Fox musical drama “Glee,” which goes after and gets a rise out of conservatives, has caught the attention of Change.org, and not for the better.
A new campaign on the petition-hosting group’s website asserts that a recent episode of the show includes “one of most pervasive and harmful myths about adoption.” (RELATED: ‘Glee’ character Sue Sylvester to channel Michele Bachmann)
According to the petition, which has more than 780 signatures and calls on program creator Ryan Murphy to make a public service announcement that exposes the realities of adoption, the plot “perpetuates myths about adoption that harm adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth parents alike.”
For non-Gleeks out there, high school senior Quinn Fabray is currently trying to get her baby daughter, to whom she gave birth a year earlier, back from the child’s adopted mother. The teenager, who was shunned on the cheerleading squad during her unplanned pregnancy, says she will do everything possible to get the kid back. This didn’t fly with the petition campaign’s organizers.
“In real, legitimate adoptions, a birth mother cannot simply take a child away from their family or pop back into a child’s life, however this is one of most pervasive and harmful myths about adoption,” reads the petition. “Furthermore, most adoptions in the US are open to some extent, so these dramatic scenes with birthmothers never take place because a relationship exists from the start.”
The statement goes on to claim that “Glee” misinforms the public about adoptive situations and instills unnecessary fear in adopted kids.
“For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families,” reads the petition. “And for adoptive parents and birth mothers, the show creates confusion about the nature of adoption — confusion and mistruths that proponents of adoption constantly work to dispel. And for young women facing unplanned pregnancies, many of whom are in Glee’s target demographic, the show may give the inaccurate impression that adoption is a temporary solution, not a permanent one.”
As admitted fans of “Glee,” the petitioners “ask that ‘Glee’ and Fox produce a Public Service Announcement that helps to separate fact from fiction about adoption, and points viewers to resources for finding out more about how adoption really works.”