Gender has always been a component of animation, with scholars Harry Benshoff and Sean Griffin writing that animation has always "hint[ed] at the performative nature of gender."[1] They specifically cite the example of Bugs Bunny wearing a wig and a dress, acting as a female rabbit in drag. Some argued that the Walt Disney Company played with gender stereotypes in the past,[2] featuring effeminate or "sissy" characters,[3] or those coded as gay,[4] which occurred while the characters were comedic and kept at arms length.
In the 1990s, characters on Fox and Comedy Central shows comprised most of the LGBT characters on television. Shows like The Simpsons and South Park especially would be influential on other adult animations in the years to come.
There was under-representation of gay characters through the Fall 2000 television season for all broadcast shows, with trend continuing until at least 2003.[5] It would not be until 2005 that GLAAD would begin their annual “Where We Are on TV” report"[6] starting its continuing effort to compile statistics on characters in the LGBT community, and other marginalized groups.[7]GLAAD, for their part, bemoaned the lack of LGBT representation. They noted in the regular 2006–2007 season, LGBT characters only comprised 1.3% of all regular characters on major broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, The CW, and UPN).[8]
In a report the next year, they noted in the 2007–2008 season, the FOX network only featured LGBT characters in animated comedies like The Simpsons and American Dad.[9] In 2008, GLAAD assessed the "considerable" LGBT representation in animated primetime programming," citing shows such as The Simpsons, American Dad, Sit Down, Shut Up, The Goode Family, Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, and Drawn Together, even as they had their reservations about existing LGBT characters on television.[10] In later years, GLAAD painted a bleaker picture, noting that no black LGBT characters were regular characters[11] on television networks, again noting American Dad,[12]The Simpsons,[13] and Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.[14] They stated that most animated LGBT characters were on FOX, lamenting that while South Park historically had LGBT characters and storylines, it could be "hit or miss" like Family Guy.[15]
In 2014, GLAAD would comment that "children's programming has been slow to reflect the diversity its audience is experiencing in its daily life."[16] In 2015, GLAAD expanded their analysis to include LGBT characters on stream services like Amazon and Netflix for the first time.[17] In 2016, GLAAD reported that the highest number of LGBT characters they had recorded yet appeared in the 2016–2017 television season.[18]
In 2017, GLAAD praised the increase of LGBT characters on streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu.[19] While GLAAD and others were praising the growth in the number of LGBT characters in broadcast, primetime television,[20][21][22] some reported that LGBT characters in animated television were somewhat rare.[23][24]
In 2018, GLAAD noted how Netflix was featuring more LGBT people of color,[25] including CW Seed launching two shows with "queer heroes"[26] and how Bojack Horseman expanding the story of Todd, the "only asexual character on streaming originals" as they described it.[27] In 2018 and 2019, GLAAD said that Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix, had increased LGBT representation in "daytime kids and family television."[28][29]
In May 2019, Ashley Fetters and Natalie Escobar argued, in The Atlantic that the episode of Arthur where two male characters got married "marks a poignant moment in children's TV history," and that it feels "unremarkable."[30] They said this is the case because you can "count on your fingers the number of kids’ shows that have depicted gay characters," including Adventure Time, Steven Universe, The Legend of Korra, Gravity Falls, Clarence, and The Loud House.
In 2020–2021 GLAAD report, DuckTales was described as featuring two dads in an episode, with some episodes centering on "an alien named Penumbra" who the episodes' director and writer confirmed as a lesbian, and the show The Owl House was noted as making headlines for a bisexual character named Luz, and her crush, Amity, who is lesbian, who have a "romantic storyline."[31][lower-alpha 1] Additionally, GLAAD described The Loud House as featuring Luna Loud, a bisexual character, and Summy, her girlfriend, along with Howard and Harold McBride, "the two Dads of the protagonist's best friend Clyde."[31]
GLAAD pointed to a few series on the platform like Harley Quinn, with Harley Quinn as bisexual and had a growing relationship with Poison Ivy, Doom Patrol which has a gay man named Larry Trainor/Negative Man and a character, Danny, who uses they/them pronouns, and Young Justice which features "LGBT characters Aqualad and Halo."[31] GLAAD also pointed out that the streamer aired an episode of Adventure Time: Distant Lands which focuses "on queer couple Bubblegum and Marceline" and the announcement that an animated series based on Lumberjanes was ordered. It is worth noting that Young Justice is a young adult animation, while Doom Patrol is for adults and Adventure Time: Distant Lands is for all-ages.
