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

[Vaer]

No, why should there be ? why should sexuality even be an issue in kids shows ?

And of course there are more boy likes girl relationships in cartoons since heterosexuals are the norm, but those relationships aren't really developed or anything, it's just some slight hints here and there, they're kids shows not adult movies.

As much as you might like it homosexuality isn't normal, it's fine and I have nothing against it but it's not normal and I can tell you that most if not all parents would not be happy if their kids would turn up gay, sure they might not say anything or even be fine with it eventually but most want their kid to have a normal family and have kids, having gay relationships in a kids show will enrage a lot of parents and if some of those kids turn out to be gay later on the parents will blame the cartoons even though they aren't at fault.

There's also no point to potentially loose a large amount of your viewers to cater to a small minority.

 

[alinos]

No but hear me out.

Gay characters are perfectly fine to put in tv shows and i welcome them but they shouldn't be there for the sake of having a gay character.

If treated right go ahead.

But should sounds like a there must always be one type thing so that people can practice tolerance which doesn't happen when its in there to fill a quota

 

[Semitendon]

It'd be a hell of thing if they were.

See, the reason why some of the religious protest gay marriage, is because they don't want their kids to grow up thinking that being gay is morally acceptable. Seeing a gay married couple validates the homosexual by society, and that translates into an acceptable behavior.

In short, if kids didn't exist, the argument against gay marriage would be limited to the few people who think it's "gross" versus everyone else.

Putting a gay character in a childrens TV show would cause such a backlash, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the number of violent attacks against gay people shot up 10 to 15%. Also, on the politcal level, a lot of politicians will claim equality among sexual preferences, but if you force it on their kids, you will see some political fallout for the gay community.

Ultimately, gay acceptance is on the rise, attacks against gays are declining, gay marriage is slowing moving torward nationwide acceptance, why on earth would you fuck that up, just so you can try to squeeze in one more generation?

 

[Typecast]

They're already there.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Sexual issues are hardly relevant for children's programming anyway.
Watching a couple go at it in Sesame Street would be no less out of place than if they were homosexual or heterosexual.

 

[AstylahAthrys]

I think it would be a good subplot for a kid to have two daddies or two mommies because then kids with gay parents may feel like they really are normal. Beyond that? I'm not sure of, especially if it's a show about kids/tweens. (but I would think that any romantic subplots with heterosexual kid/tween couples would be awkward, too.)

 

[HardkorSB]

He-Man was gay.

 

[Merkavar]

who cares.

i dont think people should go out of way to make characters gay. like dont make them gay for the sake of being gay. but dont be afraid to show they are gay if its actually part of their character.

 

[captaincabbage]

Why? for the sake of diversity I guess. It's a good enough idea, but I just don't think it'd be worth the hastle.
I'm not being close-minded or anything, I just don't reckon there's any point in it. The kids watching those shows are a bit too young to understand or care about relationships or sexuality, so why should we force it into their shows for no discernible reason other than to appease some groups, especially when other groups are going to complain, then there will just be some undeserved controversy for the show, etc, etc.

 

[eljawa]

why not/ i mean...gay people exist, like it or not. sooo...this reminds me of the postcards from buster episode that got banned due to a lesbian reference

 

[Zaverexus]

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

I agree.

OP: What kids shows are you talking about that show heterosexual type themes, that you would want to show more homosexual type themes?

Maybe the Disney movies where the guy/prince marries the princess/girl after love at first sight and all that crap?
But that overall is a stupid thing to show kids, homosexual fairy tales are no better.
You convince kids that if you see someone who is attractive you instantly fall in love with them and they will automatically love you too and you'll get married etc etc and that this is the primary goal of life.
Which is wildly inaccurate in so many ways and generally just not a great thing to show to your children IMHO.

So whether homo- or heterosexual those themes aren't great.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

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.

This. I hate it when people say "we should have more of this type of character because that's normal!" as if the goal of kids shows should be to set some sort of standard for what is 'normal'.

And I've seen quite a few people in this thread saying that anything sexual shouldn't be in kids shows. Why? What, are we supposed to act like it doesn't exist or something? If there is something that is shocking or very frightening to children, then it probably shouldn't be in the show. I mean, the point of a children's show is that it appeals to children, right? But otherwise, I don't think people should be afraid to include more mature, subtle themes in kid's shows, because I've always found the best ones that I really loved did that. At first glance, they were a simple kid's show with stuff that kid's could easily relate to, but beneath all of that, there were more more significant themes that were cleverly portrayed through all of the simpler colors and fun.

I liked slowly beginning to understand and notice those ideas as I grew up, and finally realizing it all now that I'm an adult. It was always the shows that were created with honest, artistic intent that stuck with me then the ones that seem to be churned out of a factory to teach me shit and normalize certain things.

