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

[AdamRBi]

Yes and No; because honestly shoehorning a homosexual character into a kids show for the sake of having them in there can only end badly especially considering the quality of the shows usually held to by the companies that publish them.

Writing in a homosexual character is perfectly fine though as really nothing would change; unless you had an episode about relationships which, depending on the target age group, would happen anywhere between never and rarely (or every episode if the demographic's 'tween'). There's a reason the only place Rainbow Dash exists as a Lesbian is in the diluted minds of shippers; because the show's about friendship magic not relationship magic.

 

[Pyramid Head]

The original Japanese release of Cardcaptor Sakura. I swear heterosexuals are a minority in some of the things Clamp makes. Not that i'm complaining. The creepy junior lesbian Hannible Lecter really spiced things up when Sakura kept acting like a fucking retard.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

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

But it's not, is it?

If you're telling the kids that this person is gay, then you're bringing their sexuality to the forefront. Which is wrong. Equally so is heterosexuality, or anything else.

More people complained about Amy jumping the Doctor than Captain Jack flirting with the Doctor; so it's not as if it hasn't been addressed before.

OMG! A GAY HIPPO, A FURRY AND A....whatever Zippy is...

On a children's show

...thirty years ago....

Apart from one thing... George wasn't gay. He's just a pink hippo.

Roy Skelton, who voiced him - and the Daleks/Dangermouse wasn't. And has said he wasn't, because he's just a child.

He could be, if he ever grew up...but he's a puppet.

Tinky Winky (as has been said earlier)

The BBC, who co-produced the programme, made an official response, "Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag." Ken Viselman of Itsy-Bitsy Entertainment, who distributed the show in the USA, commented, "He's not gay. He's not straight. He's just a character in a children's series."

They're just characters. They have no sexuality. Same goes for the actors. It has NO impact on how they appear. They're not gay because...they haven't decided yet - and probably - will never have to.

Unless Lucas re-imagines them.

 

[Damien Granz]

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

But it's not, is it?

If you're telling the kids that this person is gay, then you're bringing their sexuality to the forefront. Which is wrong. Equally so is heterosexuality, or anything else.

Except that children deal with heterosexuality all the time, so your analogy entirely fails.

If you want to prove that children can't deal with the concept of a relationship between opposite sex people, I think you'll find an even more uphill battle.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Except that children deal with heterosexuality all the time, so your analogy entirely fails.

No, they don't.

You're just taking heterosexuality as the norm - which is false and damages your cause. Most sexuality is undefined. If you're taking it as heterosexual, that's your problem.

If you want to prove that children can't deal with the concept of a relationship between opposite sex people, I think you'll find an even more uphill battle.

Children don't think about relationships. They can't see them yet. They see two people who like each other, and who might kiss.

That's it.

Most TV characters (adult or child) don't have a specific sexuality, just a general one that can be tuned depending on what's needed to be shown.

And that's before you have characters that are "just friends", which the 'shippers want to turn into something more.

Sexuality has no place in children's TV. Being Gay, Lesbian, Transgender or Straight is about preferences, not personalities.

But yeah, Gay characters in children's shows.

Gay for 5 years. Or is he? We know he likes Mailbu Stacy and Mr. Burns...but does that make him gay?

Some would say no. He's certainly got a crush on an elder male, but is that enough?

So...Gay characters in Children's shows. Been done successfully for over 30 years, because they don't have to engage in BLATANT MAN FLESH to do it.

He's just gay. Possibly. Get over it.

Lesbians?

Even earlier. Possibly.

 

[bet138]

simple answer: because they are kids. Long answer; when i hear the term "kids" i think between 6 and 12, witch it just touching the age when kids start going through puberty. There are no gay kids, just like there are no straight kids, they don't have an understanding of sexuality and it shouldn't matter to them. Am i against gay characters? Of course not, we live in the real world. But in regards to kid's shows, its unnecessary and just plain creepy.

 

[Prismatic Baron]

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

No, she hasn't. She simply said that Rainbow Dash's sexuality has never been referenced in the show and that's wrong to just assume she's gay merely because she's a tomboy. Nowhere does she ever explicitly state the sexuality of the character, straight, gay or otherwise.

I'd personally liked to think of all the ponies (except Rarity) as asexual, since none of them have shown any signs to the contrary.

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/12/24/my-little-non-homophobic-non-racist-non-smart-shaming-pony-a-rebuttal/

Yep, you're right about that. My bad. I had remembered reading this, but got some of her ambiguous comments confused with other similar interviews about a different show.

 

[Klepa]

I don't think we're talking about showing gay sex in morning cartoons.

More like having a morning cartoon with a bunch of kids, and one of the kids has two moms, for example. No ambiguity, and no hubbub.

 

[Discrodia]

I don't really think kids shows should directly approach the problems of sexuality, since not only is it (at least in America) about the quickest way to get yourself off the air and cancelled, but the fact is that at younger ages it just doesn't have an impact on kids, like it might on a show for adults.

