Although not necessarily about tweens, the Fox television show Glee looks at a Glee club at a fictional high school. Watching reruns, I really liked Chris Colfer’s character, Kurt Hummel, who in the first season decides to come out. Watching Kurt’s character, and to be honest, laughing a bit when remembering what his father told him upon admitting his sexual orientation, made me wonder how gay teens are presented in the media and what types of resources were available to tweens.
Interestingly, I did find an article on Entertainment Weekly asking such a question about gay teens and tween networks (Armstrong, 2011). The article notes that many of today’s popular teen shows have a well represented amount of gay characters. Gay characters noticeably missing however, are shows on tween networks: Disney and Nickelodeon. Stating that Disney still feels that homosexuality is inappropriate for light-hearted programming, however how viewers interpret characters’ sexuality is entirely how they relate to them. However what age do young adults come out?
A USA Today article from 2007 cites that gay teens are coming out earlier to peers and family. What becomes interesting is that many of these teens referenced in this article stated that they knew they were gay in their tween years. While not substantiated or researched, I wonder whether or not this is fully realized in individuals before, during or after puberty. This could suggest that increased hormones and biological factors could indeed affect sexual realization. However, this also impacts tween networks, in that a population of their viewers (or non-viewers) fails to see them represented in the media.
As future libraries, the need to understand not only what these tweens and teens are going through but how these scenarios can affect family and friends is crucial. Tweens and teens need support regardless of one’s personal beliefs, as do parents and friends. Alex Sanchez’s website offers great reads about and for gay teens. Additionally cites like PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Liesbians and Gays) can help parents, families, and friends find resources.
Resources
Armstrong, J. (2011). Gay teens: Do they belong on the tween networks?. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/01/21/gay-teens-do-they-belong-on-the-tween-networks/
PFLAG. (2011). Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Retrieved from http://www.pflag.org
Sanchez, A. (n.d.). Rainbow Boys, Bait, and other novels about love and friendship-for teens and adults. Retrieved from http://www.alexsanchez.com/gay_teen_books.htm
USA Today. (2007). Gay teens coming out earlier to peers and family. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-07-gay-teens-cover_x.htm
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