Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I Don’t Watch “Glee”



I don’t watch Glee. I know a lot of people really like the show, and I can see how it would be appealing. I tried watching a couple of episodes, but I just couldn’t get into it. I saw the Madonna and Lady Gaga episodes. They were entertaining, but it was the middle of the season, I had no idea what was going on, and I wasn’t sure how much I was supposed to suspend disbelief to enjoy the show. A lot, apparently.

I don’t intend to sound condescending. I’m well aware that the shows I watch are no better and one has to suspend a great amount of disbelief to watch them. For example, I love CSI: - a show where elaborate tests are performed in a matter of minutes, and the technology used to perform said tests more closely resemble witchcraft than actual science.

Also, Hubs got me hooked on the show Big Bang Theory – where a really hot girl has nothing better to do than hang out with four uber nerds, and she even has sex with one of them. Of course, the one she has sex with is the least obnoxious and nerdy-looking of the four, but still. Sorry, nerds. That ain’t ever gonna happen in real life.

I say all this so you know I don’t think my television viewing choices are in any way superior to those of you who watch Glee. So if you record the show on your DVR every week and think it’s the best thing to grace the small screen since 90210, that’s totally cool. We can still be friends.

Just the fact that I don’t watch Glee is important to know.

Photo credit
See, I didn’t know that one of the main female characters on the show is named Quinn. Yep, a girl. Named Quinn. 

Apparently, it’s wildly popular now to name girls Quinn. I didn’t discover this until after my son, Quinn – a BOY – was born last year.

It doesn’t bother me that there are girls named Quinn because Quinn is predominately a boy’s name. (Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof.) What bothers me is how some people react when they hear my son’s name.

To be fair, most people react very positively to his name and tell me how much they love it. That’s probably 95% of the people I introduce to Quinn. Then there is the other 5% that have to say something that annoys me.

“Quinn! What a cute name. There’s a little girl in my daughter’s play group named Quinn.” Gee, thanks. Did you have say that last part? Does that little girl in your daughter’s playgroup know she has a boy’s name?

“Quinn? Isn’t that a girl’s name? No, it isn’t. See the link above.

My least favorite is when people refer to my son as “she” once they hear his name instead of noticing his blue hoodie, boy shoes, and dinosaur t-shirt.

It’s always been cool for girls to have boys’ names. Unfortunately, the other way around is not true. So it doesn’t bother me that it’s getting popular to name baby girls Quinn. It just bugs when people assume it’s only a girl’s name.

I’ve met girls named Jason, James, Carson, Carter, Harper, Elliott, Terry and even Michael. I also met a woman named Kyle. Not Kylie, as in Minogue. Kyle. I’ve met a few guys named Kyle since then, and did I tell them they had a girl’s name? No. Did I assume these men were actually women? No, I did not. Did I even mention to them that I once met a woman named Kyle? NO! Because Kyle is obviously a boy’s name.

Quinn is good ol’ Irish name. You know the song The Mighty Quinn? My grandma used to sing it. The song is definitely about a dude. When we told my Hubs’ dad the name of our son, the first thing he said was “Ah, The Mighty Quinn!” And he loves the name.

Like I said, most people love the name. They tell us it’s “uncommon without being weird,” which is exactly what we were going for. It’s just a few people who feel the need to make remarks about it being a girl’s name, and once again, I let something bug me that shouldn’t.

I gotta stop doing that. I should also get out from under my rock and keep up with popular television.