Pucker Up: Eroticizing Gleeful Liminal Bodies

• In Event: Gleefully recognizing ourselves: Bridging reality, media and outsider identities

Abstract

Fox's current prime-time hit Glee features a chaotic juxtaposition of power relationships among disparate identities. Within its representational logics, the show features white kids and marginalized kids who bond through the joys of show choir. This paper explores the liminality of one character, Noah Puckerman, the cougar-baiting, shalom shouting, football playing, cheerleader sexting baby daddy known as Puck. I argue here that the liminality of Puck's characterization is rooted in his virile eroticized body, which contributes to contemporary politics of identity and resources of critical pedagogy.

Author

• David Moscowitz, College of Charleston