There was a Slate column some months back noting how openminded students were on homosexual matters and such on teen shows these days. Degrassi was used as a prime example. I questioned if this was exactly true, but probably was on thin ice.
The show's season premiere sort of underlined the point. A new story arc had Paige -- the resident alpha who already has been a victim of dape rape -- being attracted to a bad girl. She didn't want to admit to this -- she simply "could not" like a girl, she could not "process" the whole thing.
Fairly believable. Determining the prevalance of socially unpopular relationships is difficult in part since even those who are open to the idea are socially (and as a result, emotionally as well) loathe to consider them. Thus, more people accept interracial relationships today than in the past (but still are hesistant ... as expressed in Something New) because of changing social mores.
This is surely the case when dealing with popular teenagers. [Old stereotypes would suggest that Paige, given her trauma -- including a recent hard break-up -- would welcome a same sex relationship. To take off on "The N" network's theme, they did not "go there" at all.] But, given the show's rules, close-mindness was so uncool. Thus, by the end (with an assist from Kevin Smith -- who directed Chasing Amy, involving a guy's pursuit of a lesbian), Paige surrendered to her inner feelings.
[I'd note, btw, the actress did a good job here -- as with a couple others on the show, she just might have a good future as an actress. The complexity of a character that some might think was just a brainless popular girl suggests the charm of the role over the years. In fact, outspoken libbie Emma actually turned out to be more of a babe as well. This too makes Paige more "approachable" in a sense for the viewer.]
This is nice and all: West Wing, for instance, promotes an idealized form of politics, and on some level, I do not mind it. But, it is okay for even "good" guys to have flaws and prejudices. In fact, it is real. So, I also wish such shows realized the fact, and let their popular teen characters have prejudices and all.
I still think they do, to a limited extent, and these characters never are completely off the hook. Some new drama is around the corner. But, still...
Another thing that is of interest is the possibility that maybe closemindness is so uncool that even if they are, they hide it. This is true for society too -- we aren't all as openminded as we claim, and this comes out in various negative ways. But, I'm not sure if there is consistent evidence of that on the show either.