If you haven’t picked up this month’s cover of “GQ,” you might want to head down to the nearest CVS pronto! “Glee” stars Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron and Lea Michele — Finn, Quinn and Rachel, respectively — steam up the men’s magazine’s November cover. Terry Richardson, who has been in the media for exploiting young female models, shot the spread, which features the trio in various provocative clothing, poses and scenes.
The idea was for the actors to portray a heightened caricature of their characters — I guess Lea was told the opposite. While the photos aren’t any more provocative then when Britney Spears sexed up the ’99 cover of “Rolling Stone” in a push-up bra, panties and purple Teletubby, everyone has got their hands in the air! From the Parents Television Council to “The View,” everyone has something to say.
True to form, the Parents Television Council released a statement claiming the cover “borders on pedophilia!” Monteith, 28, and Argon and Michele, both 24, are obviously of age, but the PTC claim, “It is disturbing that ‘GQ,’ which is explicitly written for adult men, is sexualizing the actresses who play high school-aged characters on ‘Glee’ in this way.” While I agree that the Dianna and Lea are certainly being sexualized, it’s not without their consent.
In fact Dianna released a statement on her Tumblr saying, “I am twenty-four years old. I have been a pretty tame and easy-going girl my whole life. Nobody is perfect, and these photos do not represent who I am.” She goes on to say, “For ‘GQ,’ they asked us to play very heightened versions of our school characters. A ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ version. At the time, it wasn’t my favorite idea, but I did not walk away.” A well-versed statement from a well-mannered young woman, wouldn’t you agree? We should all take a page from Dianna’s book.
But if you thought that was that, then you’d be wrong! “The View” presented the issue on their show, and, boy, did the girls go off! While Whoopi remained surprisingly mum, Sherri and Barbara were in a catfight for airtime. Sherri took the worrisome mother approach, while Barbara praised the sex kittens. Though both brought, for a lack of a better word, interesting insight to the issue, I’d have to side with Barbara on this one.
If kids are old enough to understand what they’re looking at, then it’s already been exposed to them. A 6-year-old who looks at these pictures isn’t going to have the same reaction as a 10-year-old. Why? The 6-year-old hasn’t been exposed to the reality of what these pictures mean, whereas a ten-year-old probably has been. At the end of the day, it’s just pictures! Looking at a picture has never killed anyone to my knowledge.
This is all an issue, because “Glee” is, what some people might say, a family show. I, however, would have to disagree. While it is somewhat family-oriented because it lightens issues that families deal with everyday, it is more of a young adult show than anything. The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, and the actors that are on the show don’t see it as a “family” show, at least not in the traditional sense. After all, the show has tackled issues of homosexuality, religion and teen pregnancy. Are these issues that your average pre-teen is dealing with? If a 20-something undergrad is watching it, chances are a 12-year-old isn’t!
So, what’s the real issue? Are these photos really bordering pedophilia? Should Fox restrict their “high-school aged” actors from controversial attention? Or, is everyone just picking on the little guy, or in this case, the big guys playing little guys?
