If Madonna and Brittany do it, so can OTH!

Controversial Issues are no stranger to Mark Schwahn, the creator of the popular teen sitcom, One Tree Hill. By only the second season viewers had seen two high school juniors emancipate themselves and tie the knot, a punk-rock cheerleader turn to drugs, and a single teenage father run away with his daughter to avoid custody battles with an unfit mother. After all of this borderline-inappropriate and almost unrealistic high school drama, was One Tree Hill ready to embark on one of TV’s most controversial issues of all: homosexuality?

Not too long ago, a primetime TV show that airs on a popular network would have never dreamed of introducing a gay or lesbian character, or a plot line based around homosexuality, but times have definitely changed. Each generation is becoming more open and comfortable with homosexuality as the idea of heterosexism dwindles. Children are now growing up in a culture where two men or two women loving each other is no longer sinful or taboo, and gay marriage has become more widely accepted. As our culture changes, TV executives realize they will need to keep up with the times. The lesbian girl plot line that Mark Schwahn introduces to One Tree Hill in its second season is a perfect example of a TV show not only staying current, but proving that heterosexism is unnecessary (it’s no surprise either that the episode where Anna kisses a girl aired during sweeps week).

Anna and Felix are a Latino brother and sister who move to Tree Hill, a town already plagued with drama, for a fresh start. In the past eight years the two have attended ten different schools because of their father’s job. However, their move to Tree Hill was for a very different reason, so that Anna could escape the rumors in her last town about a relationship she had with another girl. In the episode Don’t Take Me For Granted Anna has not yet come out to anyone (no friends or family), and it is obvious that she has a lot of built up frustration.

Not depicted as a stereotypical “butch” lesbian, Anna fits in perfectly with OTH’s cast of gorgeous, teen heart throbs. However, Anna does exhibits typical characteristics of anyone in denial. Anna has an extremely negative reaction to a gay comment made in a jokingly way at a school dance. After the dance she gets drunk to try to mask her feelings, and makes an aggressive attempt to throw herself at Lucas, the boy she has been dating. In later episodes Lucas will be the first person Anna comes out to, and she will admit to Lucas that she tried to throw herself at him to try to “fix herself”. What Anna obviously has not realized, is that homosexuality is not a disease.

After the school dance Anna crashes at her friend Peyton’s (she’s a girl) house for the night before going back to school in the morning. The episode Don’t Take Me For Granted begins the morning after the dance when Peyton arrives at school to see the word “DYKE” spray painted on her locker. Although she is straight, Peyton refuses to be cowed and speaks out against the homophobic students, they feed off people that don’t fight back, yeah I could laugh this off, but what about the girl that can’t, whose gonna help her, silence only makes them stronger”. Peyton defiantly wore a homemade t-shirt to school the next day with the word dyke scrawled across it. The principal insists that she take the t-shirt off and recommends that if she is having problems that the guidance office has a few pamphlets she could read. Enraged, Peyton informs him that she is not gay and if she were some stupid pamphlets would be of no help to her. She proceeds to take off the shirt as ordered, and walk down the hallway and out of the school wearing only jeans and a bra (scandalous? I think so).

In later episodes when Anna does finally come out to a few of her friends, she is embraced with positive encouragement. “Don’t be afraid to be who you are, I won’t tell anyone,” Lucas tells her and proceeds to give her a huge hug. Peyton standing up for gay and lesbian rights, and Lucas accepting Anna for who she is seems to be One Tree Hill’s way of saying that homosexuality is nothing to run from, accept and embrace it. While gays and lesbians are making strides nationally to break down the concept of heterosexism, they will only continue to make progress as straight people, like Peyton, begin to support and appreciate them for who they are. One Tree Hill caught praise from The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for their multi-layered depiction of a situation many young people are going through.

Ellen Degeneres is a celebrity leader who has publicly announced that she is a lesbian, and she is PROUD of it. It is strong and confident women like her that are helping to break down the idea of heterosexism. Check out the gadget at the bottom of the page, it will update everyday with a new quote from Ellen.

When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one. ~Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988 (Thanks, Marlene)