Gossip Girl Sociology

Gossip Girl is a television show that follows the lives of five teens living in New York City. Throughout the show, there is a narrator who is simply known as Gossip Girl that follows the teens around the city and knows all of their secrets. Their secrets, which are revealed on Gossip Girl’s website, deal with many things ranging from sexuality to family life. Sexuality is a major element on the show. The five teens are constantly changing who they date in the same manner in which they change their clothes. There are heterosexual relationships and homosexual relationships. Eric, one of the main characters, is “outed” by his sister's nemesis at the dinner table. This affects the relationship with his mother because she was unaware of her son's sexuality and did not know how to approach the subject. Sexuality, as shown in this episode, can play a large role in relationships and in the way in which others may see someone because they may not be as open-minded or as accepting as one would hope. One who has not been exposed to many homosexual people may have a hard time understanding that it is not a choice.

One character, Jenny Humphrey, is seen as an outsider due to her family's economic status. In turn, the “in-group” of teenage girls in her high school struggle to accept her as their leader. As with sexuality, these girls have been sheltered and have only known their wealth and comfortable lifestyles. They do not understand that one may not always have the same resources that are available to them. They see those who do not have as much money as them as being weak because they believe that money is power. For this reason, they exclude anyone who they do not deem fit from their social