M. Carolina Martinez 

     The hit television show, Glee, premiered in May 2009 on Fox to more than 9.6 million viewers. Throughout the course of its six-season run from 2009-2015, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, the show’s creators and executive producers, introduced its audience to many LGBTQ characters. The two I will focus on are Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer, who is represented as a feminine-gay high schooler, and Dave Karofsky, played by Max Adler, who is represented as an internalized homophobic, who eventually accepts his sexuality. I chose these two characters to analyze because I enjoyed watching their growth throughout the series and was always fascinated by their dynamic with each other.
Introductions to Kurt and Dave
     At the very beginning of the series, Hummel is depicted as a closeted-gay high schooler, who has never told anyone about his sexuality. He first reveals that he is gay to his friend Mercedes, and only because she tells him that she likes him. His sexuality was quite obvious to everyone else, as he is represented as the feminine-gay stereotype, even referring to himself as an “honorary girl,” (IMDb, 2017). Additionally, Hummel sings at the countertenor vocal range, the highest range for adult men, which contributes to his feminine qualities (Matthew, 2017).
     During the first season of Glee, Hummel is severely bullied, but always manages to stay true to himself. For example, in the first episode, some of the football players are about to throw him in the dumpster, and right before they pick him up, he asks them if he can first take off his brand new Marc Jacobs jacket. This concern with his outward appearance is a recurring theme in the show, as he is always dressed fashionably, knows all the latest trends and has a nighttime skincare routine.
     Conversely, Dave Karofsky is first shown as William McKinley High School’s tough, burly football player. He is very tall, muscular and confident, what some would call a ‘guy’s guy.’ Karofsky is also one of Hummel’s main bullies. While the football team does contribute to hazing Hummel, Karofsky is definitely the ring leader. A contributing factor to this is because he is an internalized homophobe. Revel and Riot (2017) write that this happens when “LGBQ individuals are subjected to society’s negative perceptions, intolerance and stigmas towards LGBQ people, and as a result, turn those ideas inward believing they are true,” (Revel and Riot, p. 1). This description definitely rings true of Karofsky.
     For the first few seasons, Karofsky continuously harasses Hummel. He often shoves him, calls him derogatory names like “homo” and at one point, even threatens to kill him; this is all because Karofsky cannot seem to come to terms with his own sexuality, (IMDb, 2017). This changes when Hummel finally confronts Karofsky, and Karofsky proceeds to kiss him, thus revealing his true feelings. He says that he used Hummel as his human punching bag because he was not comfortable with being openly gay, and Hummel was. This representation is obviously not flattering, but does occur within the LGBTQ community as aforementioned with the internalized homophobia.
Kurt and Dave Connect on a Deeper Level
     Due to Karofsky threatening Hummel’s life, he gets expelled from high school. He is ‘outed’ by his football teammates at his new school and is harassed mercilessly for this, so he attempts suicide, but is saved by his father. Unfortunately, “the rate of suicide attempts is four times greater for LGB youth … than that of straight youth,” (The Trevor Project, 2017).
When he is in the hospital, Hummel and Karofsky share a moment in which they connect and agree to be friends. This scene is integral to the story of Karofsky’s transformation from an internalized homophobic to an open member of the LGBTQ community.
Kurt and Dave’s Representations in the Final Season
     In the sixth season of Glee, it is revealed that Karofsky is dating Hummel’s long-term ex-boyfriend, Blaine Anderson. This obviously hurts Hummel, as Anderson knew how badly Karofsky treated him. In a flashback scene showing how they connected, Anderson and Karofsky tell Hummel that they met at a country bar geared toward “bears,” and that he is the “big bear, and [Blaine] is [the] little cub,” (IMDb, 2017). This is very similar to how Enguix and Ardevol (2012) depict this stereotype in the text, as some men being “bears” and others being “cubs,” (Enguix, Ardevol, p. 510).
     Karofsky obviously grew a lot from where he first started. He was first represented as a big bully, who hated Hummel for being who he truly was. He eventually accepted his sexuality and embraced being gay; however, he still was represented as very masculine.
In season six, Hummel was still represented as feminine, but he was clearly more comfortable in his skin in comparison from how he was during season one. He went from not wanting people to know he was gay to being completely comfortable in a gay bar. He owned who he was and did so unapologetically.
Significance of Analysis and Conclusion
     Analyzing these two characters is important because it brings to light very important issues: bullying/harassment and internalized homophobia. The way that Karofsky treated Hummel was obviously not right, but seeing his character growth throughout the series was a step in the right direction. Additionally, Kurt’s unwavering stance in being himself is something to be commended for, despite all he went through. Glee teaches viewers that it is crucial to stand up for yourself when you are treated poorly, and apologize and make amends when you are wrong. Because it approaches uncomfortable topics head on, it is a little easier to open the dialogue on things that were once considered taboo.


References
The Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media. (2012). Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
 
IMDb. (2017). Glee. IMDb. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327801/
 
Matthew, A. (2017). Male vocal range and voice types. Your Personal Singing Guide. Retrieved from: http://your-personal-singing-guide.com/vocal-range-1.html
 
The Trevor Project. (2017). Facts about suicide. The Trevor Project. Retrieved from:
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/facts-about-suicide
 
Revel and Riot. (2017). Internalized homophobia. Revel and Riot. Retrieved from: http://www.revelandriot.com/resources/internalized-homophobia/
 
 

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