Cultural Significance of Kurt and Blaine

      I was extremely excited for this series of readings because I am a huge Gleek.  Allison McCracken uncovers the impact of Kurt and Blaine’s voices as well as their relationship.  Prior to reading these articles, I was extremely drawn to these two characters and their relationship together; however, I couldn’t clearly explain why.  Now that I have read this series I understand their appeal and how they draw in their audience.  As I was reading the article, I speculated that McCracken was using the distinct singing style of Kurt and Blaine as a symbol of homosexuality.  She enlightened me on the history of falsetto voices and the crooner and how this type of singing was extremely popular in the 1920’s before this type of singing was censored and frowned upon.  She stated that men were strictly singing about women in a low voice and women were singing only about their love for men. Singing was no longer gender neutral beginning in the 1930’s.  The history of the falsetto and crooner were explained in the first article of this series and I found it very interesting that the picture of Kurt sitting between Blaine’s legs as they sing to each other would have been a typical picture of male singers in the 1920’s and only now are pictures like that becoming culturally acceptable. Why it has taken so long is hard to comprehend. 

            The growing acceptance of the falsetto and crooner is extremely similar to the growing acceptance of homosexuality.  Kurt and Blaine are giving a voice to the young adults who are struggling with their sexual identity, who are openly gay but who may continue to struggle on a daily basis with society, and they give a voice to individuals who are proud to be gay and give them even more confidence.  My initial attraction to Kurt and Blaine was their voices.  Kurt’s voice was extremely rare and Blaine’s voice was amazing.  Both voices drew me in regardless of the singing about their love for each other.  I was only concerned with their voices, not their sexuality which could translate to how I am only concerned with the individual as a person and not concerned with their sexual preference.  I believe the producers of Glee are trying to increase the acceptance of homosexual relationships through the voices of Kurt and Blaine.