Gay characters in children's cartoons

[iphonerose]

Hot stuff coming through!!

 

[Preston_r]

Having read through a healthy chunk of this thread I would like to throw in a brief opinion.

Some may be confusing the issue of biological normalcy/abnormalcy with social mores and morality.

Saying that homosexuals shouldn't be televised because they are biologically defective is illogical, because we already show other biological "defects" on TV and kids TV all the time. People who need glasses or who are blind? That is a biological "defect", but one with no moral stigma attached. Same for someone who is going bald, or someone with hearing issues, albinoism, etc etc. But none of those people have the same kind of social stigma attached to them as homosexuals (yes, I know that culturally the disabled have a much harder time of it, but they aren't viewed as evil and vile in the same way as gay people. That is another discussion).

So, there are only 2 real reasons not to show homosexuals on cartoons, and that's due to 1: Being uncomfortable showcasing any aspect of sexuality or romance to young children or 2: Anti-Gay bias (or the "OMG yer trying to turn my kid into a queer" panic).

#1 is perfectly understandable. Some kids will be too young, some shows aren't set up to accomadate that sort of topic (re: barny the dinosaur, shows aimed at primarily preschoolers, etc).

Some shows however are aimed at a more middling audience. They have jokes in them aimed not only at the younger children but also at the more mature crowd - Animaniacs etc when I was growing up, and seemingly Ponies now. They already have romantic content (even if it is only the most rudimentary form of it). So what's really wrong with having any references to homosexual attraction in a show that already has aspects of romance as part of the sub-plot? Young adults (part of these shows target audience) already know about gay people, already understand crushes and romance (however ill developed these notions are at that age) and are already starting to form opinions.

I'm not saying it needs to be over the top, or blatant, or thrown out there as a major plot point. But why is there such a resistance to even a hint of it on a show that already has romantic subplots?

I think that brings me to #2. And really people, arguing #2 is a valid reason is like saying that racism is a good reason not to have black people on TV, or that sexism makes it ok to NEVER show women being strong and self reliant. Backwards and ignorant.

In the specific case of MLP - it seems that an overarching message of the show is "Accepting people for the differences" Why not have 2 girl ponies have a little crush, just in passing? Hell Spike's been heart-eyed for Rarity since episode 1. Or 2 boy ponies (there aren't a whole lot of those in the main cast though so...)

 

[Preston_r]

edit: Double post. my apologies.

 

[Falconsgyre]

Sexuality should be a factor because it exists. It's an important part of life, and both kids who are gay and kids who aren't should be exposed to the social aspects of gay characters (not the explicit, sexual part) from a young age. If you show gay characters in children's cartoons, it will ideally help future generations become more accepting of homosexuality because they've been introduced to characters who are homosexual.

It's kind of a strange thing to be gay before you're even sexually mature.[/quote]

Okay, kids who will be gay. Technical quibble. I don't think it makes a difference here.

 

[Hilton Collins]

I think that gay characters should be in children's cartoons. I don't think that every cartoon should have one, but I think there shouldn't be a stigma against them. But man, it'll be tough to see that fly.

 

[zeldagirl]

Nonsense like what? "Being gay is okay?"

More like "homosexual people are fabolous and you should make up your mind whether you don't really prefer packing fudge when you're all grown up".

Why should sexuality even be a factor in children's cartoons?

Sexuality should be a factor because it exists. It's an important part of life, and both kids who are gay and kids who aren't should be exposed to the social aspects of gay characters (not the explicit, sexual part) from a young age. If you show gay characters in children's cartoons, it will ideally help future generations become more accepting of homosexuality because they've been introduced to characters who are homosexual.

It's kind of a strange thing to be gay before you're even sexually mature.

I remember being *attracted* to boys before I was sexually mature. Attraction can exist without being sexually aware. It's also possible for young boys to be attracted to other boys without being sexually mature. It's not something I actively chose, this attraction, but it just happens.

 

[Hawkmoon269]

Such a thing wouldn't bother me at all. I think the type of people who have a problem with gay characters are those that are stupid enough to think homosexuality is wrong.

My only thought would be this. Would the kids watching the tv show actually understand? Obviously we have subtly gay characters in kids shows atm (Tinky Winky of the Teletubbies for example) but an obviously gay character, who was say, married to another character of the same sex?

It might well be that I'm pondering an issue that wouldn't even exist. Hell for all i know, the kids would just go "meh" and carry on enjoying the tv show. I suppose its because it hasn't been done before (as far as i know) so i've no idea how it would go.

Do i think we should give it a go? Sure, i think we should.

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

I'm strongly against this. It's not like kids understand what it means to be subtle. The gay characters have to be flaming gay (beyond Elton John and Freddie Mercury) for the kids do understand "that boy likes boys/girls like girls." It has to be obvious as if a neon sign was stuck the characters head exclaiming "HOMOSEXUAL". And people are going to be offended by that. It also shows an inacurate idea of what it means for someone to be homosexual. In my opinion, it's going to do a lot more harm than good.

So, let me ask this again: Does heterosexuality also need to be as obvious as a neon sign? Because it seemed to me like they do just fine giving characters silly crushes.

 

[AWAR]

No. Simply no.
I think children's cartoons have already become too "unsafe" to watch, having vulgar jokes only a grown up can fully understand. I also believe important issues like sexuality and politics should be left for the parents to explain to their child however they seem fit not for an unknown guy working at Nickelodeon. Moreover parents can't always control what their kids are watching so not all would have a say to this issue.

 

[yundex]

No. Simply no.
I think children's cartoons have already become too "unsafe" to watch, having vulgar jokes only a grown up can fully understand. I also believe important issues like sexuality and politics should be left for the parents to explain to their child however they seem fit not for an unknown guy working at Nickelodeon. Moreover parents can't always control what their kids are watching so not all would have a say to this issue.

These kinds of things cannot be left for the parents to explain,

I don't understand what you mean here.
I've explained what "gay" meant to my sister and her reaction was pretty much "eww".
Did I do it wrong?

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

Well, heterosexuality is the norm in society. There is about 9 times as many heterosexual people than homosexual people. Therefore statistically speaking, there isn't a very high chance that young children know about homosexuality as much as well as heterosexuality.

So...heterosexuality is okay for kids' shows because it's the majority?

Really, statistics are meaningless and have nothing to do with it. And trying to use them as an excuse brings up a lot of disturbing implications.

I just think that there should be a be a better way to teach children about sex relations than through children's television.

Be that as it may, no one's talking about "teaching kids about sex relations." We're talking about such things as characters getting same-sex crushes, presented in the same casual (and chaste) manner as opposite-sex infatuations already are.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

-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?

YES. Because I know it's going to be a flamboyantly gay character meant to make toddlers laugh rather than a step in the direction of being open-minded.