Everyday Ethics

Gossip Girls Pushes It with Monday's Threesome

Sunday November 8, 2009

By now there is nothing shocking about the fact that some shows' sole purpose seem to be pushing the envelope. I'm not a Gossip Girl follower, but the few times I've caught an episode, I found myself spouting off like an old fuddy-duddy.

"How old is that girl?" "When I was her age, I didn't even know what that was!" etc etc.

For instance, a threesome. Ok, I'm sure at 16, I could have put two and two together (or, I suppose, two and one together) but I sure wouldn't have thought of it on my own. And I most definitely wouldn't have been taking part in one.

Apparently, 3 of our favorite GG characters both know exactly what a threesome is and will be taking part in one on this Monday's episode. Time for sweeps week, people, and making money the old-fashioned way -- the promotion of promiscuous teens!

Now, I'm a strong advocate of freedom of expression and speech, so I'm not sure where I fall on this debate. Personally, I'd love to see some sort of responsibility on the part of the network and the show's writers and producers. Again, not to sound like a fuddy-duddy, but a threesome? Come on!

What do you think? Is this crossing the line? Should we look for a stronger sense of social responsibility from those that are entertaining us?
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Comments
Charles Cosimano
November 8, 2009 6:26 PM

I've never watched the show, in fact I'm not sure it even existed until now, but from the folks in their 20s that I know, threesomes would seem to be a cultural norm so the show may just be reflecting the reality of the producers' families.

Padmini
November 8, 2009 8:19 PM

Charles: One perhaps key point, however, is that the show supposedly is depicting kids in their early to late-teens, not their 20s.

Maggie Stein
November 9, 2009 2:01 AM

Whats the big deal with a THREESOME?

JFK tried to get MARILYN MONROE & PIN UP GIRL JEANNE CARMEN into a Threesome back in the swinging 60's and he's the most beloved President of all time.

You can read the whole story at this link

http://jeannecarmen.com/pdf/jcglobejfk.pdf

Its time the PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL got over it.

David
November 9, 2009 1:20 PM

1) with solid parenting, gutter media will not take hold.
2) The notion that media are "to blame" for behavior loathed by fuddy-duddies is best addressed by the letter received by Sir James Barrie, author of PETER PAN, which read: "You fiend! My son killed himself jumping out of the window trying to fly like Peter Pan." Though Sir James was upset, where was Mom when this flight took place?

another opinion
November 9, 2009 3:28 PM

This isn't regarding Gossip Girl but rather American censorship in general.

Was watching Leno the other night and he had on a cooking apron which depicted Michaelangelos's statue of David, probably the world's most famous sculpture, known to almost everyone breathing.

NBC chose to pixillate out the penis. Now, everyone knows David is depicted nude; we've all seen it. It's not like we don't know what a penis looks like. Leno airs at 10pm, most children are in bed by then.

Could someone explain to me what's the point of this censorship? Who's sensibilities are being 'protected' here? Is NBC worried they'll be fined for 'obscenity' like the, what, half a million dollar fine for Janet Jackson's millisecond of 'wardrobe malfunction'?

Better question, how does it benefit America to pretend penises don't exist? Who is/will be harmed by seeing one? Almost half of the population has one, too.

Heck, America's Funnisest Home Videos still have the bumcracks of naked children pixillated out, and we all of us have one of those.

Could we please abolish the 19th century?

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This blog is all about ethics. It's also about us--ordinary people facing ordinary situations. It's about asking ourselves the hard questions: What responsibility do we bear in our interactions (and yes, confrontations) with the people we meet? How do we best respond to those around us in a way that leaves us feeling good about ourselves and confident our behavior has done no harm? Have we helped or hurt our fellows in these moments? It's our belief that by asking some big questions (and some little ones too) we can grow as humans. We're glad you're along for the ride!

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Hillary Fields
Hillary Fields is a New York-based writer, editor and web producer.
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Padmini Mangunta is a writer and editor with a Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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