This summer, after the release of Disney Pixar’s Brave, a certain angry subculture of internet bloggers exploded with a hatred as fiery as that central characters glorious red hair, after either “some liberal” suggested something “shocking” about the films central protagonist, or “some conservative” felt it was their duty to protect the innocent minds of all “god’s children” and warn people about this scary slippery slope society is “obviously” undertaking. That something, if you are unaware, was the mere suggestion that maybe; just maybe, the central character Merida was… wait for it… a lesbian. Gasp. I’ll give you a little time to recover…
Now, personally, as a gay man, I doubt that Merida was in fact intended to be a lesbian… and if she was intended to be Pixar’s first gay character, I am particularly disappointed at the end result. However, the outrage I witnessed, scrolling down the endless comments pages got me angry, and made me upset, and frankly made me want to do a Wall-E and jump on the next rocket ship off this planet. (If you’re under the impression that the world fully embraces LGBT people, reading comment pages under such articles will bring you speeding back down to earth).
What would be so wrong with Disney or Pixar including an openly gay character in one of their (many) films? In fact, isn’t it a little odd that the great Pixar, the people at the forefront of the animation world, the people who’ve been sharing with us mature and somewhat adult stories for years (The Incredible, Wall-E, Up,) haven’t even explored this idea yet? Maybe you’d expect it from Disney… but Pixar. I find that strange, especially considering just last year they were part of many celebrities who uploaded an “It gets better” video to YouTube.
I would make the argument that it’s these films produced by Disney over the last century, and Pixar, over the last 20 years that only add to many gays, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people growing up thinking they are “less than”, or weird. And it’s this attitude, this lack of media representation, particularly aimed at younger children that undoubtedly causes these kids to grow up hating themselves, and in many cases, causing that kid to take his or her own life.
It does get better… but why should we have to wait until we are adults for this to get better. Why can’t it be better now?
I’m not saying Pixar and Disney are solely to blame for this, in fact, I am a huge Pixar and Disney fan… I just wish for a little more from them. Many people in the world mistakenly believe (and I wouldn’t want to, and am not speaking for all LGBT people) the hateful lies spouted by ignorant, middle aged straight men and women that being gay is a choice, and that the liberal media is trying to “turn their children gay”. As a gay man, I can tell you, that being gay wasn’t my choice… and for as long as I can remember, I’ve known deep down who I am. (Blah, blah, blah… believe me, I’m as sick saying this as you are having to listen to it.) But guess what, I grew up obsessed* with Disney and Pixar, to the point that from the age of five, having just watched “Toy Story” in the cinema, it suddenly became my dream to one day work for them, and to this day, I still have the very same dream. If I was gay, and I constantly watched films portraying almost exclusively straight love stories about princes and princesses who fall in love… then why would including a gay character suddenly make all the kids gay… maybe LGBT Disney and Pixar films would have actually made me straight. (They wouldn’t, because I was born gay, like straight people are born straight… and that’s kind of the point).
**(Before you say it, no, it was not the obsession with Disney that “made” me gay. I was also obsessed with Power Rangers. Maybe it was the Power Rangers???)
The biggest argument against this so called pollution of children’s innocent minds, the argument which made me the most upset, was that (imagine this spoken in Helen Lovejoy’s voice) “there is simply no place for sexuality in films aimed at children. Somebody, please, think of the children”. This argument sounds kind of logical (maybe) until you remember that straight sexuality has existed in these films since the very first Disney feature, “Snow White” and in pretty much every film since then. Sexuality is not sex. I am not arguing that two men should have sex in a Disney film. I am also not arguing that a man and a woman should either. But when all these conservative adults are “thinking about and protecting the children”, whose thinking about the gay children?
Is the idea of a story about a Princess falling in love with a woman really all that controversial? Is anyone under the impression that kids these days don’t know what gay people are??? “The Simpsons” has had gay characters for years. It’s common place for TV series nowadays to include at least one gay character. Have that many children really never seen an episode of “Modern Family” or “Glee”?
