Pen15: My Middle School was Not Nearly as Sex-Obsessed. Or Homophobic

Nostalgia tv is usually set about 20 years ago, when the producers were kids: Happy Days in the 1950s, That 70s Show in the...um, 1970s, The Goldlbergs in the 1980s.  Today's nostalgia is Pen15, on Hulu (apparently the title is meant to draw your attention by looking like "penis"):  besties Annie and Maya negotiate middle school in the long-ago year 2000. 

 

Nostalgia tv is also usually gay-free, as writers search through their memories, don't find any references to LGBT people, and conclude that none existed 20 years ago (actually they were just being denied the knowledge).  But the Episode 10 icon shows the girls apparently sharing a romantic moment.  

To check for a gay subtext (or text), I watched Episode 8, "Wild Things," about a movie viewing party that "gets sexy."

Scene 1: During band rehearsal, Brendan passes a note to Anna inviting her to a viewing party for Wild Things, a 1998 neo-noir starring Matt Dillon (top photo).  Maya advises that her to go, because then she will have an opportunity to perform fellatio on Brendan (strangely, he is rather chubby, not the usual teencom "dreamy boy").  

Scene 2: In the hallway, Maya continues to exult over the potential for penises.  Brendan (Brady Allen, left) and his friend approach to sell the movie: it's about "hairless snatch,"  The friend saw it in the theater, and "jizzed all over."  I really don't want to think about seventh graders "jizzing" to "snatch." 

Scene 3: The girls in their room, dancing.  Anna is worried about kissing Brendan; the last time, it felt "weird and unnatural."  Um..because you like girls?   They practice kissing on bed posts.  From jizzing to kissing?  This show is sending mixed messages about the sexual experiences of the kids.

Later, in bed -- they're sleeping foot-to-head, for some reason --  Maya worries that she won't have anyone to go down on at the party.  Anna suggests inviting a guy from the soccer team

Scene 4: Soccer practice.  Maya tries to ask "dreamy boy" Sam (Taj Cross, left), but  while she is saying "um...there's...um...this party...um," another girl grabs him ("Maybe you can show me...your moves tonight, nudge nudge wink wink).

Scene 5: The party, finally. 3 boys: Brendan, his friend (Skyler), and Sam.  3 girls: Sam's date, Maya, and Anna.   This is "a bunch of us"?  Cousin Richard arrives with the movie, which he acquired with his brother's id: "It's X rated.  There are beavers in it."  

Ok, this is too disgusting.  I'm out.  I'll just skip to the dance scene in Episode 10, to see if Maya and Anna recognize that they are in love, or something.

Episode 10:  Maya and Anna have broken up; Anna is going to the dance with Heather instead.  

Parents take pictures before the dance: girl, boy, girl, and then two boys who look like they are holding hands.  But they're not.

Heather and Anna reconcile, but don't kiss.  They both swoon over cute boys.  Plus Maya insults a boy by telling him to "go suck a dick until it comes."

So it's ok for girls to "suck a dick," but it's humiliating for boys?Homophobic heterosexuals!  I'm out.

Beefcake: None.  The boys are too young, although the actresses playing Maya and Anna are in their 30s.  

Nostalgia:  Not a lot.  These stories could take place at any time.

Disgusting Dialogue: Lots.

Heterosexism: Both the girls are absurdly hetero-horny.  It's all "boys, boys fellatio, boys, boys, kissing, are we still friends?, boys, boys."

Gay Characters: These kids are all homophobic.  A reviewer states that there's a coming-out storyline (in Season 2, naturally), with Gabe struggling to understand his attraction to boys amid the "homos" and "faggots" of his classmates.  

What the Heck  is Pen15?   I thought it was the name of their junior high, but acording to Urban Dictionary, it's a prank where you trick a boy into writing "Pen15" on his hand, so everyone thinks it means "penis", so he's gay.  So they laugh at him.    

Why would gay men write "penis" on their hand?  They don't need a reminder.