Sunday, March 1, 2009

Heterosexual Privilege



    "Follow That Egg", a shining example of South Park's unflinching satirical comedy, delves into one of the most hotly debated subjects of today: Gay Marriage. Ms. Garrison steals the show as a gay-bashing maniac. Ironically, Ms. Garrison is a gay male teacher who perpetuates a multitude of stereotypes associated with gay Americans and embodies all that is wrong with gay men from a heterosexist perspective. As the episode unfolds, the cross-dressing, tight-clothes wearing, sex-obsessed, sassy Ms. Garrison resorts to extreme measures to ban gay marriage in order to prevent his ex-boyfriend from marrying his new partner. Ms. Garrison takes a break from preaching hatred and discrimination to teach a lesson that will provide the "scientific data" about the inadequacy of same-sex parents necessary to ban gay marriage. Ms. Garrison's lesson pairs his students of the same sex in order to care for an egg. 
    Calamity as well as additional heterosexist tendencies ensue as the episode shifts focus to the parenting of an egg by two 3rd grade boys: Kyle and Stan. As is often the case, the young children have the most open-minded attitude towards a lifestyle different from their own. In response to Kyle and Stan's unwavering dedication to their egg, Ms. Garrison becomes a mouthpiece for gay-bashing Americans in saying, "It may be fine on the outside, but inside it's confused and embarrassed about having two daddies!" This satirical quote serves as the most potent example of typical heterosexist tendencies in the entire episode. 
    Ms. Garrison eventually hires an assassin to sabotage the successful care-taking of the egg by two boys as a last ditch effort to block the gay marriage legislation from passing. Ultimately, neither bombs nor bullets stopped Kyle and Stan from raising their egg. This comes as an immense slap to the face of Ms. Garrison and close-minded individuals who believe gay marriage should be illegal on a count of a same-sex couples being ill-equipped to raise a child. 
    The brilliance of Matt Stone and Trey Parker is once again on display as "Follow That Egg" playfully pokes fun at the ridiculous nature of gay-bashing and other heterosexist tendencies. At the episodes closing it leaves only one question in the mind of viewers: How can certain individuals believe gay couples are less qualified parents?

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