The Foster’s is a TV-show that shadows the lives of a lesbian couple, Stef and Lena who raise one biological son and four adopted children .Their names are Brandon, Marianna, Jesus, Callie, and Jude. The genre of this show is mostly family drama, but it focuses a lot on sexuality, racism, and the complexities of the foster care system. I decided to choose this show because it portrays a lot of LGBT themes which we discussed a lot during the semester.
Both parents in the show demonstrate how much women can be judged due to their sexuality . Stef who is one of the mother’s, portrays a lot of bravery with bold opinions even though she is a woman. She is also a police officer which changes a lot of things. Many people think women are not strong or are not meant to be a cop, but Stef shows that it is possible. Her wife who is also a black woman works as the school vice president for the kids’ school. Until the last season, she does not have the full title of being the principal but gets it due to her hard work. This shows that interracial women can have a high position. Both mother’s in this show portray well that being a same sex married couple does not affect your parenting skill. Both parents act as a dad and a mom. As the kids grow up in the show, we can see that their mom teaches them a lot about sexuality like sexual intercourse or being homosexual. They are open to many things and they raise their children perfectly even though they are from the same sexes.
Jude who is the youngest of the family acknowledges that he is gay. The thirteen years old built a relationship with one of his schoolmates, whose close bond became his first love. When they shared their first kiss, Jude felt confused as he was curious about his sexuality. I found that this part represented a character that is going through a struggle that many people deal with. Several people are scared to come out of their” closet “, but this show showed different because Jude did not hide his secret for a long time. When he did, he was not judged by any of his family members. This really showed that you should be happy with your sexuality because it defines you. Jude also deals with gender double standards meaning that during the last season he is judged by some of his online viewers because of the way he dresses and looks. He then tries to change his appearance but ends up going back to what he used to look like. This displayed that a lot of boys are often pressured to look “hot” and not “nerdy”. This social pressure showed that boys often get judged by not conforming to their “masculinity “. Jude’s character went through many different obstacles due to his sexuality, but he managed to be himself.
Callie is one of the daughters in the show. She is the definition of a tough woman. Throughout the show, she deals with many crimes and injustices which shapes her to want to be a justice fighter. During this course, we discussed how some portray women; being needy and sensitive. Callie is the opposite of that, she shows the people around her that she is independent and does not care about what others have to say. During the five seasons, Callie has always defended someone or tried to do something good for someone else. She never put herself first which brought her many problems. The character kept being strong even though she deals with various things. One thing that I liked a lot about her character is that she meets a boy who is transgender and still decides to date him. Many people are not open to date somebody who his transgender which Callie was totally not. This really showed that it is okay to be involved with someone who is trans. I also believe that it gave support to the transgender community and that it is a normal thing that you should not be ashamed of.
Honestly, I think that The Foster’s is the perfect show to portray many social problems like sexism, racism, the justice system, and mostly LGBT themes. In fact, many viewers are young teens and I believe that it can help a lot of them because it does not shy away from controversial issues. Every sibling in the show deals with something that a real teenager would deal with and I’m sure it has helped many teenagers.
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