Glee's GQ photo shoot betrays the spirit of the show
Terry Richardson's pictures of Dianna Agron, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith aren't just bad taste – they're against Glee's whole ethos of inclusion
Glee's latest magazine photo shoot, featuring Dianna Agron, Lea Michele,
and Cory Monteith for American GQ , has prompted a huge online reaction online.
Mostly for the wrong reasons.
and Cory Monteith for American GQ , has prompted a huge online reaction online.
Mostly for the wrong reasons.
The images, by photographer Terry Richardson, are overtly, cheesily sexy.
Website Jezebel summed it up with the headline:
Terry Richardson Makes Glee All Porny and they have a point.
The pictures are also amazingly sexist. Monteith, who plays
Finn, is wearing approximately 10 times more clothing than both
of the women, who are draped over him like fancy accessories.
Michele and Agron both sport gloopy, Day-Glo make up, and
the occasional manic grin doesn't stop the whole thing appearing
to be devoid of both humour and imagination – even more so when
compared with the clever brilliance of the show they are promoting.
(Agron has posted an interesting response to people's reactions on her blog.)
Website Jezebel summed it up with the headline:
Terry Richardson Makes Glee All Porny and they have a point.
The pictures are also amazingly sexist. Monteith, who plays
Finn, is wearing approximately 10 times more clothing than both
of the women, who are draped over him like fancy accessories.
Michele and Agron both sport gloopy, Day-Glo make up, and
the occasional manic grin doesn't stop the whole thing appearing
to be devoid of both humour and imagination – even more so when
compared with the clever brilliance of the show they are promoting.
(Agron has posted an interesting response to people's reactions on her blog.)
It's perhaps not surprising to find these kind of images in a men's mag,
but the pictures are baffling when considered alongside the ethos of the show.
Women as decorative props for male consumption? Really, Glee? Really?
but the pictures are baffling when considered alongside the ethos of the show.
Women as decorative props for male consumption? Really, Glee? Really?
The idea of inclusion is at the heart of Glee. I love the show for the
central message that you don't have to be a jock or a cheerleader to
be OK; you can be gay, disabled, fat, or an obsessive-compulsive
guidance counsellor and still find acceptance, friendship and love.
Don't these pictures portray the exact opposite sentiment, depicting
precisely the kind of exclusive, narrow physical ideals the show
dismisses with such glorious aplomb?
central message that you don't have to be a jock or a cheerleader to
be OK; you can be gay, disabled, fat, or an obsessive-compulsive
guidance counsellor and still find acceptance, friendship and love.
Don't these pictures portray the exact opposite sentiment, depicting
precisely the kind of exclusive, narrow physical ideals the show
dismisses with such glorious aplomb?
The cast members in this shoot are the three most conventionally
attractive actors in the show. It's almost impossible to imagine
how the rest of the cast of Glee could have featured in this shoot.
(If they'd tried however, they would have certainly produced
something a lot less tedious.) So we have cheerleader Quinn,
but not key cast members Kurt and Mercedes. And this from a
show that rejected the idea of the hot-chick cheerleader as the
pinnacle of social acceptance and cool.
attractive actors in the show. It's almost impossible to imagine
how the rest of the cast of Glee could have featured in this shoot.
(If they'd tried however, they would have certainly produced
something a lot less tedious.) So we have cheerleader Quinn,
but not key cast members Kurt and Mercedes. And this from a
show that rejected the idea of the hot-chick cheerleader as the
pinnacle of social acceptance and cool.
Glee's laudable message of diversity, being happy with yourself and
embracing difference is undermined by these images. Apparently
attractiveness still depends on being conventionally good-looking,
embracing traditional gender roles and, for women, being thin and
pretty, falling out of your bra and sucking on a lollipop (yes, really!)
to please straight male readers. Even if you're a Gleek.
Which is pretty damn depressing.
embracing difference is undermined by these images. Apparently
attractiveness still depends on being conventionally good-looking,
embracing traditional gender roles and, for women, being thin and
pretty, falling out of your bra and sucking on a lollipop (yes, really!)
to please straight male readers. Even if you're a Gleek.
Which is pretty damn depressing.
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