So, while I agree that diversity in TV is a good thing, I don't feel that there would be any benefit to adding it to children's TV beyond creating massive controversy.

As for Dashie being a lesbian... It's the internet. People write things like Cupcakes and manage to get fans, so whatever floats your boat is fine I guess. Because in the end, it's all about how you interpret what you're given that determines your opinions.

(But she totally is one, just sayin' =P)

 

[Indeterminacy]

So perhaps we can all agree on the principle that "There should be less heterosexuality in childrens television programming"?

 

[Your once and future Fanboy]

One way I see that there could be a problem is that in a kid show there shouldn't be a need to say a character is gay or straight or anything in-between, the characters should be more or less non-sexual since they are too young to know what they are at that age (again I just wanted to stress that I mean that it can be a element in teen shows, but not in kids shows).

So if you have a character be gay, than that would be a nod towards the parents that the kids wouldn't understand (if the show doesn't show any sexual or intimate actions like passionate kissing), the kids would think that Joe and John who where living together where just two best friends and room-mates, not a couple.

And if you showed those elements in the shows, it would take much better writers than usual to make them belivable characters instead of a token, after-school special figure. And their part in the show shouldn't just be that they are either:
-doing a "Jack" from "Will & Grace" rutine.
-being treated badly and being a martyr for the kids to empathize with.
-or just a single-note struggle for coming out of the closet.

The latter can be a part of a story or something, but not the basis for the character.

Ps: note that I am myself Bisexual and came out almost two years ago, and therefore probably a little bias.

 

[Nergy]

I've got an idea, one that would keep everyone happy (as misguided as some of you may be):

A children's show about a child/children who just so happens to have same-sex parents. There would be kids watching who could actually relate to that and everyone else would gain understanding of what it's like to be the child of same-sex parents. The show could deal with so many issues.

The bullying from kids at school

The social alienation of adults

And loads of other issues

There isn't a show out there for these kids to turn to, would be nice to see one.

 

[Terminate421]

Though not a brony, I like Rainbow Dash.

I will defend her on the account that she does not seem lesbian.
That is all.

 

[Bailey1337]

Ugh...another "gay" issue. Well personally I can't really recall any actual "children's" shows that deal with sexual orientation flat out, homo or hetero, mostly because children haven't yet reached that point in their development and thus wouldn't even be able to relate or really understand such concepts as physical and emotional intimacy. Unless of course your talking about the portrayal of the family unit in a children's show which always consists of a father, mother, and child/ren. I hope not to offend anyone when expressing my personal opinion,which I suppose is impossible since we all simply love to take offense, but I don't think it would be such a good or even really productive idea to expose children to the concept of a two daddy/mommy family unit at the current time since it's still an extremely heated debate with a lot of hatred coming from both sides, (and don't tell me that people defending gay marriage don't hate people who are against it.) and children just don't need to be wrapped up in such matters. That's just my personal opinion though.

 

[LobsterFeng]

i recently marathoned spongebob squarepants. first time i've seen it. i'm pretty sure spongebob is gay; and awesome.

The creator of the show stated that he's not gay, just childish and innocent.

 

[Jenitals]

Tinky Winky.

Actually he was just a transvestite. Scratch that, he only carried a handbag and was purple and he was banned in Polland.

I think there may be some issues here.

 

[A Raging Emo]

Here's a better question; why does it matter?

I assume by Children's Shows you mean the target audience will be between the ages 0 and around 13. I think that it shouldn't matter if a character is gay or not, and why even bother to mention it unless it is important in the narrative?

 

[CthulhuMessiah]

If a straight character is allowed to be in a kids show, then a gay character can be in a kids show.

 

[Nergy]

and don't tell me that people defending gay marriage don't hate people who are against it

Don't they have a right to be angry? People are basically telling them they can't do something simply because of who they love. So, no it is NOT a two-sided issue, it's a case of ordinary people simply asking for the same rights as others. Not much "debate" involved.

 

[robot slipper]

Depends on the age group and what you show. I don't think it would be appropriate to show Dora the Explorer snogging someone, male or female.

I think kudos has to go to the writers of Doctor Who for showing that Captain Jack is attracted to both genders in a way that is not made a big deal of by the characters around him. The audience's heroes (The Doctor, Rose etc.) see Captain Jack flirting with males and females and react to his behaviour the same way in both instances. This reinforces the concept for kids that it is not a big deal for someone to be attracted to someone of the same, or indeed both, genders.

Off-topic for a sec: I also like that on Doctor Who they show inter-racial relationships in a completely normal, no-big-deal way too. I remember watching Degrassi Juniour High when I was a pre-teen and there was a plotline where White Girl went on a date with Black Boy and basically the girl's mother told the girl that it wouldn't be a good idea for them to keep going out together because if they had children together one day then "other people" (the mother claimed to not be racist) might disapprove and give them odd looks along the street. How fucked up is that for a kid's show!