Should Disney and Pixar have to pander to homophobes forever? Disney used to pander to racists, until 1967’s “Jungle Book” featured Disney’s first non-white characters. Back in the 60’s, people would have been outraged at the idea of Disney showing interracial couples, but Disney eventually got over this prejudice by making 1995’s “Pocahontas”. One of Disney’s most successful films critically and commercially of all time was “Beauty and the Beast”… a film, essentially, about bestiality. I don’t remember there being much fuss made about that movie when that came out (granted, I was only one) but I’m pretty sure conservatives consider bestiality much, much, much further down that “slippery slope” than homosexuality (at least I really hope so).
Whatever side of this argument you are on or whether or not you will want off of this planet when it happens, LGBT protagonists (hopefully not antagonists) will eventually appear in Disney and Pixar movies. The only real question is when, and why has it taken so long? I’m sure had they had complete freedom to do so, many people at Pixar would have liked to have made Merida gay. I’m also sure Ellen DeGeneres, voice of “Finding Nemo’s” Dori, wouldn’t be opposed to making clear to the audience in the “Finding Nemo” sequel set to hit cinema screens in 2016 that her character was intended to be a lesbian. (Seriously… did you really imagine Dori would end up with Marlin. There’s a reason those two fish never “hooked” up).
I just fish… sorry, wish… that when that day finally comes (fingers crossed for 2016) all the LGBT kids that that film will have a positive effect on, also won’t have to listen to all the Bill O’ Reilly’s out there preaching that civilisation is coming to an end. It’s upsetting that there is no Blue Fairy to make that wish come true, because guess what, the Blue Fairy exists in the Magic Kingdom, and as of yet, gays don’t exist there. Hey, they’ve only just discovered African Americans.
So Pixar, Disney, please, “won’t somebody please think of the children”. Because, as a Disney/Pixar fan I can tell you that though, “You have a friend in me”… we are not quiet BFF’s quite yet, and I’d really like to come back down to earth now.
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26 Comments
The closest Pixar/Disney have come to alluding to anything other than a hetero-normative sensibility is in Toy Story 3, and even then it was a stereotyped depiction done for laughs: Ken with his disinterest in Barbie in lieu of an overtly zealous interest in fashion.
Don’t get me wrong, it was hilarious and clever to see their relationship subverted in such an amusing way, but it was hardly going to alter the perceptions of the ignorant.
Agreed, but weirdly I thought Ken was probably the best thing about Toy Story 3… even better was the fact that he was straight (so in that respect, subverts the stereotypes of what and how straight men should be an act).
However, it is true that a lot of the comedy of Ken probably came from the fact that most people consider men who are interested in fashion or like to dress up, or are even slightly effeminate to be “less than”, weird, and oddities to be laughed at. So in this respect it wasn’t really subverting stereotypical conventions of comedy.
Still… pretty funny though, especially considering he was voiced by Micheal Keaton (Tim Burton’s Batman- perhaps the most stereotypical straight male there is).
I like to call out on your claims of “Beauty and the Beast” suggesting bestiality. “Beauty and the Beast” is first and foremost and allegory of dynamics of the woman taming the man.
I’ve had this conversation with my dad before about gender roles, and how “Beauty and the Beast” quintessential fictional expression of that. Males are the generally anti-social, reclusive gender. The ones who inherit the primal instincts in nature for survival of his kind, yet with a moral conscious. In fact brought up the point on why there’s so much variation in appearances and builds in males, while females are much more harmoniously consistent with each other. It’s the reason why women are more accepting of flaws, more sympathetic toward the hideous side of the mankind. That’s binding connection of both genders.
All and all, the Beast is the metaphor of our masculinity. It was a masculine but above all a conscious, sentient human being in different form. A human who expressed more animalistic traits, not an animal with human traits.
So I don’t see why you brought up bestiality other than a cheap ‘shock’ tactic. I’d call Peter Jackson’s “KING KONG” far more associated to bestiality than “Beauty and the Beast” ever was.
Next I figure you’d call “Sleeping Beauty” promoting necrophilia, so you can again debunk interpretations of the public conscious by giving it an unrelated, controversial label, just to segue to the kind of controversy you like to talk about.
I agree with you to a level. Beauty and the Beast isn’t exactly about bestiality, and you are completely right… it is much more a metaphor about masculinity. But to conservative audiences (not all of them) and children, most of whom won’t be smart enough to understand metaphors, the film shows a woman falling in love with a beast who resembles a lion more than a human. My argument is only why can a Disney film show a woman falling in love with a “beast” (who for a lot of the film is kind of a complete, almost abusive jerk to Belle) and not show a woman openly fall in love with another woman. Why is that, or why should that be any more controversial???