On July 27, 1940, Bugs Bunny premiered in the Warner Brothers Cartoon, A Wild Hare.[32][33] Bugs Bunny would later be described as the "first animated drag queen"[34] due to the character's propensity to cross-dress in women's clothing in at least 40 cartoons.[35] The creators thought the cross-dressing was "funny," with the cross-dressing positively received by audiences.[36] Even so, the Hays Code was still enforced in the United States, which banned curse words, forbid interracial relationships to be depicted, and had a "puritanical view of sex," replaced by a film rating system in 1968, with many of its "arbitrary moral guidelines" persisting for decades.[37] One scholar stated however, that Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck kiss male enemies so they can "humiliate and annoy them."[38]
In 2010, animation and popular culture scholar Jo Johnson says that Bugs Bunny challenged the "signifiers of traditional masculinity" and argued that Looney Tunes pulls audiences challenges "the conventional notion of anatomy and gender."[39] He also recounted that Bugs Bunny appeared in drag on "At least 45 separate occasions," and his gender ambiguity fluxes, showing masculinity and femininity at different times, even though he is clearly heterosexual.[40] Johnson described shorts like "What's Opera, Doc?" as one of the most "subversive" because Bugs dresses as a woman through the majority of the animated short.[41] In September 2021, Abbey White, a non-binary reporter for Insider and The Hollywood Reporter told in The Hollywood Reporter's "Hollywood Remixed" podcast that with Bugs Bunny you could have "a rabbit kiss a man, and that wouldn't be considered this alarming thing" that would be censored or cut, and it was fine for Bugs Bunny to dress in drag because it was "meant as a form of comedy."[42]
One scholar, Jo Johnson, argued that Jerry in the Tom & Jerry cartoons had an androgynous design, even if feminized, and noted a possible homoerotic subtext between Jerry and Tom, especially when there is cross-dressing,[43] like the notable 1945 short "Flirty Birdy" where the ending shows the Eagle marries Tom while in drag. Johnson pointed to the 1966 short "Jerry-Go-Round", by Chuck Jones, as having a coded same-sex relationship between Jerry, who was gendered by Jones as female, and a female elephant who wears a pink tutu. She argued that the episode's ending could be read as a "prophetic depiction of Gay Pride."[44] Cade M. Olmstead, an interdisciplinary philosophy scholar, built upon Johnson's work. He argued that Tom and Jerry "subverts normalized gender and sexuality structures" through theatrical play and performance, transgressing the normal construction of gender.[45]
Despite the queer coding in "Bugs Bunny" and "Tom & Jerry" cartoons, as scholars Deborah A. Fisher, Douglas L. Hill, Joel W. Grube, and Enid L. Gruber noted, before 1970, almost no gay characters were on television, and they remained relatively absent "until the 1990s."[46] However, the 1983–1986 series, SuperTed, featured a gay character. Skeleton, one of Texas Pete's two henchmen, is a living skeleton who is cowardly and behaves in a campy and effeminate manner. Skeleton has the ability to put himself back together after falling apart. He was confirmed to be gay in a 2014 interview with series creator Mike Young.[47]
Ursula the Sea Witch in the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid was inspired by Divine,[48][49] a drag queen, with queer communities welcoming "her with open arms" despite that fact she was a villain.[50] John Musker, a director of Moana, and co-director of The Little Mermaid, noted that Howard Ashman, a writer of the film, knew Devine and had one of the principal animators, Rob Menkoff, do drawings based on Devine. The other director of Moana (and a co-director of The Little Mermaid), Ron Clements, stated that it "just fit the character," while Musker called Ursula a "little mix of Divine and Joan Collins."[51] Ashman was also, reportedly, a "big fan" of John Waters, and after the film, he got sick, as he was HIV positive, and he died from AIDS before he could accept the Academy Award for the music selection of Beauty and the Beast. Filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz, who did a documentary on Divine, thought the film was pretty queer, while Sarah Ashman Gillespie, Ashman's sister, called the film "totally subversive."[49] It was also revealed that earlier designs of Ursula were inspired by the singer Patti LaBelle, with Musker saying that in the early development art for the character, and Menkoff adding that they were "trying to get some of Divine's big, campy, overweight diva" into the design, which was incorporated into the final character.