ShyGuyInChicago
October 20th, 2011, 03:03 PM
‘Glee’ Storyline Sparks an Adoption Controversy Online - TIME NewsFeed (http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/14/glee-storyline-sparks-an-adoption-controversy-online/#ixzz1bLzLJW74)
It's no secret that Glee has a flair for the dramatic, but this time it may have gone too far. The show's most recent adoption storyline has sparked a petition urging executive producer Ryan Murphy and Fox to create a PSA about “adoption realities.”
For those not setting their DVR to tape Glee every week, here's a summary of what has adoptive parents in a tizzy. Seventeen-year-old former cheerleader Quinn got pregnant and delivered a baby last season, and gave it up for adoption to a woman named Shelby (played by Idina Menzel). This season, Quinn is set on getting her baby back at all costs, even taking on a kind of double good girl/bad girl personality so that she can prove she's fit to be a mother to judges when the time comes.
(PHOTOS: Glee's Broadway Roots (http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1980970,00.html))
“In real, legitimate adoptions, a birth mother cannot simply take a child away from their family or pop back into a child's life,” assures (http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-glee-and-fox-to-separate-adoption-fact-from-fiction-produce-a-psa-about-adoption-reality)Amber Austin, who started the petition at Change.org. “…however this is one of the most pervasive and harmful myths about adoption.”
Those familiar with adoption procedures know that the story line is ludicrous, but seeing as it is a show primarily geared toward kids, NewsFeed is guessing they're not as clued in with how things go down. Adoptive parents are upset about the storyline, and rightfully so—how must all the young adopted children watching the show feel after all of this?
“For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families. And for adoptive parents and birth mothers, the show creates confusion about the nature of adoption—confusion and mistruths that proponents of adoption constantly work to dispel,” Austin writes.
Austin calls for the PSA by Fox and Glee to “separate fact from fiction” regarding adoption, which seems like a reasonable request considering the number of worried and anxious children that are most likely now having to be reassured by their parents that they won't be taken away. The petition currently has more than 1,500 signatures online, and NewsFeed guesses the show will have to respond sooner or later.
MORE: Teen Moms Are Taking Over Reality TV. Is That a Good Thing? (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2081928,00.html)
'Glee': Parents Group Calls Foul on Adoption Storyline (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-glee-adoption-petition-246668) (The Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/))
Ask Glee and FOX to separate adoption fact from fiction (http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-glee-and-fox-to-separate-adoption-fact-from-fiction-produce-a-psa-about-adoption-reality) (Change.org (http://www.change.org/))
Read more: ‘Glee’ Storyline Sparks an Adoption Controversy Online - TIME NewsFeed (http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/14/glee-storyline-sparks-an-adoption-controversy-online/#ixzz1bM0uhoFH)
It's no secret that Glee has a flair for the dramatic, but this time it may have gone too far. The show's most recent adoption storyline has sparked a petition urging executive producer Ryan Murphy and Fox to create a PSA about “adoption realities.”
For those not setting their DVR to tape Glee every week, here's a summary of what has adoptive parents in a tizzy. Seventeen-year-old former cheerleader Quinn got pregnant and delivered a baby last season, and gave it up for adoption to a woman named Shelby (played by Idina Menzel). This season, Quinn is set on getting her baby back at all costs, even taking on a kind of double good girl/bad girl personality so that she can prove she's fit to be a mother to judges when the time comes.
(PHOTOS: Glee's Broadway Roots (http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1980970,00.html))
“In real, legitimate adoptions, a birth mother cannot simply take a child away from their family or pop back into a child's life,” assures (http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-glee-and-fox-to-separate-adoption-fact-from-fiction-produce-a-psa-about-adoption-reality)Amber Austin, who started the petition at Change.org. “…however this is one of the most pervasive and harmful myths about adoption.”
Those familiar with adoption procedures know that the story line is ludicrous, but seeing as it is a show primarily geared toward kids, NewsFeed is guessing they're not as clued in with how things go down. Adoptive parents are upset about the storyline, and rightfully so—how must all the young adopted children watching the show feel after all of this?
“For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families. And for adoptive parents and birth mothers, the show creates confusion about the nature of adoption—confusion and mistruths that proponents of adoption constantly work to dispel,” Austin writes.
Austin calls for the PSA by Fox and Glee to “separate fact from fiction” regarding adoption, which seems like a reasonable request considering the number of worried and anxious children that are most likely now having to be reassured by their parents that they won't be taken away. The petition currently has more than 1,500 signatures online, and NewsFeed guesses the show will have to respond sooner or later.
MORE: Teen Moms Are Taking Over Reality TV. Is That a Good Thing? (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2081928,00.html)
'Glee': Parents Group Calls Foul on Adoption Storyline (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fox-glee-adoption-petition-246668) (The Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/))
Ask Glee and FOX to separate adoption fact from fiction (http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-glee-and-fox-to-separate-adoption-fact-from-fiction-produce-a-psa-about-adoption-reality) (Change.org (http://www.change.org/))
Read more: ‘Glee’ Storyline Sparks an Adoption Controversy Online - TIME NewsFeed (http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/14/glee-storyline-sparks-an-adoption-controversy-online/#ixzz1bM0uhoFH)