Poll: Should There be Gay Characters in Kid's Shows/Films?

[Scarim Coral]

Sure why not? The worst case scenario is some religious fanatic parents protesting about that cartoon show and stop their kid from watching it.
Now that I think about it there are gay/lesbian in anime like Sabre Marionette J and Sailor Moon (well I read that Sailor Neptune like Sailor Uranus but I had never watch the show that far to confirm).

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

When I hear kid's shows, I think of stuff like Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer or whatever. The kids who watch these are usually grade school or younger and would not understand intimate or romantic relationships. Most kids this age think kissing is gross. Even if kissing was not shown, the kids would not understand homosexual relationships unless it was explained to them. This also goes for heterosexual relationships. Kids will likely view homosexual relationships as friendships and completely mistaken the characters. Shows catering to young viewers should not blatantly illustrate any type of sexual or intimate relationship even if sex was not shown. I think the earliest that a thing could be shown should be toward adolescence when kids are becoming more open to such behaviors.

I've never seen it, but doesn't Dora the Explorer have a mom and dad? That's a relationship. That's all we're talking about here. Why can't her friend (I'm assuming she has friends) have two moms? It's that easy to slip it in, to let kids know that it's a possibility, and not have to explain anything because kids know what parents are.

For that matter, why do you think you'd need to explain this to kids? Just show it. That's the best way to convey information in a TV show anyway (Show don't Tell). If the kids don't get it and think they're just friends, then no problem. If they get the subtext, then they learned something. Either way, the image of two adult men holding hands is something they see, and thus learn is okay.

 

[CactiComplex]

kiddy shows show a kid having a crush on a girl, have a kid have a crush on someone of the same gender, it's not fucking complicated, it's not offensive but it lets people know that we exist >_<

"Why not?" is a better question. Seriously, what is the big deal?

Pretty much these two comments. Seriously, why not? It's a part of life. There always will be people who aren't heterosexual, and right now we're kind of shoved to the back of things like this in case it offends some poor sensitive soul. Homosexuality is a normal thing, so why not treat it as you would heterosexuality?

 

[jowo96]

I don't care, I don't even watch kids TV

 

[Jaded Scribe]

I'm torn between opinions.

On one hand I think that 'outing' spongebob and shaggy may lead to greater acceptance when they grow older and less homophobia in the teenage years.

On the other hand I think things should be kept simple and the prince should stay in the closet and keep going after that princess.

I'm struggling to come up with a decision.

Maybe it's my own prejudice and mentality but I would find it awkward and embarrassing talking about homosexuality. Well more awkward anyway, let' face it when kids and sex come together it's nothing but embarrassing.

Spongebob isn't gay. Squidward's the gay one (and not just because he fits the stereotypes).

 

[spartandude]

Nothing against it, I mean I'm not sure we should explore sexuality on kids shows but i wont be opposed to them having homosexual relationships as well as heterosexual relationships.

 

[Technicolor]

I sat yes, but There has to be a reason for it. Just throwing a gay characters, or just suddenly outing one does not make it more diverse. It just makes the character less interesting. They stop being Steve, the comic relief character, and become Steve, the obligatory token gay guy.

 

[Ham_authority95]

this has been bothering me for a while, we have a community that is in a largely public agreement that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, and yet, in kid's shows you'll often see male and female characters who are attracted to one another but never those of the same sex? and you can say "kids wont understand that" but i know for a fact that when i have kids, i certainly won't let them grow up under the delusion that only people of opposite genders can fall in love and get married!

so what are your opinions?

I don't think we should focus on the sexual orientation of the characters as much as we should focus on the quality of the show in question.

Romance isn't very important in kids shows/movies, so it wouldn't effect much except for the number of Family Values groups boycotting it.

 

[Aur0ra145]

I don't think kid's shows should have any type of sexual connotations.

I'm in total agreement with this statement.

 

[Sunrider]

My vote would go to "Who cares?" if there was such an option. Because, really, why is there such a damn fuzz over it? It's like Morgan Freeman said about racism. Stop talking about it all the damn time and it will go away.

To clarify: I'm not saying racism and homosexuality is the same thing, I'm merely saying that the fuzz about homosexuality which seems to be quite big in some places will likely die down if everyone just ignores the haters. I'm 100% sure you know what I mean.

 

[binvjoh]

Homosexual relationships should be just as present as heterosexual ones are.

 

[KarumaK]

I think there should be whatever characters the writers can reasonably create and develop that fit the story.

But yeah sure, we can cram shit in that might make the show suck to prevent accusations of discrimination too.

 

[StriderShinryu]

There are going to be gay people in the normal every day real world that kids inhabit, so I don't see why they shouldn't be in the television shows as well.

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

I don't think there's any real reason to, because kids shows don't deal with those kind of issues. They're for entertaining children, and I don't see that as necessary for achieving that goal.
That being said, if an opportunity arose other than putting a gay character in there just for its own sake, then I see no problem.

 

[Saippua]

As long as they dont make a huge deal about it.

 

[Mikeyfell]

of course. and for the exact reason you put in the poll.
Open mindedness for the win.

I'm of the mindset that you can't turn people gay or strait. It's just a physical attraction to one set of parts or another. And then there are those not shallow people who look at personalities and shit, but we're not talking about them right now.

No matter how many gay guys kids grow watching they're still going to be strait if they like boobs.

And even if I'm wrong and you can turn people gay, I'd rather have kids grow up gay than have them grow up homophobic.

 

[googleback]

its not like sexuality is a common theme in kids shows though. but yeah why the hell not?