Can We Stop With The Glee GQ Outrage?

I'm not a regular watcher of Glee, that hit Fox show that I just don't have time for. I'm probably not cool enough to watch it anyway. I did watch on a regular basis in its first season but things being what they are, it's fallen off my radar.

So imagine my lack of surprise when the three leads were in a sexy, GQ photo shoot. Sure, go ahead, grab what you can while you can. It's all part of the business of show.

I am shocked, however, at the blowback this has received. From the Parents Television Council calling the photos "bordering on pedophilia" to Katie Couric chiming in with her disappointment.  There was even a bumper on MSNBC calling the shoot controversial for such a "wholesome" show.  And that's where this has to be nipped in the bud.

Glee is not wholesome. Leave It To Beaver is wholesome. 7th Heaven is wholesome. The Cosby Show is wholesome. Glee? Not so much. Just because everyone is singing doesn't necessarily make it so.

From what I've seen, the show tackles topics like teenage pregnancy, coming out as gay, and overcoming disabilities, which is admirable. But we can't dismiss some of the show's over the top villains who condone bullying, have false pregnancies and weave a huge lie about it which leads to divorce, and duplicitous teachers who commit extortion just to name a few. There was even a recent scene in which two cheerleaders are kissing in bed, a little more than lesbian experimentation as that's been the hint with these characters for some time now. They dry humped during a choreographed number, for Christ's sake!  And that's fine. Because it's entertainment.  It's fantasy.  So for an organization like the Parents Television Council that's suddenly getting the vapors because the adult actors of their favorite show are posing in underwear for a men's magazine,  it's all become a little too much for my taste.

And let's not pretend that this show's younger audience isn't tuning in partly because the boys are hunks and the girls are hot. Seriously, I've never seen a school where the cheerleaders wear their uniforms 24/7, have you?  This show is prime spank bank material for hot and horny teenagers as all shows over the years have been. Hell, it was Suzanne Somers in Three's Company and Donna Dixon in Bosom Buddies when I was going up.

Dianna Agron has already apologized for something I don't believe she had to apologize for. She did, however, put things in perspective: "If your 8-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry," she wrote. "But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?"

So if you don't want your child to see the racy photos in November's GQ, here's a hint:  don't buy them the fucking magazine. And really, you need to draw a line between what's real and what isn't. These are adult actors in their mid to late-20's getting paid (probably handsomely) for what they do and what they are: acting and looking good.

Someone should remind Couric that Lea Michele's Glee break was being discovered on Broadway going topless eight shows a week for Spring Awakening. And I haven't heard any criticism for her recent Marie Claire UK magazine shoot.  Or is that okay because it's not a men's magazine?