No matter gay, straight or bi; lesbian, transgender life, I'm on the right track baby I was born to survive

I have such a love/hate relationship with Glee. On the one hand, I love what the show is doing for gay visibility with Kurt and with Santana's current storyline. On the other hand, I can't shake the feeling that their female characters are falling into traditional stereotypes and caricatures rather than real, well-developed characters. And I can't quite shake the feeling that their gay male characters are getting much more quality storylines than lesbians ever get. Although Santana's current character development might prove me wrong. I hope it proves me wrong.

My other big problem that I have been mulling over for the past week stems from the Born This Way episode. Overall a pretty good episode. I liked the message, the t-shirts and Santana's quote "The only straight I am is straight up bitch." But my big problem is the conspicuous omission of the aforementioned line of the song. No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian transgender life, I'm on the right track baby I was born to survive. This single line is the essence of the song to me. It is what gives me hope, makes me feel just a little bit more understood and respected. It gives me the strength to keep going when life knocks me down. That is the message that gay kids (and adults) need to hear. That is the message that Glee fans should have heard last week. But instead we get a weirdly abrupt cut from where that line should have been to the no matter black, white or beige . . . line for a second time. They both matter, but couldn't both lines have been included? Don't we all deserve a shout-out? And I get that songs have to be cut down for TV, but why that particular line? Why the weird edit? And why not cut down that excessively long Barbra Streisand song to make room for a line of Gaga that literally changes music and helps people feel validated?

I want an explanation for this. I want to know why more people don't care. I want to know why there is so much hatred and fear of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. What is so scary? What is so wrong with those very words that they can't be sung on Glee? Why is it that we so often take two steps forward and three steps back as a society?

Before thinking that I am nitpicking a frivolous point, hear me out. Pop culture matters. Visibility matters. We understand our world through the pop culture that we consume. It may be sad, but it is true. More well rounded gay characters open up people's eyes and hearts. Lines like that features in this post's title matter. They give strength and hope to people who need it, and reaffirm pride for others. I do believe that pop culture matters. It is so much a part of our daily lives that we can't help but be influenced by it when forming opinions. Pop culture and cultural criticism matter.

So maybe I am getting too worked up over a small point. But it matters to me. I think it is indicative of something. So ask yourselves why was this the line that was cut? Is there too much pride, too much acceptance brimming behind these words? 

And if Fox TV won't air this line, I will. Read it, think it over, scream it, mean it, live it. Fox can't shut down the emotion behind these lyrics. They can pretend we don't exist, pretend we aren't proud of who we are, but they cannot deny the feeling that I felt when I first heard Lady Gaga singing this song.

No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian transgender life, I'm on the right track baby I was born to survive.