Note: It's been brought to my attention that there was a thread similar to this once before, however I wish to restart the discussion with my own questions and perspective, so please no "Search bar plz" comments.
The recent jokes surrounding the sexual orientation of the character Rainbow Dash from MLP:FiM, while obviously not to be taken seriously, have sparked a bit of thought from me regarding homosexual or otherwise "Gay" characters in cartoons and what others might think of such characters becoming more common. Children's cartoons don't focus on things such as sexuality to any significant degree, I?m thinking more within the context of schoolyard crushes than anything, so keep that in mind while reading the OP.
There is a very distinct lack of gay characters in children?s cartoons, at least here in America there certainly is, and I think that is because being gay still carries a taboo in this part of the world. What better way to get past this archaic stigma than to teach children that gays aren?t to be feared or hated? Including gay characters in children?s television programs could do a lot to help with this, not using their homosexuality to define them but merely as a part of their character as a whole. We don?t need more effeminate men prancing around in drag or butch lesbians to drive the point home, I think we need relatable, well thought-out characters that can claim to respectably represent homosexuals without resorting to stereotypical characterization. Not only would this indirectly foster tolerance of gays in children but it would also give any children who might actually turn out to be homosexual someone to look up to or, at the very least, confirmation that whatever they feel is not abnormal.
An example of one such character that I?ve always thought was very well-done was [a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Haku"]Haku[/a] from the Naruto series. He?s a pacifist by nature but continues to fight out of some misguided devotion to his insane father figure (Or romantic interest, I could never quite tell) Zabuza,.To me that?s brilliant characterization with Haku?s homosexuality being only one feature of his overall complex personality. He does dress and look female but I think it?s done rather tastefully.
Just so that I?m not misinterpreted understand that I don?t want to turn all kid?s shows into some PSA for love and tolerance of all peoples, kids want to be entertained not feel like they?re being lectured, I just think that there is a missed opportunity in excluding gays (Intentional or no) from this type of programming. I would also like to point out that I am not personally gay, so I?m essentially an outsider looking in and probably have a bit of a skewed perspective because of this, any posts from Escapists that are actually gay would be appreciated.
Questions to consider when posting:
-Does the idea of including more or any gay characters in a show targeted at younger audiences bother you? Reasons for why or why not?
-Speaking specifically about the character of Rainbow Dash: In the (Highly unlikely) event that she was to actually turn out to be homosexual how would you feel about this change? Do you think she would make a good gay character or does she fit too neatly into established stereotypes?
EDIT: Accidentally hit post before I could add the poll. Rectifying this ASAP.
The recent jokes surrounding the sexual orientation of the character Rainbow Dash from MLP:FiM, while obviously not to be taken seriously, have sparked a bit of thought from me regarding homosexual or otherwise "Gay" characters in cartoons and what others might think of such characters becoming more common. Children's cartoons don't focus on things such as sexuality to any significant degree, I?m thinking more within the context of schoolyard crushes than anything, so keep that in mind while reading the OP.
There is a very distinct lack of gay characters in children?s cartoons, at least here in America there certainly is, and I think that is because being gay still carries a taboo in this part of the world. What better way to get past this archaic stigma than to teach children that gays aren?t to be feared or hated? Including gay characters in children?s television programs could do a lot to help with this, not using their homosexuality to define them but merely as a part of their character as a whole. We don?t need more effeminate men prancing around in drag or butch lesbians to drive the point home, I think we need relatable, well thought-out characters that can claim to respectably represent homosexuals without resorting to stereotypical characterization. Not only would this indirectly foster tolerance of gays in children but it would also give any children who might actually turn out to be homosexual someone to look up to or, at the very least, confirmation that whatever they feel is not abnormal.
An example of one such character that I?ve always thought was very well-done was [a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Haku"]Haku[/a] from the Naruto series. He?s a pacifist by nature but continues to fight out of some misguided devotion to his insane father figure (Or romantic interest, I could never quite tell) Zabuza,.To me that?s brilliant characterization with Haku?s homosexuality being only one feature of his overall complex personality. He does dress and look female but I think it?s done rather tastefully.
Just so that I?m not misinterpreted understand that I don?t want to turn all kid?s shows into some PSA for love and tolerance of all peoples, kids want to be entertained not feel like they?re being lectured, I just think that there is a missed opportunity in excluding gays (Intentional or no) from this type of programming. I would also like to point out that I am not personally gay, so I?m essentially an outsider looking in and probably have a bit of a skewed perspective because of this, any posts from Escapists that are actually gay would be appreciated.
Questions to consider when posting:
-Does the idea of including more or any gay characters in a show targeted at younger audiences bother you? Reasons for why or why not?
-Speaking specifically about the character of Rainbow Dash: In the (Highly unlikely) event that she was to actually turn out to be homosexual how would you feel about this change? Do you think she would make a good gay character or does she fit too neatly into established stereotypes?
EDIT: Accidentally hit post before I could add the poll. Rectifying this ASAP.
