ABC Family’s (soon to be Freeform) original show “The Fosters” is in its third season. If you haven’t watched the show yet… YOU ARE MISSING OUT! Created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige and executive produced by Jennifer Lopez, the show is a mix of drama, comedy, family issues, social issues and most of all love.
The show revolves around a lesbian couple (Teri Polo and Sherri Saum) parenting a mix of foster, adoptive, and biological children played by: Hayden Byerly, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Jake T. Austin (Seasons 1-2) then Noah Centineo (Season 3-present).
(ABC Family/Eric McCandless)
The shows begins with introducing us to Callie and Jude Jacobs (Mitchell & Byerly), two children stuck in the foster system who have given up hope on finding a real family. That is until they meet Stef Foster and Lena Adams (Polo & Saum) who invite the Jacob siblings into their home where this amazing journey begins.
Here is the part where I give away some spoilers… so if you aren’t caught up yet, please go onto Netflix and do that now!
Lets talk about some of the important LGBTQ issues it has addressed.
LGBT PARENTING & MARRIAGE
One of the great things about this show is that it doesn’t focus on the fact that two women are parenting these kids. Stef and Lena are a normal couple. I mean sure, them being a lesbian couple has been brought up a few times but the show doesn’t dwell on it. It lets the audience know and see that these women are AMAZING moms and that most of the characters involved in the show see that and don’t make it an issue.
Season 1A ends with the marriage of Stef and Lena. The episodes involving the engagement and wedding were both so eloquently written that you can forget that some states don’t have the same laws as California. Since the wedding, Stef and Lena have been a married couple. They’ve had fights, make-ups, and normal marriage drama.
LGBTQ ACCEPTANCE
The show has introduced us to some of the best LGBTQ characters to ever grace television!
Stef and Lena both had prejudice to face with their parents in the series. Stef’s father played a big role in the first season with trying to support and accept his daughter. Same with Lena’s parents. The good thing is that we got to see both of these characters parents grow to eventually accepted that they can’t change their daughters because love is love.
Now lets talk about one of everyone’s favorite ship… Jonnor. (Jude Adams Foster and Connor Stevens)
What can I say about Jonnor? Umm… It’s adorable! Connor Stevens (Gavin Macintosh) was introduced in season 1 as a new friend to Jude. Now as time has past, he has become a friend, confidant, and boyfriend.
The great thing about Jonnor is that the creators and producers didn’t just rush into the storyline of these boys questioning their sexuality, they let it build ever since the characters first met in season 1. Another important factor is that the creators let the actors (Hayden and Gavin) discover who they are and who they like in their own lives before throwing these characters into this storyline. The simple fact that the creators wanted their actors to be comfortable is a huge deal. What other show do you know of that has done that?
And then there is that HISTORY MAKING kiss. This show single-handedly made history with this storyline… the youngest same-sex kiss to be shown on television! It’s also important that because of this show and this storyline, young gay kids can see that it is ok to question your sexuality and that it is perfectly normal. Young LGBT kids can see their own lives being played out every week on a show that takes a storyline like this seriously.
Jonnor got to explore the journey from innocent friendship to innocent crush to innocent relationship.
Season 3 has explored what it means to be a young teen in a relationship who has to struggle with the world not understanding. One of the big storylines in season 3 has been Connor’s father Adam (Chris Bruno) not accepting Connor for who he is and the relationships that he keeps. It is because of Adam that Connor decides at the end of 3A to move to LA to be with his mother. I hope this couple can survive long-distance and/or that Adam will grow to finally accept his son for the way he was born.
TRANS AND BI REPRESENTATION
When the season 1B introduced us to Girls United, a group home for troubled teen girls, we got introduced to Cole. (Played by Tom Phelan) Cole is a trans character who is living in this group home because the courts don’t recognize his rights and still consider him a girl because that what he was born as. Thank goodness for Rosie O’Donnell’s character Rita Hendricks who helps Cole to move into a LGBT group home during season 2. Cole’s character is important though because we got to see a real trans person on our TV go through the struggles that many teen trans people go through, such as using street hormones to try to transition and most importantly society’s reactions to trans people. Which is a big deal since other show *cough Glee cough* have shown us trans characters. and turned them into a joke, which is horrible.
Season 2 and 3 introduced us to Monte Porter (Annika Marks), Lena’s new boss, who just happens to be bi-curious. The bi community isn’t one that always gets the representation that it deserves. In most shows when they introduce a bi character is for that character to be punchline to a joke about “how does being bi work?”, “Do you lean more toward men or woman?”, and other questions that diminish a whole sexuality. Lucky on this show, they didn’t make us sit through that. They showed us that it is difficult to still be discovering yourself even as an adult. I hope we get to see more of Monte as she evolves into being her true self.
“The Fosters” is an amazing show that has inspired many and continues to dish out tears, laughter, and love with every episode. And lucky for us The Foster got renewed for a fourth season! Be sure to binge watch Seasons 1-3A now so you are prepared for when 3B premieres this January, the 25th, only on Freeform!
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