ABC Family is home to a bunch of bonkers, tweens-only programming, and it’s easy to perceive the network as a little flashy and substance-less. The channel is packed with telegenic twenty-somethings pretending to be teenagers with highly implausible lives. But within the past five years, this Disney subsidiary has sneakily become home to some of the most thoughtful, progressive programming for young people.
Even the outlandish murder-mystery series Pretty Little Liars keeps the LGBT issues grounded. Emily, one of the four main characters, comes out early in the first season, to friends who readily accept her and parents who, awkwardly at first, learn to do the same. Possibly just as a way ensure that hook-up possibilities abound, plenty of other female characters in Emily’s orbit turn out to be gay (or bi); Emily’s serious relationships, when she has them, are treated with the same attention to detail and care — sometimes more — than her straight counterparts.
You would think the biggest problem facing teens is their sexuality, if you watched these shows, it’s not getting shot, or dealing with drugs, alcohol. It just seems like everything is so hyper-sexualized to the point of absurdity. What is this generation going to do when they hit middle age? What kind of valid, sex-obsessed, narcissistic, aging, oblivious, superficial monsters will they become? I cringe. They’re cramming down everyone’s throat. Turn off that TV.
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