I think those kind of kid's shows may actually be good for the child's development. It's symbolism. Instead of hollow, fictional kid's stories, and realistic one's that don't necessarily appeal to children, you have both of those combined, where those deeper, realistic ideas and life-lessons are communicated in a way that children can relate to. What separates our intelligence from other animals is symbolic and abstract thinking.

 

[laol1999]

i think most peolpe dont really care aboiut what sexuallity someone is but
i think that most people are just used to the main charecters in tv shows being hetero sexual
if they just put it in at the begining of a show are dont act like its any different then heterosexual couples then i dont think kids would care though

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

You make it sound like a bad thing.

 

[Peteron]

Not the best idea in my eyes. Knowing the media if we gave them the ability to do so they would make them excessively flamboyant and sterotypical. My question is...why gay people? Romantic interest has never been a factor on children's television. Most characters dont even seem to take interest in it. I don't see what contribution a homosexual character would bring to the table, seeing as many characters don't even show they are heterosexual.

 

[Peteron]

Not the best idea in my eyes. Knowing the media if we gave them the ability to do so they would make them excessively flamboyant and sterotypical. My question is...why gay people? Romantic interest has never been a factor on children's television. Most characters dont even seem to take interest in it. I don't see what contribution a homosexual character would bring to the table, seeing as many characters don't even show they are heterosexual.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

That's actually a rather intelligent reply. Congratulations.

As I understand it, the question being asked in the topic is not "should there be homosexuality-accepting/oriented shows?" but "should shows be accepting/oriented towards homosexuality?"

You see, I don't care one whit if there's a channel that shows "alternative lifestyle" kids shows - as long as it's designed in the same way as Christian kids' channels are today - designated channels. If you want to do that, go right ahead; I don't care. It's happened in other media (children's picture books [http://www.amazon.com/King-Linda-Haan/dp/1582460612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301351383&sr=8-1]) and it has no affect on me nor on my potential future progeny, any more than VeggieTales has on yours.

The problem occurs when you make this answer ("homosexuality is good/right/natural/immutable") part of general children's television. It's the same issue I'd have with, say, a Nickelodeon show condoning premarital sex - implicitly saying "this is OK" to my kids is a problem.

Exactly! Let's chop everything up and mechanically divide it into different channels for different types of people! Everybody fits neatly into pre-determined and narrowly defined molds! And children should never, ever be exposed to a viewpoint that their parents may not approve of.

But seriously, I just think that's a bad idea. Excuse my sarcasm

You know what were some great fucking children's shows? Hey Arnold, rug-rats, Doug, there's tons of them (90s cartoons FTW) And they often wou ldn't fit within the confines of a "Christian" or "alternative" label. They were shows made to entertain people while generally being relevant and 'appropriate' to kids with great stories and characters.

This maybe isn't the best example because it's not a kid's show, but Family Guy. Recently, I've noticed it's gotten more preachy and one-sided, but I remember in the older episodes episodes (like the one about Peter's extremely religious father and the Pope), it actually had a somewhat pr-religious theme expressed, while making fun of and criticizing Peter's father for being an extremely religious, work-a-holic. It didn't just take one viewpoint, it took many, and overall, just had characters with different personalities and beliefs interacting and trying to get through a conflict. And other episodes had a much different perspective on religion.

 

[xdom125x]

I imagine representing gay characters in a kids show would be tricky for a few reasons. One example I saw used earlier in the thread was having gay parents raising a kid. If the show didn't go "these people are dating" it would just look like one person helping another raise one of their kids. It wouldn't really imply any sexuality difference, but just being a good friend. Another reason (way less important) is the fact that people would fear giving those characters any flaws for fear of being accused of stereotyping gays as x,y or z.
If the show isn't handling sexuality at all (or well) they should probably avoid(feel like I misspelled that. Sorry) addressing it to avoid shooting a good cause in the foot. However, if a show is going over the topic of hetero-relationships they should/can at least address that it isn't the only possibility. Even having a male character saying something like "girls aren't my type" or whatever the child equivalent is would be a step in a good direction.

 

[SturmDolch]

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.

Wait, what? Spongebob and Shaggy were gay? But they were my favourite characters in their shows...

I'm also quoting you because I agree with what you wrote. Do we really need them to come out of the closet? As far as I can remember, the cartoons I watched usually didn't have any romantic sub plots apart from a few one-off jokes.

 

[jovack22]

Kids' shows are already full of sexually ambiguous and characters who are unmotivated by sex because it really serves no purpose in their mental development at that age.

To say that one character is outright gay really is going over the top. On top of that, people who are gay are in the minority, so in the best interests of equality, misrepresenting that ratio is usually the decision of a gay person in an executive position trying to thumb their noses at society rather than thinking of the children's best interests.