If you all aren’t watching Glee now – you should catch up soon because it is so fucking good!!
Anyhoo – today I’m watching, what I will call, The Body Image show (or Home as the writer’s termed it). Mercedes is grappling with peer pressure and unrealistic expectations on image and acceptance. Then you see Quinn, the bitch of all bitches early in the season, be the one reaching out to tell Mercedes one of the biggest lessons she’s had since she got pregnant – if she can adjust to do the right things to take care of her baby, why wouldn’t she do it for herself as well?
So what I wonder – who is getting these messages? I honestly, truly hope that there are teens out there watching this and taking it in. That maybe they will show up at school tomorrow and tell that bully to kiss off. And I mean the girl bullies, the ones that cut you with their words not physical acts. Perhaps watching the characters like Quinn transform and learn lessons in high school that some of us didn’t even figure out until after college?! One of the things I love about this show are those stories, the examples of real-life lessons that most of us may not learn until later. Can you imagine if an army of teens got it 15 years earlier than most? Although it may be a detriment to the mental health community – the rewards far outweigh those risks. How fucking powerful would the future turn out to be?
I may not allow A to read the Twilight series – but I sure will sit her down to watch Glee when it’s time. I don’t want to control my daughter. I want to help her avoid those extra stupid mistakes I made along the way. How much time, energy and money have I wasted on body image and all that’s wrapped up in those two little words. It scares me, it really does. Because a few weeks ago, she started asking me how much “fat” was in the food she was about to eat and how she doesn’t want to eat any “fat” and that’s not good for you and she likes that she’s thin. She’s 7!! I cannot tell her enough times it’s about smart choices and moderation and getting exercise – that a human body does need fat to survive and isn’t it so much better to eat olives or nuts or regular yogurt than some crap off the supermarket shelf that has multiples-more chemicals listed than actual food product? I should have known this was coming early. I still want to cling onto the innocence of being 7 and in 1st grade and enjoying her life – not have to reeducate and battle on the “fat” or body image with her.
Please just give me some more time with the innocence. Please…