Three-Ways to Love on “Gossip Girl”
Once upon a time when you heard the word “beaver” on television it was preceded by “Wally and the”. Now television has become a veritable Sodom and Gomorrah of illicit sex, foul language and unscrupulous morals. At least that is what the Parents Television Council (PTC) wants you to think.
Last week the PTC sent out a press release urging CW affiliates to preempt tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl due to a sexual threesome the show has been teasing since last Monday. PTC considers this storyline “reckless and irresponsible” as the program is targeted to “impressionable teens”.
PTC – I am flattered that you think of me as an impressionable teen (my beauty secret is moisturizer) but between us I remember when MTV actually played music videos. Gossip Girl’s demographic skews a little bit older.
I don’t remember being asked if you could have your children so why does their moral development dictate the television that I can watch? What is reckless and irresponsible is the fact that instead of putting boundaries on your own children, you decide to put the restrictions on everyone else. I know it takes a village but this is more like a dictatorship.
The family you create is yours to raise any way you see fit. Turn off the television in your own house if you are worried about the content. Pull the curtains. Lock the doors. I am all for keeping innocence in tact for as long as possible. We only have one chance to be a kid.
You can only block out the noise for so long though. At some point you need to prepare your kids for all the beauty and all the ugly that our world has to offer. If you do have teens why not think about watching tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl with them. Talk about how you feel. Let them talk about how they fell. Have a conversation based on love and respect. Make it safe for them. It is much more powerful than living in a house of fear.
