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

[Evill_Bob]

No, what children shows really need is more dakka.

 

[agentorange98]

Yes, yes there can be, will there be in the not too distant future? no not for awhile anyway cause you know stupid people

Im sorry but im one of these people who doesnt think sexuality should be part of a childrens TV show. Of any kind. It shouldnt be seriously talked about in such a comical and bland environment. All characters on kids TV shows are 1d and have no depth, instead drawing on steriotypes and exaggerated qualities. I dont want serious lessons on equality taught by such characters, it wouldnt work properly.

Children of a VERY young age dont see that someone is gay unless you made it that characters defining feature. Then it just becomes steriotypical.

"LOOK AT THESE MEN THEY LIKE EACHOTHER WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" Is justs stupid. Kids wanna roll down hills and draw on walls, they dont give a fuck about deep issues like this they wont understand. And forcing characters like this into a steriotyped kids TV show will NOT help.

I think from the age of 12 up shows can include them, when they are mature enough to actually understand. The thing is including it and not mentioning it will confuse them. But including it and making an episode will force the issue too much and also confuse them, as well as forcing jokes/steriotypes to make the show funny as WELL as discuss the issue, kinda ruining the point. Basically no one grows up homophobic anymore, we dont really need this kinda education that much.

Actually you make a good overarching point I'm inclined to agree with, being do we really even need to portray relationships on childrens shows(I mean for like younger children, like what the above quote pertains to) I mean what does it add as an over all to whole situation? Teaching about love maybe yeah but alot of the whole reason for adding it in is completely pointless to the idea of a kids show

 

[DementedSheep]

Why not? Obviously if it?s a children?s show they aren?t going to be having sex but that doesn?t mean they can?t be shown to be in a romantic relationship. It dose not need to involve sex at all and it should not be the focus of that chracter but having gay characters should not be an issue.

 

[Aurgelmir]

Honestly, I'd say around 60 percent of Americans would not have an issue with it. Provided things were kept tasteful of course.

it's the 40 that would have a freakout loud enough to be heard on the moon that keep it from ever coming up.

This. At least for the USA. I think other countries might be a little more forgiving on the matter.

Also young kids are also some of the more open to the suggestion.
but as the quoted said, there will be that small conservative group that will go head over heels to stop it.

 

[fenrizz]

I'm all for it.

Kid's need to be taught that being homosexual is ok at an early age.
It's the only way we can eradicate homophobia.

So what if the church and some parents scream about it?
They are in the wrong, and should be ignored.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

It doesn't have to do anything with sex, just have a boy character have a crush on another boy character. You do realise there are crushes and the like in kids' shows all the time right? Ah, whatever, who wants to listen to this fool who just sits around and watches cartoons all day...

 

[SinisterGehe]

Well I do not really see there to be need to include anything about sexuality to childrens cartoons, specially to the ones aimed at kids under the age of 10, after that you could add some hints about sexual relationships, since after the age of 10 kids start to be mature enough to start understanding the meaning of relationships. You know, after the "Girls are gross" and "Girl bacteria" stages are over, before that there is no point of talking about hetero-, bi-, or homosexual relationships.

I wouldn't mind it, I just do not see it to be relevant to taught about to kids at that age. Far as I know every person I know who is Pro-gay and anti-gay (in this generation, referring to the students I am in school with) grew up watching the same cartoons and media than I did and I don't think that really defined their opinion about is being gay/bi whatever right or no? Those opinions got forged in early teenage, when sexuality started to become something of a interest.

And also, why the hell we always talk about gays and straight relationships to be something to be educated about. I can tell you that very few people even understand what a-sexuality is, means or what kind of a relationship is a-sexual relationship. People like I do exist you know, but we keep getting ignored, like we wouldn't be important. And we do get teased a ridiculed also. All those comments about me not being interested about sex and thefor not being a man or a human to begin with from people do hurt my feelings. Or is this subject seen as something like... of a thing that isn't "dangerous" to our children and therefor not important to educate about. I am feeling slightly discriminated by the media...

 

[Hugga_Bear]

Can there be a black person in a childrens show?

It's the same question, gay people exist in this world, those kids will learn that one day, they'll also learn that it doesn't matter for jack shit. Imagine if you stripped black people from everything those kids would run into until they were in their teens...just...messed up. Apart from anything else, it'd be more likely to elicit a negative response when they do meet a black person (or gay person).

So yeah there definitely could be. Should there be? No more or less than in real life, not stereotyped, just there.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Yes. It doesn't have to be sexual. Besides, kids are more open to it.
"Sometimes boys like boys and girls like girls."
Kid: "Okay."
What is wrong with that?

 

[somonels]

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

As [user]The_root_of_all_evil[/user] pointed out:

The thing is...why should it matter, and how would you tell? Being gay doesn't intrinsically alter anything in the rest of your personality. It just means you like to sleep with the same gender.

An intimate relationship is the only thing that separates a character who acts gay-ish and a homosexual, and some would even argue about that. Straight men can walk together holding hands, they can publicly hug each other. Cultural differences teach western men that the only form of acceptable physical contact with another male is a degree of violence, starting with play-fighting and ass-kicking to shoulder punching in adolescence etc. Go a bit eastwards and you will see that men will become more physically intimate, holding hands, hugging and kissing without shame or any indication to their sexual preference.

Draw some line between characters who act gay-ish, and those who are homosexual, a lot of the latter don't act like the former.

The topic here is about the possibility of portraying homosexuals in kids shows. Why shouldn't we leave sex out of it?

Calling homosexuals gay deserves a separate rant.

 

[JediMB]

There are plenty of "boy likes girl" or "girl likes boy" plots or subplots in children's cartoons, so why not? I'd be all for having some "boy likes boy" or "girl likes girl" too. And "boy/girl likes boy AND girl" as well.

The actual topic of sex doesn't have to be touched on, or even hinted at.

 

[Vakz]

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

 

[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.

 

[JediMB]

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

Then we'd best remove Ken from the Barbie franchise, since they're supposed to be a heterosexual couple or whatever.

 

[JediMB]

"Whine whine whine, gays stole the word gay! Gays stole rainbows! Gays stole the color purple!"

...I can't help it. This is me, the day after I went to the Stockholm Pride festival in August:

 

[Nihilism_Is_Bliss]

You mean James from pokemon isn't gay?

 

[Byere]

Wow... I've never even heard of this show... That hilerious!

OT: As long as it's done correctly, like the above video, it's never a problem. It's comically funny for kids but adults get the joke as well.

 

[b3nn3tt]

I don't watch My Little Pony, so I don't really know how the dynamics work between characters. Basically, are there any heterosexual relationships displayed? If so, then I see no reason why they couldn't also show homosexual relationships. However, at the same time, I imagine the writers would find it very difficult to write a realistic homosexual character/characters without them falling into some kind of stereotype.

I would say that unless the writers can create a realistic gay character, they shouldn't, as I think it would actually be worse than not having one in the first place.

EDIT: I also object to writers being forced to make characters gay. At the end of the day, it's their show and they can do what they want. Like the whole thing with Bert and Ernie. If the writers don't want them to be gay, then they're not gay. They created the characters, it's their decision, respect it.