Obviously I think Blaine & co making that video for Sam was very sweet, but the ladies on Glee are never, ever treated like that.
Sam is obsessed with his looks because he thinks he’s otherwise worthless for one episode? Answer: Touching video pointing out his many virtues and good deeds to boost his sense of self-worth.
Quinn is obsessed with her looks/popularity because she thinks she’s otherwise worthless for two seasons? Answer: Shame and vilify her.
Puck, Finn, and Sam are in danger of not graduating/not going anywhere in life? Answer: Friends and loved ones gather around them to help them pass tests/graduate/find post-secondary opportunities.
Brittany doesn’t graduate and it’s just a joke.
Karofsky gets outed and it’s portrayed as tragic and dangerous and wrong. Everyone cries over him, even kids he used to bully and the one he assaulted and threatened to kill.
Santana gets outed and it’s portrayed as ultimately something the straight, white male hero needed to do in order to help her accept herself. Also lesbehonest: girls just wanna have fun, amirite?
Boys (some as young as 15/16) and young men taking their tops off to raise money is portrayed as perfectly fine, sexy, fun.
A young woman of legal age considers taking her top off for an art film and is shamed for it by her best friend (who once thought he should perform in the nude for an audition), a(n inaccurate) manifestation of her former self, and the narrative.
Artie has body image issues? Answer: He and Finn (another boy) have a touching conversation that respects Artie’s feelings and choices about his body.
Marley has body image issues? Answer: Kitty (another girl) schemes to induce a full-out eating disorder in Marley by making her think she’s gaining weight and encouraging her to throw up her food/giving her laxatives.
