“You're Wearing Kurt's Necklace!”

Abstract

Adolescents often bring popular culture into school, but often these literacies are not embraced or taught in the English classroom. The author makes the case for using Glee in the classroom by demonstrating its persuasive power to disrupt heteronormative notions of gender and sexuality with teens. The author uses a feminist rhetorical analysis, rooted in Judith Butler's notions of gender performativity, and parody as a subversive tool, to closely examine the characters, actions, and dialogue in one LGBT‐themed Glee episode. The article concludes with implications for teachers, LGBT youth, and non‐LGBT youth and offers recommendations for using Glee to discuss bullying, stereotyping, and marginalization through media literacy practices. As people become more accepting of marginalized groups, the article asserts that schools need to mirror those changes within classroom walls.