Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2013 20:51:08 GMT
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few months ago, I wrote a post about the television show "The New Normal." I critiqued the show for its 'homonational' representation of gay people and families. When I saw that ABC Family was airing a show called "The Fosters," I had a déjà vu moment. "The Fosters" is, for all intents and purposes, the very same show as "The New Normal" - homonationalism is at play, this time in 'lesbian packaging.' "The Fosters" focuses on an interracial, married but not legally married, lesbian couple and their kids. Teri is a police officer, who's partner on the job is her ex-husband. Lena is the vice-principal of a charter school, which all the kids attend. They have five kids: Brandon (biologically Teri's with her ex-husband) and twins Jesus and Mariana, that they fostered and then adopted. The first episode shows this already rather eclectic family taking in Callie, a "girl from the wrong side of the tracks" who just got out of juvenile detention, and her little brother Jude. The story thus far has been around how the Foster family (clever right? since they foster kids, their last name is Foster?) will cope with the new foster siblings, and we get to see the 'antics' of each of the Foster kids in turn.
I find it note-worthy that some vocal members of the Religious Right have objected to the show, on the basis that it "normalizing lesbian families, which is bad, because lesbian families are bad." I, on the other hand, am objecting to the show because it is not radical enough! As countries like the US and Canada begin to subscribe to homonationalist ideas of gay and lesbian people, anything falling outside of this 'new normal' is further marginalized. Shows like "The New Normal" and "The Fosters," even "Modern Family," present an idealized version of queer people, families, communities, and the definition of 'normal' is expanded, ever so slightly, to include only a very specific few.
Again, déjà vu. I feel like I'm writing the same blog post, all over again. For more on the homonationalism of it all, feel free to read (reread?) my recent post about "The New Normal."
There are, however, some notable differences. In "The New Normal," I pointed out a general lack of a) gay community, in that David and Brian's circle of friends and extended family included, to my memory, no other gay or lesbian people and b) that David and Brian generally did not touch, kiss, or hint at the sexual nature of their relationship.
The same cannot be said for "The Fosters." In Episode 5, Teri and Lena have a party, and we get a chance to see some of the couple's friends - they are, not surprisingly, other lesbian couples. One particular couple are Kelly and Jenna, who have been together for 20 years. We learn that their marriage is on the rocks. Seen as the pillars of stability for Teri and Lena, part of the episode is dedicated to the ways couples can drift apart, by forgetting to the small stuff like buy your partner's favourite guacamole, to not having sex anymore because kids, bills, laundry come first. Teri and Lena are found sneaking into the back seat of their SUV to have sex as the episode ends. So, that's great right. This show now solves the problems I had with the "The New Normal" and all is well and good. Not quite. While I'm not surprised that the couple don't have particularly 'radical' friends, since it wouldn't suit the already rather 'vanilla' family-oriented show, I would have been more interested a juxtaposition between Teri and Lena, and perhaps their less-family-oriented peers, who didn't choose the "normal" way. Instead, we get a lesson on how to keep the romance in your relationship, as played out through the 'failings' of another long-term, monogamous couple with a child.
In what feels to me like an "everything but the kitchen sink" moment, this show also seems to want to tackle gender variant children. Jude, we learn, has had previous run-ins with foster parents and kids at schools, because of his gender nonconformity. His former foster father caught him trying on women's clothes, and he was beaten for it; bullies at school threaten him because he wears nail polish. In an act of solidarity, another boy wears nail polish the next day, in what may develop into the kind of supportive friendship we can only hope all children have.
I will be particularly interested to see how the show proceeds with this story line - so far, we know that Callie would prefer Jude conform for his own safety's sake and tells him that his nail polish will only get him beat up again. Lena, on the other hand, tells Jude about how sometimes she and Teri don't hold hands, in particular neighbourhoods for example, or late at night, because it isn't always safe. She encourages him to be himself, places the responsibility on others to accept him for who he is, yet seems to also reinforce the 'only in the safety of our home' narrative, as she helps him take off his nail polish with a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol.
~~~~Click here to Watch Online Free Full HD~~~~
~~~~Click here to Watch Online Free Full HD~~~~
~~~~Click here to Watch Online Free Full HD~~~~
few months ago, I wrote a post about the television show "The New Normal." I critiqued the show for its 'homonational' representation of gay people and families. When I saw that ABC Family was airing a show called "The Fosters," I had a déjà vu moment. "The Fosters" is, for all intents and purposes, the very same show as "The New Normal" - homonationalism is at play, this time in 'lesbian packaging.' "The Fosters" focuses on an interracial, married but not legally married, lesbian couple and their kids. Teri is a police officer, who's partner on the job is her ex-husband. Lena is the vice-principal of a charter school, which all the kids attend. They have five kids: Brandon (biologically Teri's with her ex-husband) and twins Jesus and Mariana, that they fostered and then adopted. The first episode shows this already rather eclectic family taking in Callie, a "girl from the wrong side of the tracks" who just got out of juvenile detention, and her little brother Jude. The story thus far has been around how the Foster family (clever right? since they foster kids, their last name is Foster?) will cope with the new foster siblings, and we get to see the 'antics' of each of the Foster kids in turn.
I find it note-worthy that some vocal members of the Religious Right have objected to the show, on the basis that it "normalizing lesbian families, which is bad, because lesbian families are bad." I, on the other hand, am objecting to the show because it is not radical enough! As countries like the US and Canada begin to subscribe to homonationalist ideas of gay and lesbian people, anything falling outside of this 'new normal' is further marginalized. Shows like "The New Normal" and "The Fosters," even "Modern Family," present an idealized version of queer people, families, communities, and the definition of 'normal' is expanded, ever so slightly, to include only a very specific few.
Again, déjà vu. I feel like I'm writing the same blog post, all over again. For more on the homonationalism of it all, feel free to read (reread?) my recent post about "The New Normal."
There are, however, some notable differences. In "The New Normal," I pointed out a general lack of a) gay community, in that David and Brian's circle of friends and extended family included, to my memory, no other gay or lesbian people and b) that David and Brian generally did not touch, kiss, or hint at the sexual nature of their relationship.
The same cannot be said for "The Fosters." In Episode 5, Teri and Lena have a party, and we get a chance to see some of the couple's friends - they are, not surprisingly, other lesbian couples. One particular couple are Kelly and Jenna, who have been together for 20 years. We learn that their marriage is on the rocks. Seen as the pillars of stability for Teri and Lena, part of the episode is dedicated to the ways couples can drift apart, by forgetting to the small stuff like buy your partner's favourite guacamole, to not having sex anymore because kids, bills, laundry come first. Teri and Lena are found sneaking into the back seat of their SUV to have sex as the episode ends. So, that's great right. This show now solves the problems I had with the "The New Normal" and all is well and good. Not quite. While I'm not surprised that the couple don't have particularly 'radical' friends, since it wouldn't suit the already rather 'vanilla' family-oriented show, I would have been more interested a juxtaposition between Teri and Lena, and perhaps their less-family-oriented peers, who didn't choose the "normal" way. Instead, we get a lesson on how to keep the romance in your relationship, as played out through the 'failings' of another long-term, monogamous couple with a child.
In what feels to me like an "everything but the kitchen sink" moment, this show also seems to want to tackle gender variant children. Jude, we learn, has had previous run-ins with foster parents and kids at schools, because of his gender nonconformity. His former foster father caught him trying on women's clothes, and he was beaten for it; bullies at school threaten him because he wears nail polish. In an act of solidarity, another boy wears nail polish the next day, in what may develop into the kind of supportive friendship we can only hope all children have.
I will be particularly interested to see how the show proceeds with this story line - so far, we know that Callie would prefer Jude conform for his own safety's sake and tells him that his nail polish will only get him beat up again. Lena, on the other hand, tells Jude about how sometimes she and Teri don't hold hands, in particular neighbourhoods for example, or late at night, because it isn't always safe. She encourages him to be himself, places the responsibility on others to accept him for who he is, yet seems to also reinforce the 'only in the safety of our home' narrative, as she helps him take off his nail polish with a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol.