We all know GLEE for its countless musical numbers and quirky characters, but it actually brings some serious social issues to light. In case you aren’t a GLEEK, here’s what you missed…. In the first season of the show head Cheerio and president of the celibacy club, Quinn Fabray, finds her whole life crashing down around her when she discovers she is pregnant at 16 years old.
Quinn is at the top of the popularity food chain and quite the stereotypical “queen bee” being the captain of the cheerleading squad and dating the quarterback at William McKinley High School. When news of her pregnancy gets out, however, she is kicked off the squad and treated as a social outcast with slushies in the face to prove it. The only support group she has is with her fellow members of the GLEE club, but the drop all the way to the bottom of the social ladder is a tragedy in Quinn’s mind and we see her struggle with this throughout her pregnancy.
Quinn’s boyfriend, Finn, is told that he is the father of the baby (even though they never had sex, Quinn convinces him that the conception occurred after a precarious hot tub incident) and Quinn pressures him into getting a job so they can afford the medical expenses. The stresses of a reality they are not yet ready to face take a toll on their relationship and that’s when Shue’s (the GLEE coach) mentally deranged wife offers to adopt Quinn’s baby and pay for the expenses. (BACKSTORY: Terri Schuester suffered from a hysterical pregnancy and once she learned she wasn’t pregnant she continued to pretend she was out of fear of losing her husband. When she realized Quinn was pregnant she did the math and decided to adopt Quinn’s baby and pretend it was hers all along… drama, drama, drama!).
Quinn comes from a Christian, conservative family and when they found out she was pregnant her father kicked her out. Finn and his mother take Quinn in, but after he finds out that his best friend is really the father of the baby Quinn is out again and moves in with Puck (the baby daddy). She reconsiders the adoption and gives Puck a chance to prove he can handle being a father, but she is let down by his immature behavior. Quinn ends up moving again, this time to be with her new friend, Mercedes, a fellow GLEE mate. The big day of Regionals comes for GLEE and Quinn’s mother shows up and invites Quinn to move back in, informing her she left her father after learning of his “extracurricular activities.” Quinn went into labor the same day and ended up giving her baby up to the coach of the rival team, Vocal Adrenaline. And that’s what you missed!
Things to Ponder:
1. After reading about the lack of effectiveness in abstinence only education and seeing the irony in Quinn’s involvement in the celibacy club, do you feel that abstinence only education is worth trying at all? Finn was also a member of the celibacy club (along with most of the cheerleading squad and football team… many of which we know for sure are not practicing abstinence) but somehow he thought it was possible that he impregnated Quinn despite the fact that they never had sex. How much sex education do you think they have had from parents or school?
2. Looking at both Quinn’s family situation and Kailyn’s from 16 and Pregnant, how important do you think a supportive family situation is?
3. Had Terri Schuester, despite her craziness, not stepped in do you think Quinn would have gotten any prenatal care at all?
4. Quinn did realize her incapacity to raise a child at this point in her life, but in 16 and pregnant we saw Kailyn say she could never consider adoption. Many young women have this same viewpoint. Do you think this is a selfish decision? Do they feel this way because they think the guilt would be too much to handle? Is it different for teen parents who were adopted themselves; do they want to give their child the biological parents they missed out on?
-Alyssa K.
-Alyssa K.
