I’m in agreement with Scylla here. Lifestyle is probably one of the least-offensive words they could use right now, and this time next year that probably won’t be the case.
The problem I see is that everytime someone comes up with a word to describe a touchy subject, eventually that term falls out of favor. It picks up some connotation, or implied meaning that sets someone off. Or someone who wishes to force the issue picks it up as a rallying cause, when it was meant to be neutral in the first place.
On the other hand, I agree with Hastur’s OP too. Ya see, I don’t see the term they chose as being the problem. That they felt the need to do so, is the problem. Human sexuality has been chewed over by most every major drama on prime-time television at this point, covering a wide range of topics referring to gender, age and ethnic issues. And in most every case, these shows ran the risk of offending a fairly vocal minority to make some sort of point, or simply “reflect the issues facing us today.” Either way (and I apologize for rambling here, as my mind keeps think up the different possibilities, the point I’m making here is) the great offense they’re really worried about, and the one Boston Public is making here, is trivializing an issue.
deep breath
It’s not about harsh subject matter. That’s what drives their show, and shocking people is nearly as good as ratings in their business. Cross-dressing teen? After ratings, they’ll be measuring the succes of that episode by how much mail they get.
Where they make their mistake, and where Joe Consumer gets aggrivated is when they trivialize things. It’s bad enough they’re going to manipulate social issues to get our attention, but they really shouldn’t be so obvious about it. “Sexual lifestyles?” Drug use, eating disorders, ADD and other psycological medical problems, criminal behavior, attempted murder, these are apparently part of our every-day lives now, but we might not realize our friends and neighbors don’t do it in the missonary position every night.
I watch Boston Public, and rather like it. I’d never say they’re an acurate reflection of society, they’re not where I live at least, but they manage a fairly consistent world in their little TV show, which is what the integrity of a drama like that is based on. The come out and preface an episode with a warning like this hurts that integrity. “This is what our kids face,” they tell us, then warn, “but this one particular topic might really freak you out.”
When I was in High School, if someone in our school was arrested for robbing a convience store, it’d be big news. PTA kind of stuff. Drug problems? Well, I did hear where my home town high school has had to bring police and drug-sniffing dogs through the school. It’s been a hot topic for sometime. If one of our teachers wound up in the hospital, stabbed by a student? I imagine the world would stop in our little town.
If one of the male students wanted to show up for prom in a dress, seriously expressing his sexuality in the midst of our small, very Southern-Baptist town. Well, it’d be a fairly non-event. If the school board didn’t restrict him from the prom beforehand, he’d probably be escorted out from the dance. Parents would be outraged, PTA meetings would rage at School Board meetings, kids would shuffle around school treating him like a pariah, and eventually some “arrangement” would be made to let him finish the term (or likely his school career) at some other public school.
Yeah, I basically grew up in a cave. You wouldn’t believe what college, and the Straight Dope have done for my world view. But the point is, while this hypothetical drama would probably make for a good show (albeit with a sad ending), after a week or two everyone in my home town would have forgotten. We’d be arguing about the drug problem for months, cycling around once a year, I bet. We’d discuss the students with criminal records until they graduated. The teacher who got stabbed would become legend in the halls of that school. Someone with an “alternate sexual lifestyle” would probably be remembered until they graduated (or otherwise left), and no more. It really doesn’t stack up to violence, crime, and police patroling the schools.
I don’t want to see my home town treat someone like that. Hushing things up, quietly sweeping everything under the carpet. On the other hand, I don’t want to see signs at our town borders warning people, “Population xxxx, some with alternate sexual lifestyles.” Want to attack bigotry? Go ahead, but don’t pull your punch up front. If you can face death, disease, and criminal behavior, then putting up a warning flag in front of sex, gender or race is only going to be a slap in the face of any halfway intelligent individual.
There, there’s my rambling, nonsensical rant. If you don’t understand it, I agree with everyone. If you do understand it, then I’m on you’re side, really!
inkblot
