The Emmy-winning Fox television show “Glee” has quickly produced some of the most recognizable faces in American pop culture. As of this week, three of these high school role models are revealing a lot more about themselves than just their faces. Posing in threesomes and straddling locker room benches, actors Lea Michele, Dianna Agron and Cory Monteith appear in a racy 13-photo spread in the November issue [1] of GQ Magazine.
“Glee” a musical-style TV comedy-drama about the complicated lives of several high school theater geeks, airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday nights on Fox and it hasn't gone unnoticed. This cultural phenomenon has managed to garner between 6 and 10 million viewers [2] per episode, in only its second season. Its characters have since appeared on the covers of popular women's magazines [3] and in
The provocative photos are certainly not appropriate for a high-school viewing audience. Michele and Agron (who are both 24, but play characters much younger) appear in little more than bras and underwear and sexy schoolgirl outfits, wrapped around Monteith and each other. In the most shocking photo, Michele (the supposed good girl) is holding a red lollipop, spreading her legs open while seated on a wooden locker room bench wearing nothing but socks, heels, underwear and low cut t-shirt revealing her bra.
“Glee” has been touted by TV critics as a “truly groundbreaking new comedy” [4] and “powerful” [5] in its portrayal of high school students dealing with real-life issues. Everything from religion, homosexuality, and budget crises to teen pregnancy, gossip and oral sex have been featured. The characters are considered impactful… “giving a voice to anybody who's ever been unpopular,” said Fred Topel, contributing writer to Edge, [5]“the largest network of local Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) news and entertainment portals in the world.”
Only time will tell if the media will report on the negative impact of these over-sexualized high school characters.
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