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Glee is currently on hiatus until mid-April, but the shock of Kurt and Blaine’s groundbreaking first kiss is still reverberating.  On the most recent episode, the two characters, both out-of-the-closet high school juniors, shared a tender moment in a classroom.  Some viewers, who had shipped the couple all throughout Season 2, were happy to see the budding romance turn physical.  Others had less positive responses.

Leading the rants against the kiss is Victoria Jackson.  The former SNL star, known for her comedic chops, harshly quipped that “two men on a wedding cake is a comedy skit, not an ‘alternative lifestyle.’"

“Did you see Glee this week?” Jackson ranted in a blog post.  “Sickening!”  She was so disturbed that during an interview with Showbiz Tonight, she shielded her eyes as the scene replayed, visibly wincing and shaking her head.

“And, besides shoving the gay thing down our throats” she continued, “they make a mockery of Christians—again!  I wonder that their agenda is?  Hey, producers of Glee—what’s your agenda?  One-way tolerance?”

The “sickening” kiss was, in actuality, demure and unassuming.  Yet even in a moment so understated, people have the nerve to claim that TV is “shoving gay down their throats.”  There were no exploding fireworks, or rainbow-color streamers, or kids passing out “Be Gay!” flyers in the background.  It was just a kiss.  Presenting a different way of life is by no means forcing it upon the audience themselves.

If anything, current television shoves heterosexuality down our throats.  Romantic films, sitcoms, and dramas are always centered on a man and a woman.  With a few exceptions (think Will and Grace, Brokeback Mountain, The Kids Are All Right), popular culture paints a picture of a society that is purely heterosexual.  Gays are marginalized, forced to watch from afar, hoping to one day see someone they can relate to depicted on TV.

Many shows have recently struggled to ease into same-sex PDA on-camera.  ABC producers were hesitant to allow Cam and Mitchell, Modern Family’s gay couple, to kiss.  Viewers protested for a more romantic portrayal through a Facebook group.  The group, which has almost 13,000 members, begged to “let them show some love.”  In response to the movement, the two shared a quick peck in the background of a crowded scene, leaving many viewers unsatisfied.  Gay relationships on TV come with so much hesitation and delicacy.  ‘Glee’ is one of the first shows to refuse to tiptoe around gender norms, treating both gay and straight romantic scenes with equal weight.

Can you imagine if the famous love stories we’ve watched on screen were between same-sex couples?  What if ‘Titanic’ was about two men?  What if ‘The Notebook’ was about two women?  Through media, we’ve come to define romance in strict parameters.  Kurt and Blaine’s relationship is meant to open our eyes to the whole spectrum of possibility.  Victoria Jackson’s definition of love is dictated purely by the Bible and not at all by the reality of modern day people.  So many identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.  Completely ignoring this large section of the population, whether you agree with them or not, is ignorant.

‘Glee’s’ most recent episode also brought up another issue: the portrayal of religion in television.  While gays have been portrayed favorably on the show, Christians, in stark contrast, are cast in a poor light.  Kathy Griffin made a guest appearance as a feisty, Sarah Palin-esque politician, poking fun at her character’s blind conservatism.  Victoria Jackson and others have come to question: is this one-way tolerance?

Like many television shows, ‘Glee’ finds humor in playing up stereotypes.  This doesn’t purely come from Christians and Republicans.   Almost every student at the fictional McKinley High is a stock character.  There’s the “dumb blonde” cheerleader, the glasses-donning nerd, the snarky popular girl…  Even Kurt, the gay kid at school, is a flamboyant, feminine fashionista, embodying every homosexual stereotype in the book.  Everyone is targeted for laughs, not just conservatives.

The show’s creator, Ryan Murphy, has owned up to jabs at Christian stereotypes.  In an interview, he stated that he wanted to create a new Christian character.  This new student would give Christian kids and parents someone to look up to on-screen, much like gay kids have a role model in Kurt.  He envisions the show as a platform to equally represent all people, not just the left wing.

Murphy’s efforts to represent a broader spectrum of viewers are testimony to ‘Glee’s’ ultimate theme: accepting diversity.  Despite differences, the kids of New Directions always come together in unity.  Why can’t the world be like that?

Sure, Kurt and Blaine’s kiss might make you initially uncomfortable.  That’s fine.  But just because it’s strange to you, it doesn’t make it wrong.  It’s important to embrace diversity, not shield your eyes from it and wince in disgust. 

Television is going through a revolution.  It’d be a shame if your eyes weren’t open to see it.