[52] She was also described as "Mae West of the deep sea" and the first plus-size icon in a Disney film.[53] Akash Nikolas, a former editor for Zap2It, wrote, in a piece for The Atlantic, pointed to queer subtext and themes in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Aladdin, and Mulan, described Disney films as "both traditional and subversive," echoed by Hugh Ryan in Vice.[54][55] A writer for The Mary Sue, Mandy Meyers, also argued that the movie's lesson changes if Ariel's journey is seen as a queer coming-of-age story and interpreted through the romantic life of Hans Christian Andersen.[56] In April 2020, animator Mark Scarnander re-imagined and re-animated Ariel as a gay man.[57]
On December 17, 1989, the first episode of The Simpsons featured a gay character, Waylon Smithers, named after gay puppeteer Wayland Flowers,[58] would appear on a U.S. animated show.[59] However, like other shows at the time, The Simpsons approached the subject gingerly, not drawing much attention to the sexuality of Smithers,[60] as he remained in the closet, officially, until 2016.[61]
Erika Scheimer, daughter of Filmation founder Lou Scheimer, Erika had a role as the Assistant Recording Director for She-Ra: Princess of Power and voicing various characters, she ended up shaping "one of the biggest animated gay icons of all time": She-Ra, and felt comfortable working as a lesbian at Filmation.[62] In a July 25, 2020 Comic Con panel with other LGBT comic writers, ND Stevenson, the showrunner of the reboot series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, argued that He-Man and She-Ra were gay icons in the original She-Ra series.[63] He also stated that Netossa and Spinnerella were implied to be in a lesbian relationship and said that he saw gay themes throughout the series. In an interview with ITV in February 2021, Stevenson said that "the original She-Ra was incredibly gay for a show made in 1987" and the crew who worked on the reboot series tried to incorporate the same themes.[64]
In the 1990s, more LGBT characters began to be depicted in animated series, including in some Western animation like Futurama, South Park, and The Simpsons. Anime and Western animated shows built upon the representation of LGBT characters in the previous decade. The 2000s brought with it Queer Duck, the first animated TV series on U.S. television which featured homosexuality as a major theme,[65] an alien named Roger in American Dad who had an ambiguous sexuality,[66] and an assortment of other shows.
The 2010s were a decade which would change LGBT representation in animation going forward in a significant way, especially in Western animation. The Legend of Korra's final episode implied that the main protagonist, Korra, began a relationship with another female character, Asami; this relationship was confirmed by the creators and was portrayed in the following comics. Vanity Fair , The Washington Post, USA Today, and other reviewers and commenters credit The Legend of Korra with paving the path for further queer representation.[67][68][69] In addition, the show Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar, began airing on Cartoon Network in 2013, building upon her work on Adventure Time in the years prior.[70][71]GLAAD highlighted LGBT characters in shows such as Archer, Allen Gregory, South Park, BoJack Horseman, DreamWorks Dragons, and Venture Bros. in their yearly "Where We Are in TV" reports. 2018 and 2019 would be particularly significant for LGBT representation; for example, the series finale of Adventure Time, which featured a kiss between two female characters (Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen),[72] the premiere of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which includes various characters which could "read fluidly on the gender and sexuality spectrum",[73] and the wedding between Ruby and Sapphire in Steven Universe.[74]
Building on the progress in the 2010s, and anytime before, the 2020s held the promise of changing LGBT representation in animation in a significant way, especially when it came to Western animation. This went far and beyond anything in the 1990s or in the 2000s. In 2020, the Steven Universe franchise came to an end with the final episodes of Steven Universe Future,[75] as did She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, with its final season bringing the slow-burn lesbian romance of Catra and Adora full circle with their kiss saving the world (and universe) from destruction.[76] At the same time, The Hollow,[77]DuckTales,[78]The Loud House,[79][80] and Harley Quinn[81] featured LGBT characters, while Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts premiered with a canon gay character named Benson.[82]
