Dads on Glee

As I was watching Glee Tuesday night, I realized something strange and which happens often in some television shows--Rachel's parents have not made an appearance on the show, they have only been mentioned. I am not sure exactly what this could mean, but there are a few reasons that her dads are M.I.A. to the audience and yet completely present to Rachel. One could be that showing a gay couple living together in a more committed relationship is too controversial for the network. However, this does remind me of Modern Family, where Cam and Mitchell are the adoptive parents to baby Lily; there could be a difference in showing two men raising a baby than two men raising a teenager. Another reason could be that Rachel's dads haven't necessarily been needed in the story line. I didn't think so until a couple of weeks ago where she repeatedly talks about who her mother might be and really the only reasonable way she could have found out is by asking her parents about it.