Monica Cole of the American Family Association knew what might happen if the AFA sub-group, One Million Moms, protested the ABC Family drama The Fosters.
The show features a lesbian couple (Teri Polo, Sherri Saum) raising a gaggle of children, material the Moms feel isn’t appropriate for younger viewers.
Such protests often create a crush of publicity, something which can boost the show in question’s profile. One of the program’s executive producers said as much during a recent interview, thanking the Moms for their efforts.
That fear couldn’t overshadow what Cole wanted to accomplish with a protest–warn parents everywhere about the show and its agenda. It’s why One Million Moms started to spread the word about the series last year.
“It’s extremely important to us that we make sure conservative families get their warning,” Cole, the director of One Million Moms, tells Breitbart News. “That outweighs the free publicity.”
The Fosters recently began its second season, and the lesbian relationship at the heart of the story is only part of the group’s concerns. Through its short life, Cole says The Fosters has touched on mature themes like prostitution, promiscuity, vandalism, physical abuse and alcoholism.
The show doesn’t celebrate these issues, but young viewers aren’t often ready to process them all the same, she argues. Its why her organization routinely contacts the show’s sponsors to see if they are willing to stick with a show it says isn’t appropriate for family viewing.
Cole says some sponsors have withdrawn their support for The Fosters but doesn’t name names.
“If [sponsors] hear from enough parents and mothers … they know who does the shopping … it may perk up their ears,” she says.
Parents often allow their children to watch ABC Family fare because they assume the channel’s programming reflects the brand.
“They may not monitor or pay close attention to the content,” she says. “Putting a positive light on the two mothers being lesbians … we feel like it’s inappropriate content for a teen-age program and a family channel.”
Cole acknowledges that families today “come in all different shapes and sizes” and while her group relishes the power of social media to spread its message it also means it receives its fair share of negative comments for its stance.
“Freedom of speech goes both ways,” she says.
That said, she intends to keep on contacting sponsors who may be interested in working with programs like The Fosters. Conservative parents deserve nothing less, she argues.
“Protecting those families … that’s what we’re all about,” she says.
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