I’m not trying to be controversial, or create shock tactics. I just think it’s about time Pixar was “brave”, and actually addressed a film to an audience they claim to care so much about. Considering, at this time, with the amount of sequels they are producing, and films which aren’t exactly that challenging any more, repeating ideas that have been around since “Snow White” (Brave) (also considering the reviews and respect for Pixar over other animation giants like Dreamworks is becoming less and less) maybe there is a lot of story potential if they were just more open, (or more likely less afraid at what the media will say) and finally include LGBT experiences in their films.
Pixars next film in Monsters University… I would be interested to see whether or not they include any minor gay characters in that movie or not (it is a university after all).
Thank you for taking an interest in this article, and offering a mature, intelligent, reasoned point of view.
I completely agree with you. I am in fact a straight man, but I am not like may of my friends. I happen to believe that it’s not a choice, but something you’re born with. I completely agree that if heterosexuality can be portrayed on screen, so can homosexuality.
No, simply no
My mom was once close to the Disney family (untill they moved away) they are in fact Christians, and Disney Channel is more for the older kids that do understand metaphors-unless that child is not smart- Disney JR. is for the smaller kids. I am a straight female, but i have a lot of gay friends so don’t get me wrong when i say that i don’t think that people are born gay or straight, because everyone is some what attracted to pretty people, in other words we no who is pretty or ugly within both sexes but some people(gays) i believe misread that feeling they have for the person they can see is pretty, and think that just because i like the way this person (same sex) looks i’m gay or lesbian or bi. Anyway back to before, Disney Channel is run by Christians it is their Channel and people should let them run it the way they want. And if your really worried about the LBGT kids then don’t let them watch the movies about being straight, i just think your being hypocritical to want to live your life and run things they way you want and not let Disney do the same. I pretty sure the if you had your own channel you would want other people to try and run it
I think you are completely ignorant to be honest, and this is a typical straight person response. First of all, as a gay man, I think I am more capable of saying whether or not I think I was born gay… and I really do think that is the case… it’s at least 50% genes if it isn’t. And being attracted to pretty people and finding them sexually attractive is a different thing completely. Either you are bisexual (or of a different sexual orientation other than straight) or you are just ill informed.
Secondly, I think it is completely insulting that you said gay people are confused and think they are attracted to the same sex when in fact they are not… believe me they are. Straight might be what most people are, but it isn’t what human beings naturally are… it is just rarer is all and obviously you really don’t understand.
If Christians are bigoted people (which I know a lot aren’t) then I don’t think they should be allowed their own TV channels, especially those aimed at a child audience. No child should be brought up as a bigot. Secondly, of course LBGT should be allowed to watch movies with straight people just as straight people should be allowed to watch movies with gay people. People need to know about real life. The whole point of the article is that LGBT kids don’t have any role models on TV etc. because there are very few films that feature gay characters that they can actually watch.
I am certainly not being hypocritical. I want to live in a world were all kids can grow up happy and represented, without feeling like they are “wrong” which they certainly are not. Also, saying Disney is Christian is kind of silly because it is a big company (massive) and there will be many people within that company, certainly within Pixar who are no Christians and who are gay and who would like to see gay people represented.
All I can say is I feel sorry for your gay friends because you clearly are an ignorant, misinformed person who seriously needs to educate yourself. I appreciate you reading this article and even having an opinion… but I don’t tolerate bigotry and hatred and this is the vibe I am getting from you and this message.
The DIsney Channel was run by a Gay Man (Rich Ross) who is most defintely NOT a “christian.” It never was run by “christians,” and never will be. And neither Walt nor Lily Disney were “christian” beyond just being born that way. Walt was a chain smoking, foul mouthed man, who’s incredibly hard work and chances taken built a great business. Brilliant man, but no saint.
Of course it is time! I’m actually hoping for them to make a main character openly gay. I have created a petition to do so. http://www.change.org/petitions/the-walt-disney-company-walt-disney-studios-robert-a-bob-iger-chairman-ceo-make-the-next-disney-prince-or-princess-gay-or-lesbian Please sign! I’m hoping Disney will listen
It’s about time they did. And I am hoping they make a main character that is openly gay. I even started a petition online petitioning them to do so. http://goo.gl/eQEtQ
It’s about time they did. And I am hoping they make a main character that is openly gay. I even started a petition online petitioning them to do so.
