Why Isn't LGBT in Kids Movies

i dont know if you can remember the tv show rugrats. in one episode they touched upon gay dads. by saying the dog could have two dads instead of a dad and a mum.... thats all i can mind from my childhood lol.

lgbt issues should be in kids movies/on tv more though.

 

i dont think that thats what makes children hate LGBT kids. i think its defined by religion and the fact that it feels creepy and predatory when you're straight and a gay kid likes you. it might also be that when kids are accepting, they get pegged as weak or gay themselves. i do agree that disney should have at least one movie about a same sex relationship, but it might be seen as too contraversial to make a profit. i know tht some parents would be outraged if they saw a commercial for a gay disney movie. but i agree with you all the same.

 

^unfortunately i think Spellbound is correct.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't say children's movies are the ones that are making children "hate gays". I'd argue that in a lot of places the next generation is growing up being really accepting actually.

Disney, like most kids movies, says and shows a lot of things that are very unrealistic of what real life is like. But they're kids movies. There's a reason kids movies, books, etc. are very "kiddy"... we don't force our children to grow up quickly in our society. There's no need for them to face the hardships of life at that age, nor are they physically/mentally/emotionally capable of handling real life. A teacher I had in high school put it well when he told us that "Disney is great at feeding you nothing but lies when you're growing up". I love Disney, but I agree with it wholeheartedly. It never has been and never will be realistic.

And above all else, an LGBT kids movie would be incredibly controversial, arguably unsuccessful, and a huge cut in profit from otherwise one of the biggest named companies ever. It'd be stupid for them to make something like that.

 

^
I wish I had been told transgender stuff.
I was so alone.
I thought I was bad cuz homosexuality is a sin...and I knew what I was doing with girls was right in that category.
But I had done stuff since I was 5!
It don't have to be explicit, to show you can be more than a tomboy, you can actually be a boy...nobody offers that, you are either tomboy and likely get over it when you become a teen and start dating men, or you are a lesbian and will live as a girl with girls faking guy stuff...that is how it is portraited.

I am not either.

---------- Post added 17th Jul 2012 at 03:01 PM ----------

They said stuff like that, and yet major movies were made "Look Who's Comming to Dinner" springs to mind.

I think it did help too.

 

There are LGBT characters in kids/Disney movies; they can be as flamboyant/masculine as possible, they just can't be labeled gay or show any sign of attraction to the same-sex. They have to be coded gay.

AfterElton's article on Ryan Evans, the most overtly gay character in any Disney movie.
High School Musical 3's Ryan Evans still a coded gay character | AfterElton.com

 

Unfortunately I think it'll be another 10+ years before we see an form of LGBT persons in kids movies/shows.

I mean Disney finally had an African-American princess in the Princess and the Frog only just 3 years ago...

Wouldn't that be so cute to have a Princess who was looking for her "Princess in shining armour" one day? ^_^ that'll probably take like 20+ years to achieve that..

Hopefully one day, they'll start small. Not the main character, but have a supporting character be LGBT...At least in more teen shows they're including that, Degrassi and such.

Of course, there would probably be such an outrage when that does happen. -_-

 

What I would really love, would be if they made just one Disney movie with an LGBT character/storyline. It could even be a small gesture, but it would just stand out, create a more positive vibe for the next generation and confirm the company's position on the topic. And I would enjoy seeing One Million Moms boycotting Disney. Yes- it's definitely a company I would like to see making a statement about LGBT issues

 

its simple people feel gays are only adults. I knew i was gay when i was 9 I confronted an "extremist christain" and said you know when you say we should burn in hell how do you think that makes 10 year old little kids feel growing up. She answered me that kids cant be gay.

 

Well, it is because you were talking to an adult with a low IQ.

Anyways, I would like it if there were a nice character, that went to play in tea parties, and then kissed another girl. Then shows her as she gets older also putting on boxing gloves to hit her friends. Then as she gets older that she puts on her dad's shirt, whom she loved so much but had passed away. Then how a mean man tries to evict her mom and the family, so she devised a plan to help them. And then a dream scene where she is a young man doing everything she always had done, and ends that she IS a man, and is the hero, not a heroine.