LGBT animals
Fictional LGBT animals include Mr. Ratburn, an anthropomorphic rat[83] who wed his partner Patrick in the 22nd season of the animated series Arthur.[84][85]
Sean Griffin, author of Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out, said Disney's cartoon Ferdinand the Bull (1939) is "not necessarily gay, but it's definitely queer". The short film depicts a "sleepy eyed bull who doesn't conform to expectations of masculinity".[86] Nico Lang of Harper's Bazaar said Disney's 1941 film The Reluctant Dragon "is extremely queer, even if it's not necessarily gay". He also noted the inclusion of a gay couple (two male antelopes) in Zootopia.[86] Lang wrote, "in 1937, a group of lesbians in Chicago threw a series of bashes known as 'Mickey Mouse's parties.' These gatherings for like-minded ladies were a reference to the fact that 'Mickey Mouse' was a common term at the time for gay men", according to Griffin.[86]
Notes
↑ The Owl House is also mentioned on page 15 of the same report which says "one noteworthy cable series which introduced new queer women characters and made headlines was Disney Channel’s animated family show The Owl House. The August episode “Enchanting Grom Fight” set up the romance between magical students Luz and Amity as they share a dance to defeat a monster, and it is revealed that Amity wanted to ask Luz to the school’s version of prom."
Children's television series are television programs designed specifically for children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are normally broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake, immediately before and after school schedules generally start in the country where they air. Educational themes are also prevalent, as well as the transmission of cautionary tales and narratives that teach problem-solving methods in some fashion or another, such as social disputes.
LGBT representation in children's television is representation of LGBT topics, themes, and people in television programming meant for children. LGBT representation in children's programming was often uncommon to non-existent for much of television's history up to the 2010s, but has significantly increased since then.
Historically, the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in media has been largely negative if not altogether absent, reflecting a general cultural intolerance of LGBT individuals; however, from the 1990s to present day, there has been an increase in the positive depictions of LGBT people, issues, and concerns within mainstream media in North America. The LGBT communities have taken an increasingly proactive stand in defining their own culture, with a primary goal of achieving an affirmative visibility in mainstream media. The positive portrayal or increased presence of the LGBT communities in media has served to increase acceptance and support for LGBT communities, establish LGBT communities as a norm, and provide information on the topic.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is an American animated television series developed for Netflix by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. Like the 1985 Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power, of which it is a reboot, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power tells the tale of Adora, an adolescent who can transform into the heroine She-Ra and leads a group of other magical princesses in a rebellion against the evil Lord Hordak and his Horde.
Twelve Forever is an American animated television series created by Julia Vickerman, a former writer and storyboard artist known for her work on Clarence, Rick and Morty, Harvey Girls Forever!, Paradise PD and The Powerpuff Girls (2016). Twelve Forever premiered in the United States on Netflix on July 29, 2019.
Queer coding involves attributing stereotypically queer traits without explicitly stating gender and sexual identity. Though such a character's sexual identity may not be explicitly confirmed within their respective work, a character might be coded as queer through the use of traits and stereotypes recognizable to the audience. Queer coding is a concept both in the discussion of media portrayal of LGBT people and academic research involving queer theory or gender studies.
In the 1990s, more LGBTQ characters began to be depicted in animated series than in any of the years before. The depiction of LGBTQ characters changed significantly compared to previous decades. Some of the most prominent Western animated series during this decade which featured LGBTQ characters were South Park, King of the Hill, Futurama, and The Ambiguously Gay Duo. The representation in 1990s series would also influence series in the 2000s.