Sorry I posted that 3 times…The comments weren’t showing up.
Thanks for this and agreeing with me so passionately. I too would love to see an openly gay central character and believe certainly it is only a matter of time. Will sign the petition now :)
I dont think the world is ready for a gay disney movie just yet lol
Well a lot of the world isn’t, but a lot of the world is. I hope that “lol” was meant as negatively. Give Disney and Pixar just 5-10 more years and there will certainly be a homosexual character somewhere in their.
Personally, I think even this year with Monsters University there could very well be a homosexual secondary character. And I think it is fairly likely that in Finding Nemo 2, Dori will more clearly gay… there is no way she will be given a male love interest that is for sure.
I meant… I hope that “lol” WASN’T meant as a negative. WASN’T!!!
I agree with everything you’ve said in this article Daniel. I also agree that lyanna’s post is very ignorant and frankly very shallow. It’s exactly these sort of comments that made me stay in the closet for so long and be so afraid to explore my own sexuality. ‘well that bloke is handsome. I can’t come out as gay if I find men attractive’. For me sexuality is more than who you fancy. It’s about who you are and how you feel. Another note, are you saying that ‘ugly’ people can’t find love because people choose their partners based purely on appearance?
It does dismay me that everytime an lgbt person is shown in an advert, or as a main character in a mainstream film there is an uproar. As ellen degeneres said she grew up raised by a straight couple, surrounded by straight people, seeing straight people in the media, on tv and in films, and still grew up gay. No, it is not a choice because who would choose to be hated, not represented and treated like a lesser member of society?
Thanks for reading and responding to this article Charlotte. I think it is best if the media and people in general just stopped listening to people like Iyanna who seems to have no clue what it means to be gay or even it seems what having a sexuality even is. The sad truth is though that because the majority of people are heterosexuals people end up listening to them and believing their points about homosexuality are as valid as people who actually have experienced it first hand. 99.9 percent of the gay people in the media say sexuality is not a choice (and of course it isn’t) yet many many people still listen to heterosexuals when they say it is, yet they themselves know that they couldn’t choose to be gay. It is absurd really.
Thanks again Charlotte for your point of view.
I just really like to see characters in movies in general that just turn out to be gay and that’s it. When characters are gay that usually has to be such a big deal in the story for some reason. I liked Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, he was a great character that just turned out to be gay, who cares.
I would also like to see more characters who like you say, turn out to be gay, or who are gay, but don’t necessarily have a homosexual relationship (like ParaNorman for example) THAT SAID… I do think it is very important not to be afraid of homosexuality which so many animated films are… the fact that ParaNorman featured the first gay character in an animated movie yet never had a gay romance says a lot about the homophobia of animated movies in the last 100 years.
Though I’d love to see more of what you suggested, there has to be a time in the not too distant future where we see a homosexual love interest explored or have a lead character who is gay. The reason it is such a big deal when it happens in films these days is because gay people still are not seen as equals under the law and a lot of people still feel uncomfortable and are highly ignorant (whether they think they are or not) of homosexuality.
The “who cares” attitude is kind of a good one to have, especially if it means people will be more accepting, however people should care a little. The problem with society is that not enough heterosexual people care strongly enough about this issue because it doesn’t directly effect their lives. To have a character in an animated movie who says he is gay but doesn’t explore really what this means for him is not really enough in the 21st century and the lack of any characters from the LGBTQ community is really very embarrassing. The reason it is a big deal when films include these characters is because generally homophobic or conservative people make it a big deal. If it wasn’t seen as controversial, then these kinds of characters and these kind of relationships wouldn’t have to be such a big talking point in these films.
I like Dumbledore homosexuality too, but I would have also liked to have seen more of a personal and human side to Dumbledore, one which included any potential love interests he was sure to have had over the course of his life (even if just in passing comments or a brief flashback)… but even the fact that JK Rowling said he was gay but didn’t feature it in her stories was enough to anger many right wing conservatives in America.
I for one will be very disappointed with Pixar if Monsters University features no gay characters what so ever, because as everyone knows, there are obviously a lot of homosexual people who attend university… and I don’t like to think that in this world of crazy and colorful monsters they are still as bigoted and hateful as human society. I will also be upset if Ellen’s Dori doesn’t at least suggest that she isn’t interested in having a romantic relationship with a male fish, and would rather a female one. But we will just have to wait and see I guess.
I think JK Rowling should have made it more clear (in the book) that Dumbledore went along with Grindlewald’s insane ideas because he was in love with him. It would have humanised him a bit more and showed that he has a weakness like the other characters. There are plenty of ways they could incorporate a similar plot into a Pixar/Disney film.
Young children don’t need to have an agenda forced on them. I have no problem with gays and what they do behind closed doors, but trying to force your lifestyle on kids is wrong. Let’s face it, that’s a selfish, perverted agenda. Instead of being selfish, put yourself in a child’s shoes in this situation. Seeing an openly gay couple in a movie is going to be very weird for a child, because they’re minds aren’t aware or interested in the issues of today. There was no social commentary in toy story, just a cute story about friendship and morals. Never once did I question any of the characters sexual preference, cause i was a kid, I didn’t care.
You are painfully misguided and idiotic, and far more homophobic than you think you are. I am not going to waste too much time telling you all the reasons your comment was highly offensive and ignorant because you should be able to figure that one out by your self.
First of all, virtually every Dinsey/ Pixar movie in existence has shown heterosexuality, so I don’t see why showing homosexuality is any different. Secondly, homosexuality isn’t a lifestyle, it is something that people are… you talk about it as if it is a choice. Calling it a selfish, perverted agenda frankly sickens me. If you read the article, I was never once promoting sex in a Dinsey or Pixar film, just different sexualities… why do ignorant people assume being homosexual is just simply a sexual thing whereas heterosexuality isn’t.
We have surely passed the point when gay people being in film has to do only with making a social commentary. Gay people exist (believe it or not) and shouldn’t be hidden away in any film or from children for that matter. Many of those children that you are afraid would be scared or confused by homosexuality in film are, believe it or not, already homosexual and need representation so that they don’t grow up thinking they are in any way “perverted” for being there very natural and normal selves.
It upsets me that people like you still exist in this world and for some reason can’t see the sheer ignorance in their old fashioned and hurtful vile opinions. Homosexuality isn’t an agenda, it should not be hidden away behind closed doors, and it certainly isn’t in any way perverted… and more than anything children need to know all these things so they don’t grow up as an ignorant and hatefully stupid people like you.
It’s the year 2013; the gay marriage bill was passed last month and quite frankly it’s laughable that people still attempt to justify their ignorant, outdated beliefs against homosexuality. A gay teenager is 5 times more likely to commit suicide than a straight teenager and as we speak young LGBT people are contemplating taking their own lives simply because society is institutionalising them to believe they’re not normal.
You go on about “protecting childrens’ innocence” but as Daniel pointed out- sexuality is not sex. No-one is suggesting recreating the tent scene from Brokeback Mountain and showing it to a load of 7 year olds; but what’s the difference between a male and female character kissing on screen (as occurs in virtually every Disney film) and two characters of the same gender kissing? Answer- there is no difference. Both instances are nothing more or less than an expression of love, and this is precisely what the film industry should be showing children. That love is a rare and precious thing and should be embraced and celebrated wherever it is found.
If you people have your way, your children that you’re so desperate to protect could grow up to be one of those tragic suicide cases that could so easily be avoided- if people would only open their minds a fraction and accept that the world has moved on and they need to as well.
Thank you for this. It’s nice to know there are some people out there who have a logical and mature response to this topic. There really is no other response than “of course there should be gay characters in Disney and Pixar films” that makes any sense other than one based in homophobia. You’d be surprised at how many people who don’t think of themselves as homophobes still have a problem with this idea. It really shouldn’t be controversial and is deeply sad that it is. It also shouldn’t need to be explained to people, but even friends of mine who say they are fine with the “gay thing” seem to have a problem with this idea until I remind them that every single Disney film has included heterosexual love so to exclude homosexual love is simply homophobia.
I don’t understand why people feel the need to complain or be upset by suggested moves to make homosexuals feel more included within society. It’s sad that things like this have to take soooo long in order to feel “normal” to the majority of people, but even with marriage equality being more widely accepted I still feel like gay Disney characters are still a while away, and thats a deep shame which just highlights how homophobic the world still simply is.