The ad campaign for Secret Life
As a civil-rights activist and consumer (and creator) of media, I take notice when change is a’brewin. And tonight I was incredibly impressed with ABC Family for including a story line featuring Gay Adoption. This “refuses to be equated with Disney” channel has taken a big leap. The executives have decided to use their platform to challenge the definition of family.
If you watch “The Secret Life of an American Teenager” (it’s ok… you can admit it), you already know that the show is a bit risque. Young people having sex. Teenage pregnancy. Drugs. Divorce. Sexual Abuse. It’s really run the gambit of topics that traditionally are not discussed in shows running on a network who’s name includes family in its title.
Today this network went even further with its risque-ness. ABC Family chose to include a discussion about how two grown adults in a loving and committed relationship are the best option for parenting a child. While this may seem no-brainer material, the shock was that the option that everyone agreed upon was TWO MEN in a loving and committed relationship. They weren’t just an option, they were considered as the ideal option.
Amy, a 15 year old who got pregnant at band camp (at the same time she lost her virginity) has been facing some tough decisions. She has a boyfriend (not the baby’s father) who wants to be in her life but is conflicted about his role as a potential parent. Amy’s own mother and father are divorcing (and show a nice juxtaposition against the happily-committed gay couple). Mom and Dad are split in how they’d like Amy to deal with her “dilemma.” The baby’s father, a classmate of Amy’s, is himself a product of a broken family and is against an adoption.
After all of these players put their prides aside and begin to discuss what is best for the child (wouldn’t it be an amazing world if all parents did that!), the prospect of giving the baby to the gay couple is proposed. It was done in a classy, constructive manner. Not only in the delivery of the story line where Amy’s father (a straight man) himself learns to push aside his assumptions of homosexuality, but also in how he chooses to broach the topic with his daughter.
To see the clip I am referring to, check out the YouTube below. You can see some of the other racy material that the show includes (no promise of good acting included in this recommendation), but the scene with the gay couple starts at 6:26 in the timeline.
Bravo ABC Family! Thank you for challenging the notion that a family has to be cookie cutter. That young people can’t make intelligent decisions. That love and commitment are terms reserved for an elite few. That parenting is a “right” and not a “responsibility” or “blessing.”
Thank you ABC Family for showcasing an important topic like this while some states (here’s to you Arkansas!) are writing laws into their constitutions that prevent loving and committed couples from giving a child a home. I’m impressed.
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