzer, Jordan. "Blue Is the Warmest Color: Cannes Review - The Hollywood Reporter." The
Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/blue-is-warmest-
color/review/527347 (accessed March 1, 2014).
Mitovich, Matt Webb. "About Us." TVLine. http://tvline.com/about-us/ (accessed March 1,
2014).
Morgan, Glennisha. "Jennifer Lopez's Lesbian Aunt: Star Says 'The Fosters' TV Show Inspired
By Late Relative." The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/jennifer-
lopez-declares-the-fosters_n_3149200.html (accessed March 1, 2014).
Ng, Philiana. "'Faking It': 5 Things to Know About MTV's New Comedy Series." The
Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/mtvs-faking-5-things-know-
669849 (accessed March 1, 2014).

33

O'Riordan, Aoife. "Consider the Tea Cosy." Consider the Tea Cosy.
http://considertheteacosy.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/when-gay-women-get-boyfriends-more-
lesbian-biphobia-from-afterellen/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Okafor, Udoka. "The Fosters: A Revolutionary Television Show." The Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/udoka-okafor/the-fosters-a-revolutiona_b_3668131.html
(accessed March 1, 2014).
"Random Thoughts." Gurl Chocolate.
http://gurlchocolate.tumblr.com/post/67967253049/implied-racism-on-glee-samcedes-canon-
bubbles-and (accessed March 1, 2014).
Reiher, Andrea. "MTV's 'Faking It' creator: Fake-lesbian storyline won't be controversial."
MTV’s ‘Faking It’ creator: Fake-lesbian storyline won’t be controversial.
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2014/01/mtvs-faking-it-creator-fake-lesbian-storyline-
wont-be-controversial.html (accessed March 1, 2014).
Sara. "Glee Recap: The Best, or Nothing at All." TVLine. http://tvline.com/2012/12/06/glee-
recap-season-4-swan-song-nyada-winter-showcase/#comment-773124 (accessed March 1,
2014).
Sleasman, MaryAnn. "The Many Permutations of Glee's Romantic Relationships: An Illustrated
Guide." TV.com. http://www.tv.com/news/the-many-permutations-of-glees-romantic-
relationships-an-illustrated-guide-30515/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Slezak, Michael. "Glee Recap: The Best, or Nothing at All." TVLine.
http://tvline.com/2012/12/06/glee-recap-season-4-swan-song-nyada-winter-showcase/ (accessed
March 1, 2014).
Snarker, Dorothy. "Review: “The Fosters” delivers family drama with endless heart."
AfterEllen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/review-the-fosters-delivers-family-drama-with-
endless-heart/06/2013/ (accessed March 1, 2014).
Teeman, Tim. "‘Blue,’ Through Lesbian Eyes." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/fashion/blue-is-the-warmest-color-through-lesbian-
eyes.html?_r=0&gwh=F2F52742C841E2B21C1C767F413C06C5&gwt=pay (accessed March 1,
2014).
The L Chat. "AfterEllen." The L Chat. http://s1.zetaboards.com/L_Anon/topic/4629624/1/
(accessed March 1, 2014).
The New York Times. "The New York Times - Arts." The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.html?module=HPMiniNav&contentCollection=Arts&
pgtype=Homepage®ion=TopBar&action=click&t=qry720 (accessed February 28, 2014).

34

The New Yorker. "The New Yorker." The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/ (accessed
February 28, 2014).
Wayne, Julia. "Does Glee Have a Double Standard for Gay Relationships?." Wetpaint.
http://www.wetpaint.com/glee/articles/does-glee-have-a-double-standard-for-gay-relationships
(accessed March 1, 2014).
Yunnanmom. "Proudly So." Proudly So. http://yunnanmom.tumblr.com/post/77477321736/and-
on-another-note-fucking-afterellen-loves-to-stir (accessed March 1, 2014).
Von Berg, Jason. "What to expect from the Oscars." DStv. http://www.dstv.com/News/What-to-
expect-from-the-Oscars/66891 (accessed March 1, 2014).

