GleeGate: A Step to Far?

By now I'm sure that most people have heard about the recent controversy surrounding the Glee GQ photos. In case you have been living under a giant rock or perhaps been vacationing in North Korea, here's a little rundown for you:

• About a week ago GQ made public racy photos taken by Terry Richardson
• The photos featured Glee castmates Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron posing in "hyper-sexualized" versions of their characters
• The Parents Television Council denounced the spread saying it "borders on pedophilia" and is a "near-pornographic display"
• The fever reached a boiling point when Katie Couric, The View, and The Talk all uttered the same sentiment, expressing disappointment in the choices the actors made in posing

While there are clearly several things wrong with this photo shoot and the ideas behind it, the fuss that has been created over these photos has become quite hysterical. Now I realize that as a young adult,  I might feel a little differently about these photos if I were a parent. But the point is not to argue about whether the actors made a good choice in agreeing to take the photos. What bothers me most about this scandal is the fact that these photos would not have been a huge deal if The Parents Television Council had not released statements. The photos might have garnered a small bit of attention because they are pretty steamy, but since words such a "pedophilia" and "near-pornographic" were used, the media jumped on board, broadcasting the photos across the Internet, television, and other print. Because who isn't intrigued by young, hot Hollywood stars and scandal? 


In my opinion, The Parents Television Council did Glee and GQ a favor by increasing attention that would otherwise not have been paid to the magazine. While Glee is an immensely popular show and guaranteed press no matter the issue, more attention was brought to these questionable photos than necessary because of those statements. The photos would not have been posted anywhere other than print and online GQ, but now the chances that children are going to see them are upped considerably. 


What would more than likely have been a small issue was blown out of proportion because the media got ahold of the story. Dianna Agron responded in a recent blog post, "If you are hurt or these photos make you uncomfortable, it was never our intention. And if your eight-year-old has a copy of our GQ cover in hand, again I am sorry. But I would have to ask, how on earth did it get there?" Well now because the story has appeared on several news stations, talk shows, and every corner of the Internet, it nearly impossible that children have not seen the photos.

The case I am making is The Parents Television Council should have left the photos alone. GQ's target demographic is older men for whom seeing scantily clad women is nothing new. At the end of the day, is you look closely at the content of Glee, the plot lines are certainly not G-rated and constantly push the envelope. I am not gonna lie, I have often thought about parent's reactions to some of the show's dialogue. But when one examines the audience of the show, most of the avid watchers are college age students and adults. Most certainly young teens are watching the show too, but seeing a few racy photos  is not going to epically harm a growing mind. If you take a look at past magazine covers, it is nothing new for young starlets to appear on covers such as Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair, hardly dressed. Take a look at Britney Spears when she was barely 18 and appeared dressed in underwear on the cover of Rolling Stone. Most recently, at the time 16 year old Miley Cyrus wrapped in a blanket in Vanity Fair. There comes a point in every career where boundaries are pushed, people will not always be child stars. Miley Cyrus will not always be Hannah Montana. Just take a look at Lindsay Lohan, former Disney Star or Vanessa Hudgens and the requisite nude photo scandal. People must come to the realization that Hollywood stars are actually adults and go beyond the roles they play on television. 


What do you think? Are these photos pushing the boundaries or have they gone a step too far?