 

Exactly! (*hug*) That would definitely 'stem' the flow of homophobes out there... It's just like a point raised by my old english teacher before i left school, they teach us about Columbus, but never Shaka di Zulu... Before the syllubus started changing it used to be about all white important figures in history, when i found out about it i immediately thought that that was incredibly wrong to only show white famous people rather than people like Roas Parks etc.

 

I was just thinking about this the other say, as well... it would just warm my heart to see an LGBTQ kids movie. Like, maybe the evil villian would be a christian extremist He/She would have spells by spouting scripture and ride a flying crucifix and have try to steal the crown of some lezzie princess or gay prince. Oh! and the dragon could have breathe holy water instead of fire... Oh, yeah haha take that one-million moms! hahaha but all kidding aside it would be a huge step. I am looking forward to that day and the good it would do.

 

I find this thread really interesting and I have thought a lot about this in the past. I did a study this year where I had to watch the 103 top-grossing animated films released from 1980 to 2011. I was focusing on gender, but I did take notice of how there is no real LGBT representation. The only films that mentioned LGBT individuals were the South Park movie and (maybe? can't remember) The Simpsons Movie. Both films used gay people as a joke so I don't count those. Beavis and Butt-Head had a song about lesbian geese or something like that. But these 3 films are not geared toward children anyway.

While coding information for Tangled, I started to wonder why Rapunzel had to be in love with a guy. Why couldn't she love a girl? Why couldn't a prince fall in love with a prince? Why can't Sid and Diego be in love? (I got a gay vibe from them tbh)

I do think LGBT issues are seen as too controversial right now to be successful in children's animated film. However, I hope this changes sooner rather than later.

Like the others have said, I doubt that kids' movies are the ones that cause kids to dislike gay people. Usually, parents and peers have a stronger influence in children's lives than the media. But if the media changes, it could help at least a little bit. Kids watch a lot of tv and movies these days. In my research, I found that kids spend many hours a day with media. Media does influence children to an extent, just not as much as their family. But changing the media to include more LGBT characters can't hurt (as long as they are positive images).

One thing I've thought about is this: If we see LGBT characters in kids' movies, it'll be a sign that society is changing for the better. Children's movies are going to be the hardest film type to get to include LGBT characters. It can happen, even if it's years away.

Disney as a company is supportive of its LGBT employees. They provide benefits for partners and they have a group called PRIDE for its LGBT and LGBT-friendly employees. Disney even participates in the Pride parade. Unfortunately, Disney and other studios haven't made the initiative to include LGBT people in their movies.

One of my dreams is to help create or at least advocate for more equal treatment in Disney/kids' movies for LGBT people, females, racial minorities, and etc.

I could go on forever lol this is one of my favorite topics after watching all those movies.

I think it's important that people bring it to the attention of these companies that you'd like to feel represented. It might do nothing right now but change happens when we fight for it.

 

wow, and here i thought it was just because disney are hyper-conservative. How little i knew

 

Has anyone ever seen Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off? That movie is an old Disney Channel Original Movie that is basically a coming out story disguised as cooking vs. sports story.

 

Ryan Evans is the closest we've gotten to an openly LGBT character in a kids show, but that doesn't mean that there haven't been gay references and LGBT inspiration placed in them. Off the top of my head, Ursula from The Little Mermaid is based on possibly the most famous drag queen of all time, Divine.

 

Happy Feet 2, despite its many faults, did have a gay shrimp thingy in it, a big step for kids' movies. But it's true, although some children's movies and shows allude to homosexuality or homosexual themes, very few come out (tee her, no pun intended) and state in clear terms that a character is gay. Hopefully that'll change in the future as public opinion of LGBT issues continues to evolve and people stop being so damn narrow-minded.

 

On the topic of 'close encounters' with LGBT in Disney, you've got the Jumba and Pleakley characters from Lilo and Stitch (They disguise themselves as a human couple with Pleakley in drag).

But, while I don't think childrens movies contribute to them hating LGBT kids, I think having LGBT representation in those movies would help mitigate a lot of it. Kids like to make fun of everything that they find 'different' from themselves (just look at how young kids treat different genders), and if it isn't something they see it just makes LGBT seem even more 'different'. Having these relationships seen at an impressionable age would help kids grow up knowing that it's a natural part of the world, just like straight relationships.