Jane Lynch has explained how the LGBTQ+ characters and stories in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and is about to take a turn on Broadway in a revival of the classic musical Funny Girl.
During its first few seasons, Glee was a television phenomenon, drawing in over nine million viewers for its 2009 pilot episode and averaging just under ten for the remainder of its first season. This was then sured by the second season, which became the series high-point. While the quality of the show then began to fade and the ratings dropped off massively, it did garner a very loyal audience of “Gleeks,” a portmanteau of “glee” and “geek,” who propelled the show’s songs up the Billboard charts. This fanbase was predominantly young people who found that they were able to relate the show’s quite frank depiction of high school life and in particular, the way in which Glee was able to forefront LGBTQ+ stories and characters.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lynch has described how a show like Glee could have helped her when she was young, saying it would have been “such a relief” to have something to “relate to on a deep level.” Furthermore, she says it likely would have helped a lot of other kids, too. Read the full quote below:
"It would have been such a relief. If I had something like Glee, where it was stories that you could relate to on a deep level, that maybe as a person in high school you couldn’t express, yeah, I would have loved it. I don’t mean to overstate it, but I do think it might really have helped a lot of kids.”
While it certainly had its flaws, Glee was definitely notable for the way in which it discussed LGBTQ+ issues. The character of Kurt Hummel, written for and portrayed by Chris Colfer, was not just a caricature of a gay teenager. He was also funny, flawed, and well-developed. His story of coming out to his father and his relationship with Blaine were stand-out moments in the show, although he wasn’t the only example. There were also lesbian and interracial relationships, all part of the message of positivity through inclusivity. For Lynch, who struggled with her sexual identity as a teenager, this would likely have been a source of representation, as it was for so many young people who saw the show.
Glee’s legacy is not necessarily an entirely positive one, as people have been quick to highlight and expose the problematic elements of the show both on-screen and off. However, a story such as Lynch’s shows how representation in media matters. Whilst we are currently able to engage with a wide range of representative media, such as Netflix’s Sex Education, the fact that Glee was so ground-breaking despite being relatively recent is a good indicator that the fight for true representation has only just begun.
Source: The Guardian