35

Appendix A: Brittana Fans Launch a Counter Attack on ‘Glee’
When a December 2012 episode of the television show, Glee, titled “Swan Song,” went out of its
way to break the fourth wall and imply lesbians are angry man haters, the double standards and
damaging representation of lesbians that occurred in the episode went largely unnoticed by
mainstream media sources. As a result, the writing and lobbying of Glee’s young queer female
fans was erased. This episode of Glee and the intelligent, passionate writing from other queer
women that came out of it inspired my own post titled, “Brittana Fans Launch a Counter Attack
on ‘Glee’.” This 2012 post garnered over 2500 views and became part of a fan-driven campaign
lobbying Fox to address Glee’s offensive comments in addition to serving as the launching point
for my blog, Versus the Fans. Because of this post’s age, it is excluded as an official part of this
thesis, and has been included in the Appendix for reference. The text and format of this post
appears here as it is in the published version on the blog.

Brittana Fans Launch a Counter Attack on ‘Glee’
Posted on Versus the Fans December 23, 2012
Glee is not a show unfamiliar to fan uproars, outrages and campaigning via social media, and I
will probably write a lot about it. The various divisions of the Glee fandom have a HUGE,
LOUD social media presence. This time, fans are going after the double standards for queer
women on the show as displayed in a recent episode of Glee titled, “Swan Song” (Season 04,
Episode 09).

36

The most interesting thing happened when Glee directly and offensively attacked its Brittana fan
base with crude stereotype jokes about the angry “Lesbian Blogging Community” in this
episode.
The most offensive dialog delivered in the episode went like this, verbatim:
It started with:
Brittany: I can’t.
Sam: Is it my lips?
Brittany: No. Your lips are so soft and horizontal. I just like you too much to put you in danger.
Sam: Santana broke up with you.
Brittany: No, it’s not just Santana. It’s like, all the lesbians of the nation, and I don’t know how
they found out about Santana and I dating, but once they did, they started sending me, like,
tweets and Facebook messages on Lord Tubbington’s wall. I think it means a lot to them to see
two super hot, popular girls in love, and I worry if they find out about you and I dating that
they’ll turn on you and get really violent and hurt your beautiful face and mouth.
And finished later with this:
Brittany: You make me happy, Sam. And I don’t want to waste any more time not smiling at your
hilariousness.
Sam: What about the lesbian blogger community?
Brittany: They’re not gonna like it, but the way I figure is that, they know they’re my sisters, and
love is love.

37

If you are unsure if this is offensive or not, let’s change the minority group from “lesbian” to
“African-American”, or any minority group really, and try again. This version comes from
Heather Hogan’s recap at After Ellen.

“I’m worried because of the Black Blogger Community. I think it meant a lot to them, seeing you
and Mercedes together, because she’s not the typical stick-thin white girl writers usually pair
guys like you with. And I’m worried those angry black people will hurt my perfect face.”
Get it yet? I hope so.

Here’s what’s interesting. Thanks to spoilers, the week leading up to, during and after the
episode, fans starting calling foul on Glee’s horrendous treatment of their queer female couple,
Brittany and Santana (Brittana). The fan base went to town on the now familiar campaign trail
regarding this particular couple. All of the following content was fandom created and cited as
accurately as possible.
Glee’s first mistake is that the Brittana fandom is NOT all lesbian; Brittana has a diverse fan
base.

38

The reason the “lesbians” or bisexuals or gays or straight allies or other people with eyeballs and
a conscience, have been causing an uproar are the obvious double standards Glee has between
hetero and same-sex couples, specifically Brittana.
The proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the charts. All fan generated.

39

40

41

42

Through social media, Brittana fans urged each other to write letters to Fox, comment on their
Facebook page, and tweet directly to the network. Other posts offered suggestions on what to
say and how to approach network executives. Fans also urged each other not to watch the
episode live on TV to negatively impact the ratings.
Then there was YouTube. Again, fans gave the promo video for “Swan Song” a thumbs down
and left comments on the video expressing displeasure about the upcoming episode. The
comment section on the YouTube video got so heated, the GleeOnFox official YouTube channel
started monitoring, censoring and deleting comments.
There was trending on Twitter, which was done not only by the Brittana fans, but other segments
of the fandom as well. Normally competing for interest, even other members of the Glee fandom
could understand the creators really screwed this one up. Before, during and after the episode,
Brittana trends were all over Twitter. (Note: “Swan Song” aired 12/06/2012)

43

The storm brewing before “Swan Song” even aired was volatile. People were livid and they
were loading their social media cannons for the moment the episode aired. I saw some of the
most positive people I know on Twitter who always defended the Glee creators crack because of
the lesbian comments. Completely crack.
And so, show runner Ryan Murphy hops on Twitter about 15 minutes before the show is set to
air on the East Coast. This is the power of having the show runner on Twitter – direct line to the
boss himself to do damage control and throw some water on the blazing fan fire. Ryan Murphy’s
strategy? A question and answer on Twitter. Now, Ryan’s normal responses to Brittana fans
usually look something like this:

44

However, before “Swan Song”, Ryan Murphy’s responses looked more like this:

This was obvious and marginally effective damage control by offering hope to hurt and angry
Brittana fans. The Glee creators do not; however, have a good track record for following
through on these comments, and fans have been fighting for Brittana since the “Sex isn’t dating

45

comment” all the way back in Season 1. In any case, Ryan made it sound like Brittana fans
could look forward to some fair treatment. Normally, Ryan either ignores or is outright hostile to
Brittana fans. In case you forgot, here is another example:

I can understand that Ryan Murphy probably gets mountains of negative, hateful and belligerent
tweets, which I absolutely denounce. However, I do not for one minute believe that the Brittana
fandom is the only culprit; other shippers are just as upset with the treatment of their ships and
the inconsistent writing Glee has become notorious for. The difference is Brittana fans are
victim of some serious double standards. Thanks to “Swan Song”, Brittana are now the only fan
base pettily scolded on air during a show that prides itself on “equality”.
Back to the fans. I have never seen so many comments, charts, essays and writing fighting for
change and fighting to get people to understand what the fans were really upset about. Here is

46

what Glee got VERY wrong. They wrongly assumed the Brittana fandom, also wrongly
assumed to be all lesbian, were mad that a bisexual character went from kissing a girl to kissing a
boy. In reality, the problem is blatant double standards. (Please reference the above charts on
double standards.)
While the Glee creators obviously have a right to write their show as they see fit, being self-
proclaimed as “revolutionary” gives them a responsibility to follow through. Why? Because
they said their show was about equality, and it isn’t equal. In order to, in good conscious,
continue to receive accolades from LGBTQ advocate organizations, Glee needs to fix the double
standards.
It will be interesting to see where this heads, as Glee is only halfway through the season. The
show hasn’t been doing strong with ratings this year, and the episode the week following “Swan
Song” dropped in rating about 9%.

47

Appendix B: Versus the Fans screen shots

www.versusthefans.com

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Founded in December 2012, Versus the Fans (versusthefans.com) is a blog, which aims to amplify and celebrate the value of popular art, especially television, in giving a voice to women and the LGBT community, in addition to serving as a media watcher. This thesis is mostly written content from my blog, Versus the Fans, including articles about the representation of queer women both in entertainment and entertainment reporting.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The Nutcracker network

PDF

Skid Row culture: an embedded journalist's exploration of art and community in the nation's homeless capital

PDF

Screenwriting in the digital age: for the first time, new technology and distribution methods give feature film writers power to make a living outside Hollywood studios

PDF

Latino voices from the infinite city: Raquel Gutiérrez and Rubén Martínez

PDF

Stance on dance: creating dialogue and community around dance

PDF

Battle rap gospel: the story of the Tunnel Rats

PDF

Pop the politics

PDF

An old art in a new home: Beijing Opera in Los Angeles

PDF

Does inequality begin on Greek Row?

PDF

Jazz in south Los Angeles and its connection to the community arts

PDF

What happened to critical criticism? Art criticism expressing a negative opinion seems to be a dying breed, but this is how we save it from extinction – for we must

PDF

Art of the possible: a reappraisal of the Eugenia Butler Gallery

PDF

Off the record: reimagining unrecorded histories

PDF

The drive home: a podcasting journey

PDF

The changing face of arts journalism: an embedding experiment with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

PDF

The 818 session: a krump community rizes in North Hollywood

PDF

Charlie's lot

PDF

Fear and penury in Los Angeles

PDF

Give up tomorrow: how documentary uses new digital platforms to create social change

PDF

Meet the millennials: on the spirituality fence

Asset Metadata

Creator Fabian, Renée Y. (author)

Core Title Versus the fans

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism (The Arts)

Publication Date 04/29/2014

Defense Date 04/28/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag fandom,LGBT,OAI-PMH Harvest,queer,Versus the fans,Women

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Anawalt, Sasha (committee chair), Page, Tim (committee member), Trope, Alison (committee member)

Creator Email rfabian@usc.edu,ryfabian@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-406122

Unique identifier UC11296393

Identifier etd-FabianRene-2453.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-406122 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-FabianRene-2453.pdf

Dmrecord 406122

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Fabian, Renée Y.; Fabian, Renee Y.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA