If people actually think this show is bad and sends a bad message, they haven't seen it. I was one of the people who thought the show could offend people in the LGBT community but then I gave the show a chance. I went in with an open mind and sure enough, it is a good show and it does send a good message. I know ALOT of lesbians and female YouTubers who were skeptical but gave it a chance and now they love the show. The message is pretty clear, actually. If anything, It makes the LGBT community look good rather than look bad. Plus this show also makes references to the Trevor Project which is a suicide hotline for gay and lesbian teens. It's a surprisingly good, somewhat misleading show. Give it chance before you judge it.
I just watched two episodes, and while the references to PFLAG and The Trevor Project are nice, it still upset me, as a member of the GLBTQ community. The characters who are gay in the show are portrayed in terribly stereotypical ways, and the message that gay people will dominate an "open minded campus" (as in straights pay for prom, gays get in free) is offensive.
°
Unless the message shifts and becomes radically different, it's just making light of the struggles actual GLBTQ students have day to day. Referencing the Trevor Project while showing absolutely 0% discrimination and bullying happens (in fact, you become popular!!) is very unhelpful. There is a reason it exists, because so many teenage GLBTQ people do attempt or commit suicide because of the realities out there. They don't even acknowledge that.
(1/3) you have to actually sat down and really watched the show. It's really not that offensive. It has it problems I’ll admit, sometimes it’s almost too campy, but it’s really a story about a girl struggling with coming to terms with the fact that she is gay and has feelings for her (as of now straight) best friend, which is a very real situation for many people including the creator of the show. Yes the Hester High is not a normal high school, there are very very few schools that would welcome and celebrate people who are gay, and that is a damn shame. The point of Hester High is not to be realistic but to be what we want high school to be like for young gay people (or for anyone who is different for that matter). It’s the ideal.
The point of the show is not two straight girl’s pretending to be gay to be popular. The point is that Amy dealing with the real internal struggle that many young gay people go through. It’s about the dangers of putting labels
(2/3) on people because when you do they are reduced to those simple descriptions. It’s about not having everything figured out about yourself in high school and saying that’s okay. Don’t fake being something you’re not, be yourself. Also the show is aware of the original subject matter for the show, they knew people would judge it, they even point out in the first episode that girl’s pretending to be gay to become popular is, and I quote, “mocking the gay rights movement.” They realize this show from the outside looking in could be taken as one thing, but it’s really not. Also the show is not going to always be about the lie these two girls are pulling, at some point Amy will come out to Karma and at some point they will move on from the initial premise of the show. Lastly it’s a
(3/3) television show, a television show that got pre-approved by GLAAD and The Trevor Project before it was aired. A television show that both organizations support. A television show that AfterEllen has even said has the potential of being a very good thing for the LGBT community. A television show that is telling young teens that it is okay to be who you are, instead of being scared. Yes, the world is not as accepting as Hester High but maybe if we had more shows that celebrated people coming out instead of showing how awful it is maybe just maybe people will start celebrating it in the real world as well. The point is don’t prejudge the show and understand that it’s a show that is more then what it seems.
°
Unless the message shifts and becomes radically different, it's just making light of the struggles actual GLBTQ students have day to day. Referencing the Trevor Project while showing absolutely 0% discrimination and bullying happens (in fact, you become popular!!) is very unhelpful. There is a reason it exists, because so many teenage GLBTQ people do attempt or commit suicide because of the realities out there. They don't even acknowledge that.
The point of the show is not two straight girl’s pretending to be gay to be popular. The point is that Amy dealing with the real internal struggle that many young gay people go through. It’s about the dangers of putting labels