"Enchanting Grom Fright" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Owl House, and the 16th episode overall. The episode first aired on Disney Channel in the United States on August 8, 2020. It was directed by Stu Livingston, and the teleplay was written by Molly Ostertag, from a story by Dana Terrace, Rachel Vine and Molly Ostertag.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in Western animated series in the 2000s changed significantly from the previous decade. This included series such as Queer Duck, the first animated TV series with homosexuality as a predominant theme, The Boondocks, American Dad, bro'Town, W.I.T.C.H., The Venture Bros., Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, Moral Orel, Lizzy the Lezzy, and many others would include LGBTQ characters.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 2010s changed significantly from the previous decade; especially in Western animation. This included Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe which aired on Cartoon Network and praised for going "above and beyond when it comes to inclusive storytelling" The 2010s also brought with it shows such as Adventure Time, The Legend of Korra, BoJack Horseman, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and The Bravest Knight, among others, all of which had strong LGBTQ characters. Representation of LGBTQ characters would only continue to grow in the 2020s.
In the 2020s, LGBTQ representation in animated series and animated films became more pronounced than it had in the 2010s, or 2000s when it came to Western animation. This included series like The Owl House, Harley Quinn, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, RWBY, and Dead End: Paranormal Park. Series like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe Future, The Hollow, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, which had various LGBTQ characters, came to an end in 2020, and Gen:Lock came to an end in 2021. An upcoming season of Hazbin Hotel was hinted at, while an animated adaption of Lumberjanes was in development.
In the United States, before the enforcement of the Hays Code, some cartoon shorts contained humor that was aimed at adult audience members rather than children. Following the introduction of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system, independent animation producers attempted to establish an alternative to mainstream animation. Initially, few animation studios in the United States attempted to produce animation for adult audiences, but later examples of animation produced for adults would gain mainstream attention and success. Adult animation in the United States includes shows with superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy elements. Some of the most prominent animations with these mature/adult themes include Aqua Teen Hunger Force, BoJack Horseman, South Park, Family Guy, Mission Hill, and Archer, along with other adult animated television series, feature films, and animation in other forms which helped the genre expand over the years, beyond animated sitcoms.
Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term's use as a reference to male homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the mid-20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation. By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex, although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. Among younger speakers, the word has a meaning ranging from derision to a light-hearted mockery or ridicule. The extent to which these usages still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized. This page examines gay characters in fictional works as a whole, focusing on characters and tropes in cinema and fantasy.
Netflix has contributed substantially to LGBTQ representation in animation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual and transgender characters have appeared in various animated series, and some animated films, on the streaming platform. GLAAD described Netflix as a company taking "impressive strides in viewership and impact," when it came to LGBTQ representation. Scholars have stated that LGBTQ characters on streaming services, such as Netflix, "made more displays of affection" than on broadcast networks.
Cartoon Network, an American TV channel which launched in 1992, and Adult Swim, its adult-oriented nighttime programming block which launched in 2001, has regularly featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters in its programming.
Q-Force is an American adult animated comedy television series created by Gabe Liedman for Netflix. In April 2019, Netflix ordered 10 episodes of the series, with Liedman as a showrunner, along with Sean Hayes, Michael Schur, Todd Milliner and others as executive producers. It was released on September 2, 2021.
This article features the history of the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters in animated productions under The Walt Disney Company, including films from the studios Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and programming from the Disney Branded Television channels as well as the streaming service Disney+. From 1983 onward, Disney struggled with LGBTQ representation in their animated series, and their content often included LGBT stereotypes or the content was censored in series such as Blazing Dragons. Some creators have also criticized Disney studio executives of cutting LGBTQ scenes from their shows in the past, or criticized that their shows were not seen as part of the "Disney brand", like The Owl House.
Nickelodeon, an American TV channel which launched in 1979, has featured lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters in its programming.
↑ Taylor, Karen Ann (December 26, 2013). "Bugs Bunny in Drag". Kat's Tail on Geocities. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
↑ Goertz, Allie; Prescott, Julia (8 August 2016). "I Married Marge (with Jeff Martin)" (Podcast). Maximum Fun. Event occurs at 61:28. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
↑ Reiss, Mike; Klickstein, Mathew (2018). Springfield confidential: jokes, secrets, and outright lies from a lifetime writing for the Simpsons. New York City: Dey Street Books. p.103. ISBN978-0-06-274803-4.
↑ Jean, Al (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode 'The Telltale Head' (DVD). Los Angeles, California: 20th Century Fox.
Cook, Carson (May 2018). "A History of LGBT Representation on TV". A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television streaming television (Honors). University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
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