Quite possibly one of the most controversial characters to hit kids' programming and the only fictional character to launch the late Jerry Falwell into a fit of remarkable homophobic rage: Tinky Winky, the leader of the Teletubbies, tops out our list of ten kids' TV characters that were gay icons. In the late 90s, the Teletubbies graced our screens and while no one understood what the hell they were supposed to be, children got swept up in their adorable appearances and cute (but nonsensical) language. When Falwell caught wind of this craze, he targeted poor Tinky Winky and pointed out that the Teletubbies were promoting homosexuality because Tinky Winky was purple (the gay pride color), had an upside-down triangle on his head (the gay pride symbol), and carried around a magic bag that looked like a ladies bag (to be perfectly fair, that bag was fabulous). The creators of the Teletubbies - much like the creators of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie - made it clear that their character was not gay orstraight, he was simply a fictional character on a children's television show. As it turns out, Falwell had hurt his own cause. By bringing attention to such a pointless matter, he inadvertently made Tinky Winky more popular and cemented the Teletubbies' gay icon status. The very fact that Tinky Winky bothered the hell out of Falwell was enough for the gays to embrace the sexless character. What did you think of our selections? Do you think other kids' TV characters were more deserving of gay icon status? Let us know in the comments below!
Tommy Bobby Watanabe is an aspiring American novelist, stage actor, playwright, former LGBT rights activist, and has three years of independent professional wrestling experience and has been a big fan since 1998. An avid horror movie buff and comic book aficionado, TBW is honored to be featured on WhatCulture with some of the Internet's most talented writers and looks to spread his own knowledge and wit to WhatCulture's loyal readers.
