Can there be a gay character in a children's show?

[Felstaff]

Children's shows have married couples in them all the time. There's no sexuality in introducing two characters as "Mr. & Mrs X" so there should be no reason not to have a "Mrs. & Mrs. Y" coupling, or a "Mr. & Mr. Z"

Of course, the show itself would consequently be banned in several U.S. States, where gay marriage is outlawed, the Fox Network reigns supreme, and the Conservative American Bible is thumped with alarming regularity.

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

I don't see why there shouldn't be a homosexual character in a children's show. I figure, let them learn early, let them form their own opinions. However, it's probably best - in my opinion - to just have the sexuality of characters from a children's show left to be ignored and unnoticed by the children and let the population of the internet think about it.

 

[Ace2401]

Haha, that's pretty much exactly what happened to Rainbow Dash. Her sexuality is very much in the air if you think about it. She could be, and has been portrayed as, everything from asexual to bisexual. And I don't think it really matters what she is, she's effing Rainbow Dash and that's that.

OT: My view on the whole sexuality in cartoons is that it probably shouldn't be blatantly shown or dealt with in shows for small children, but after that, anything is fair game as long as it's done tastefully and without stereotypes.

I'm really only responding to you because I saw your picture and now I must listen to Dream Theater. You have fantastic taste in music, sir.

Why thank you. Dream Theater is pretty fantastic, not only are they extremely talented musicians on a technical level, but they are excellent composers/songwriters as well.

 

[Jesse Billingsley]

Spongebob, despite what people say, is gay, and he's been around since what 2001? But who really cares about what the sexuallity is of a cartoon, if anything it should teach children tolerance and acceptance.

 

[Alexias_Sandar]

There've been plenty of such in anime targeted at younger audiences and neither Japan nor other places that show such have ended. Card Captor Sakura has Touya (Bi-sexual, has dated both Kaho and Yukito), Yukito (dating Touya), and Tomoyo has a crush on Sakura, while her mother had a crush on Sakura's mother. Note, the 4Kids bastardization removed all of this, along with the plot and the first whole batch of episodes...for no apparent reason...there's a reason I only watch this Subbed. My kids have not been horribly scarred by it at all...plus, it's helping them learn to read.

 

[Damien Granz]

In my constant fascination with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (note: this is not a dig at bronies; I respect how they feel towards MLP:FiM even if I'm not a part of that particular circle of fans [though I have seen four episodes]) I have constantly come across references to Rainbow Dash's sexuality as being of a homosexual one. The pairing that seems to come up most often for reasons unbeknownst to me is Dash and Applejack. While I understand that most of this is just the internet being the internet, it did get me a'wondering.

Could there be a character on a show with a target audience similar to MLP:FiM that is outrightly homosexual? No allusions to it, no hinting at it, just flat out gay? Could, for example, Dash and Applejack start a romantic relationship in a future episode of MLP, or is our society not quite at that point yet?

I think that honestly it needs to get to that point where it's accepted. It's pretty hard on kids that grow up gay that have absolutely nobody they can identify with in their formative years.

I feel that the idea, in the the future of 'should we allow a gay person on television' will be seen with the same quaint embarrassment of 'should we allow a black person on television'. The people saying that children 'aren't ready for it' are ridiculous and merely trying to move the debate into areas that it doesn't need to be.

There's hundreds. And a thread on it not so long ago.
(Possibly not hundreds, but at least in 2 figures)

The thing is...why should it matter, and how would you tell? Being gay doesn't intrinsically alter anything in the rest of your personality. It just means you like to sleep with the same gender.

Honestly, matters to deal with sexuality really has no place in a kids life until he/she reaches puberty.

Nobody's saying that, in a children's show, two gay people should be on camera taking it up the rear. Nobody's suggesting that if a children's show has a heterosexual couple (and plenty, plenty do) that they have to prove it by by showing them have sex, either.

Love, and couples are shown all the time on children's television. It'd be exactly the same really, except they'd be gay.

An intimate relationship is the only thing that separates a character who acts gay-ish and a homosexual, and some would even argue about that. Straight men can walk together holding hands, they can publicly hug each other. Cultural differences teach western men that the only form of acceptable physical contact with another male is a degree of violence, starting with play-fighting and ass-kicking to shoulder punching in adolescence etc. Go a bit eastwards and you will see that men will become more physically intimate, holding hands, hugging and kissing without shame or any indication to their sexual preference.

Draw some line between characters who act gay-ish, and those who are homosexual, a lot of the latter don't act like the former.

The topic here is about the possibility of portraying homosexuals in kids shows. Why shouldn't we leave sex out of it?

Again, for the same reason that if a heterosexual couple in a children's show falls in love or gets into a clear relationship, you're not forced to show them having coitus on camera to 'prove' they're heterosexual, and not merely 'just friends'.

You seem like you're trying to be purposefully dense to win an argument, but I know you know darn well there are ways to portray a relationship on a kid's show without sex being involved.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Why and how exactly are you putting sex in a kid's show? The fact that a lot of cartoon characters act gay-ish does not make them homosexual, it's a common stereotype, especially in comedy.

People really need to stop reducing homosexuality to just the sex act. You have straight characters on shows everywhere but you don't see them having sex all the time, so why would it work any differently for gay characters?

Just... have two guys be in a relationship. That's all that's needed, you don't need to go into their sex lives because, and this the kicker, homosexuality is not just about sex.

 

[WolfThomas]

Spoiler: Yeah but only if it's this guy

Imagine Omar on Sesame street "I ain't ever put my gun on a muppet whose not in the game"

 

[MetaKnight19]

There was a debate about whether one of the Teletubbies was gay, but I'll let you be the judge...

 

[RYjet911]

Not strictly a kid's show, but Doctor Who has them.

 

[Kinokohatake]

When we say kids shows, how old are we talking? Are we talking Blue Clues or Adventure Time?

 

[DarkishFriend]

Man there were carpet eating female-motorcyclists in Cow and Chicken.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

In order for a person to be 'gay', there has to be a cognizance of sexuality. How many kids shows really focus on sexuality?

You could say the same for heterosexuality yet there are straight couples all over kids TV and TV in general and rarely does the show ever go "look, they're straight! Look! Look!"

This idea that homosexuality is all about the specific kind of sex we have needs to fuck right off. Trust a gay guy on this, sex is not a big important part of our lives. Well, it is for me but that's because I'm a borderline sex addict, but in general we care as much about sex as straight couples do. I.E yes we want it but we don't base our entire personality around it.

 

[Penguin_Factory]

Oh boy, it's this topic! And all of the expected replies are present and accounted for!

In order for a person to be 'gay', there has to be a cognizance of sexuality. How many kids shows really focus on sexuality?

(I'm not focusing specifically on this quote, it's just a stand-in for all the similar answers).

If a children's show depicts a character's parents living together, is that focusing on sex or sexuality? If it has a character's older sibling talk about going on a date, is that focusing on sex or sexuality? What about a younger character developing his/her first crush on a classmate?

In all of the situations above, a heterosexual pairing could easily be substituted for a homosexual one without making the content any more complex or inappropriate. Children don't need to understand sex or sexuality to understand the idea that two people of the same gender can have a relationship.

"LOOK AT THESE MEN THEY LIKE EACHOTHER WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" Is justs stupid. Kids wanna roll down hills and draw on walls, they dont give a fuck about deep issues like this they wont understand.

It doesn't have to be a deep issue. It doesn't have to be the focus of the TV show or the character's defining trait. It doesn't have to be obvious. You don't even need to explain what homosexuality is on-screen. All it would take is for the protagonist's parents to be two men or two women instead of a man and a woman.

A lot of people are assuming that this is an issue that doesn't affect young children, but that's not true because a certain percentage of those kids are/will be gay themselves, and they might become aware of this at a younger age than you might think. If they've never been exposed to the idea before their feelings could be distressing or frightening (particularly given how homophobic many of their peers can be), but if they've grown up thinking that it makes perfect sense for people of the same gender to fall in love, it won't be as big an issue.

Also, on a side note, I'm kind of disturbed by the number of people holding up this or that character as being "obviously gay" based solely on the fact that they act camp or effeminate.

 

[Prismatic Baron]

Could, for example, Dash and Applejack start a romantic relationship in a future episode of MLP...?

No, because the creator has said Rainbow Dash is not a lesbian.

On point: I think we should have some gay characters. A whole slew of gay characters, in fact! Because the first 20 times we try this it will be horrible and awkward for everyone, the writing will be terrible, and the characters will be stereotypes. Then, maybe 15 years from now we can make homosexuality a character TRAIT and not a character TYPE.

Edit: Oh, wait, the white friend in Static Shock was gay according to the writer.

 

[honestdiscussioner]

I don't think a character's sexuality, gay or straight, should come up when they are very very young. Once middle school comes on, then of course there should.

 

[Woodsey]

bert and ernie ...... problem solved

theyre just friends.
OT: no because;
1. it doesnt actually change you
2. kids dont have a concept of sex/sexuality
3. the parents would get angry
4. the church would get angry
5. the show would get cancelled because of bad publicity
6. nobody learned anything

1. True
2. They feature hetero relationships on kids' shows already
3. Then they can not let their kids watch it
4. They've got nothing to do with anything outside their own religion, comes under number 3
5. At least it existing to begin with would be a start (and you don't know this would happen anyway)
6. It'd get its foot in the door, which is the first step

 

[Prismatic Baron]

I don't watch My Little Pony, so I don't really know how the dynamics work between characters. Basically, are there any heterosexual relationships displayed? If so, then I see no reason why they couldn't also show homosexual relationships.

The only actual relationships seen are parents of a few of the main cast, but Spike (the male main, and also a dragon) has a crush on Rarity (one of the main six), while Rarity in turn had a crush on Prince Blueblood.

Which raises an interesting point. We can show inter-species crushes but not homosexual?

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Please, have you ever seen some of the older bugs bunny? Almost the only time he wears clothing is when he is dressed as a woman (and he did it A LOT).

They've always been there...They just aren't "having relationships" openly because you don't do that in a kid's show.

Yeah... dressing up like a woman for outward comedic effect is not the same thing as being gay.