How do we know what normal is?
For example, is it normal for three college students—two girls, one guy—to have a simultaneous sexual encounter?
That’s exactly what happened on this week’s episode of CW’s boundary-pushing series Gossip Girl. And some, including the Parents Television Council, believe that depictions of once aberrant behaviors such as these normalizes and mainstreams them—so much so that impressionable viewers, especially teens, might believe that a ménage à trois is simply one acceptable sexual choice among many.
Many in Hollywood would say that anyone watching such a show should automatically know that it’s just a “harmless,” campy fantasy. And admittedly, Gossip Girl is campy. But I don’t think I’d ever call it harmless in the way it depicts beautiful, privileged teens and young adults consistently making morally bankrupt choices with few consequences.
For my part, then, I’m pretty sure that shows like these do influence and shape what we consider normal and acceptable.
What do you think?
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