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

[OmniscientOstrich]

I'm loving the audacity with which people defend the double standard that it's perfectly fine for straight characters to have crushes on each other, yet a character having a crush on someone of the same gender is pushing sexuality in kids faces. Come on, that's bullshit and you know it. Really, this is all about execution, they need to take someone who isn't a flaming stereotype who in some mid-season shows sings of attraction to someone of the same gender, maybe go on a date, hold hands, quick kiss, nothing that you haven't seen before with straight couples in almost any other kids show (and let's face it prime time/daytime tv that kids will inexorably watch to some degree) in existence. Just establish it without making a big thing of it, it shouldn't be too difficult and I think at some point there'll be a show that can get it right.

 

[JasonKaotic]

Sure, why not? It's not a sexual reference or anything, the dude would just like men.
Or a woman liking women in other circumstances, of course.

 

[Cenryk]

Honestly, as long as they don't put it in the spotlight, I think it should be ok. There are many animes that do it very tastefully. Cardcaptor Sakura for example. The problem is that Japan has a more accepting view of homosexuality where as half of the US do not. I was once contemplating this with MLP:FiM, but then realized that the main focus of the show is friendship and nothing more. Kids don't really have an interest in that sort of thing. Honestly, with the way it is now, it seems perfect. Give the kids what they want, and let more mature audiences form there own opinions from there. Take Lyra and Bon Bon. There's hardly anything that shows that they are a couple. Hell, there's hardly any time when the two are together, maybe only a couple frames. Take that and the fact that they're BG ponies and you don't really get a fleshed out character. Kids might see them as just more ponies, but we can take them and make them into whatever we want. As for RD, that's a little different. While I am a fan of the lesbian Rainbow Dash, there's not really anything they can do with her to express that without it detracting from the show or coming off as out-of-nowhere. They already expressed her character as it is. Now we should take it as we want. To little kids, they see somepony that like fast things and winning. To us, we many take it either way. As stated before, long-term relationships beyond normal friendship just isn't part of the show, even hetero ones. Rainbow Dash hooking up with Spitfire would come off just as awkward to me as any of the other main cast hooking up with a colt. Actually, I can see Rarity hooking up with some random colt after her issue with Prince Blueblood, but that's about it. But, with the main cast, aside from Rarity, they have already been fleshed out and seem to not even have any romantic interest at the moment. I feel just leave it the way it is for now and let the viewer take from it what they will.

 

[Bradeck]

If we have to start shoe horning in homosexual relationships to shows about counting to ten, learning the alphabet, and finding out what paper is made of, America is fucked.

WHY WHY WHY is it always someone ELSE's job to teach YOUR kids, this time about sex. IF you are a good parent, then you can raise your child in a manner which provides ample opportunity for the child to learn about various sexual ideals. Especially if the kid has two dads or moms. You can't expect your kids to learn everything from the TV. If you do, you're a shitty parent, and have no right being one.

Also, leave Bert and Ernie out of this. Starting a petition forcing the creators to turn them gay was the dumbest fucking thing America has ever come up with, since Emo-core music.

"Hey, we're upset about something, but too fucking lazy to create something symbolizing our belief! Let's steal someone else's life work and DEMAND they become our symbol!"

You made Jim Henson cry.

 

[xplosive59]

In Context of MLP:FIM...

NO not rainbow dash, if they did that she would be a lesbian stereotype and they dont want kids to think that all homosexual people are stereotypical, surely it would make more sense to use a character that has no stereotypical tendencies to show that not everything about the character revolves around there sexuality.

Also remeber that this is a show for VERY YOUNG kids that adults enjoy as well, the shows demographic is 3 - 10 years old (not counting Bronies and older fans), these kids do not care about anything sexual really. Also it depends on Lauren Fausts oppinion on same sex relationships (she may have already said but I have not read this) considering the one episode which had a fairly religious moral (forgot the name).

 

[ductape10]

i don't think it matters as its a kids cartoon there is a lot they can't do, but they can show that homosexual do exist (in the UK we have this guy present kids TV for over a year and he was gay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ovs09D3PU

 

[ultimateownage]

Yes, but does it matter? Children shouldn't need sexuality shoved in their face, homosexual or otherwise. Implied sexualities is fine, but don't ever directly reference them.

 

[sergnb]

Go to google
Search "Hard Gay"
Be amazed by the results
Find out he is beloved by people all over japan including children
He plays with them, often making sexual movements like thrusting his crotch, and nobody seems to care

Man, Japan sure has endorsed pedophilia in their culture

 

[sramota]

To be fair there shouldn't be straight characters in childrens shows either.

 

[JediMB]

Why and how exactly are you putting sex in a kid's show?

Oh, by the gods. Its not sex! Just because two charecters would be lesbians doesn't mean they would start scissoring every return from a comercial break. I am so tired of the "leave sex out of things" when a gay couple holds fucking hands.

It is about sex, that's why it's homosexuality

By that logic, Rarity having a crush on Prince Blueblood in MLP:FiM is all about sex, because it's heterosexuality.

Crushes are a part of growing up, they don't have much to do with sexuality. You perceiving it as sexual is your problem.

Obvious sarcasm not obvious enough for you?

And Rarity is very much a grown-up pony, even running her own business. She was shown having built up a romantic fantasy around the prince, wishing for him to court her... and while it obviously wasn't of a sexual nature, it is intrinsically tied into her sexuality. (I.e., she likes colts; therefore she fantasizes about them.)

At the end of the day, in a more open society, Prince Blueblood could have easily been replaced with a Princess Blueblood, and nothing would have changed except for what was known about Rarity's sexuality.

Ponies, ponies.

Ponies.

 

[RJ Dalton]

You *can* have anything in a kids show. The question is, would the parents tolerate it?

 

[guntotingtomcat]

I have a question that has the same answer.

Can there be a gay person in a child's life?

 

[The Harkinator]

To be honest, why would a childrens show have a straight character?

 

[JediMB]

In Context of MLP:FIM...

NO not rainbow dash, if they did that she would be a lesbian stereotype and they dont want kids to think that all homosexual people are stereotypical, surely it would make more sense to use a character that has no stereotypical tendencies to show that not everything about the character revolves around there sexuality.

I can agree on that romantic relationships should be mostly left out of FiM, in favor of simply focusing on the friendship in the show's title.

I mean, yeah, I love the TwiLuna shipfic I'm reading, but it's not something that actually belongs on the show. Relationships, straight or otherwise, would best be kept in the background, and I'd be glad to see Lyra/Bon-Bon being made official in some subtle manner.

That said, if a main character should eventually have a crush on another filly... I'd reach into the left field and say it should be Sweetie Belle. Not sure why. Dumb fabric.

 

[ThreeWords]

The actual nature of the homosexuality is not a problem, but the showing of it may be...

Bear in mind that homosexuality is, at the core, a sexual characteristic, and the portrayal might require more physicality than is proper in a children's television program.

But by all means, have a pair of male characters be very close friends, or reference a relationship.

 

[Alloflifedecays]

This, kids, is called privilege. The idea that your group is the only one that isn't all dark and scary and sexy and will corrupt children.

The fact is that any actual argument against this is likely to stem from a perspective of homosexuality or bisexuality that, consciously or unconsciously, equates them less with love and romance and relationships than with sexual perversion. The idea that homosexuality is a sex thing first and foremost is at the heart of this. But it's not. It's about relationships. And kids' shows cover, or at least acknowledge, relationships all the time. Doesn't mean they're all about the buttsex and/or scissoring. They ARE actually real relationships.

Here's a radical proposition. A kids show, where one of the kids has two moms. It's rarely alluded to, or pointed out as strange. It is in no way important to the They don't "deal with it" the way the don't have to "deal with" heterosexual or or even (as of late) single-parent households. They're just kinda there.

Guys, that's what actual gay-parent households are like.

(And that's another privilege thing. You get the default of a thing, everyone else gets their own one. Like "gay-parent households". We shouldn't have to specify gay-parent household any more than a straight-parent household.)

But yeah. I personally don't view homosexuality as inherently dark or adult or corrupting, and so I honestly wouldn't mind seeing some characters who are gay.

 

[drisky]

Shows for really little kids like for preschoolers could do it with gay parents to make them feel like there parents are normal. I had a lecture in school form someone who wrote a children's book about a girls uncle having a gay wedding, thats done right. However I don't feel that developing relationships should be apart of it. Established relationships are the best way to diversify without stepping on toes about teaching kids what sex is. Also shows for teenagers need them, now it is no longer about identifying with those around them but identifying with themselves. There is the split and the line I think any non-bigiot can be happy with.

Here is that book by the way
http://sarahbrannen.yellapalooza.com/books/bobby/index.html

 

[Lilani]

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?

See, I wouldn't mind the idea of a gay couple in a children's cartoon, but it has to fit in the universe, the storyline, and the situation at hand. The problem with bringing one into MLP, especially among the main characters is that would completely undermine the point of their friendship. See, it's a FRIENDSHIP. They are FRIENDS. It's a show about FRIENDSHIP. Not ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS. Also:

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

This is very, VERY true. Having gay relationships in something like Dora the Explorer or Blue's Clues would be ridiculous, because the age group those shows appeal to are not dealing with those issues. Sure it may not hurt to show a gay couple if the opportunity arises to show couples in the background, but relationships gay or straight are not a big deal at that point.

The shows that actually explore sexuality, relationships, and sexual identity would be best effective in the pre-teen and young teen demographics, when puberty is coming and hormones and self-discovery are going into overdrive. And you know what's awesome? None of these situations have to be overtly sexual. You know how natural it is to see pre-teen girls fawn over guys? All you have to do is switch those guys with girls. Voila. Instant expression of the normalcy of homosexual crushes.

 

[Chesamo]

There's a gay character in the Archie comics now.