“I really need a mom right now”: Maternal Absence, Ambivalence, and Autonomy in Glee

[para. 1]: "In season one of Fox TV's Glee, wannabe Broadway star Rachel Berry arrives at glee club practice wearing a garment made of stuffed animals. She informs her fellow Gleeks: “I've chosen a Lady Gaga look that expresses the longing for a childhood I was deprived of.” When her friends veto the ill-designed outfit, Rachel pays a visit to Shelby Corcoran, coach of the rival Vocal Adrenaline group, and more dramatically, the woman Rachel has just a few scenes earlier identified as her biological mother. Opening her coat to expose the dress to Shelby, Rachel, raised by two gay fathers, confesses: “My dads can't sew. I really need a mom right now. Do you think you can help?”"