Glee and Adoption

The television show Glee is a leader in bringing positive portrayals of groups often bullied and misunderstood to the mainstream media.  The show portrays a diverse and complex cast that deals with real issues as real people, and it has been honored for this work by gay and civil rights organizations.

But Glee’s portrayal of adoption through the story lines of the characters Quinn and Rachel falls short of this high standard.

While it is admirable to show the very important reality that many mothers struggle with the decision to place a child for adoption, and many adopted children have conflicting feelings about their birth parents, the Glee storyline also unfortunately perpetuates myths about adoption that harm adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth parents alike.

In the current story line, Quinn, a teen mother who placed her daughter for adoption, is actively (and with malice) trying to “get my daughter back.” And, Rachel, an adopted child, deals with the sudden reappearance of her birth mother.  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.  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.

Click here to read the rest of the article and to add your name to this petition to  FOX to separate adoption fact from fiction.