In the s2 episode of Degrassi Junior High, Eggbert, we see a pregnant Spike (Christine) being given a egg through her pregnant mother’s group. She has to take care of it for two weeks as she would a real baby.

All her school mates are supportive, going so far as to give it a name and paint a face on it. They coo over it like a real baby and offer to take turns baby-sitting so Spike can have some time … READ MORE

I was watching Degrassi High with a male friend (we’re both in our early twenties) and my sixteen-year-old sister. There was one episode where Caitlin, a fifteen-year-old, ropes her study partner, Arthur, a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old who is obviously smitten with her, into lying to her boyfriend Joey because she wants to cancel their date to go out with friends. Arthur then asks her out and, realising he has a crush on her, Caitlin tries to worm out of it … READ MORE

In Censored, three male characters - Joey, Snake and Wheels - take to putting pinups of girls in bikinis in their lockers, and grading the girls of Degrassi as they go by in the halls. Two girls, LD and Alexa, retaliate by putting beefcake pinups in their lockers, and doing the same to the boys. The boys don’t like it any more then the girls did.

The storyline ends with both groups being ratted out, and both of them learning a … READ MORE

The episode of Degrassi Junior High, Censored, evolves around a parent’s movement to have Spike ousted from the school for being pregnant. Having a pregnant student in the population, they claim, is a bad influence.

(In all fairness, a couple of people point out that Spike might actually be happier at a school created for pregnant teenagers, with all the support tailored for such girls, rather then at a generic state school full of uneducated, judgemental people.)

There’s a mixed reaction to … READ MORE

Just watched the very first episode of Degrassi Junior/High, called Kiss Me, Steph. Stephanie Kaye, parent’s newly divorced and struggling with her identity, decides to vamp up her image. Her best friend Voula doesn’t approve, but what does that matter as opposed to the “˜approval’ of all the boys in the grade?

After a few days campaigning to be class president, she discovers that offering the boys kisses in return for a vote works wonders. She explains to Voula: all the … READ MORE

Growing up watching Degrassi Junior/High - I was five when it went to air, ten when it went off the air and about fifteen when the ABC stopped rerunning it - I think it was Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) who started me on this road of feminism - particularly feminist women on a quest to change the media’s attitude towards women.

Lucy is a teenager and aspiring filmmaker. She cons her affluent-but-neglectful parents into buying her a video camera of her … READ MORE

There was a Canadian public broadcasting series, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which ran from 1987-1992. In five years, it covered all manner of topical subjects (especially given the show centred around teenagers) including sex, pregnancy, abortion, rape, domestic violence, infidelity, sexual harassment, marital affairs, AIDS, homosexuality, interracial relationships - you name it, this show covered it.

So far I’ve only watched the first four episodes of DH but I remember why it appealed to me so much growing up … READ MORE