Cartoons moving toward LGBTQ+ inclusiveness
Two weeks ago, the animated television show “Steven Universe” aired an episode in which two feminine characters were revealed to be in a romantic relationship.
“Steven Universe” has already been noted for its unprecedented progressiveness and promotes body positivity, gender queerness and many other themes that, just five years ago, children cartoon developers never could have imagined.
This is not the first time in recent history a show marketed toward a younger audience has introduced openly LGBTQ+ characters. In August, a voice actress for Adventure Time revealed two female characters had been in a relationship before the show, and last December, The Legend of Korra finale ended with two of the main characters, both female, becoming a couple.
Even though its last episodes were aired exclusively online, “The Legend of Korra” was called a groundbreaking move toward positive LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media.
Naturally, each show has received considerable backlash from opponents of LGBTQ+ rights, but in spite of that, the movement is not currently showing any signs of slowing down.
Joanna Robinson, a writer for Vanity Fair, stated, “When it comes to children’s entertainment, that envelope still needs pushing… American kids’ shows have a long way to go before L.G.B.T. story lines are considered a matter of course.”
One of the first cartoons to include LGBTQ+ characters was the Japanese anime “Sailor Moon” in the 1990s, which included several queer characters. However, in the U.S., one of these couples was changed to be male-female, another two characters were rewritten as cousins and another character was also changed from male to female to erase his cross-dressing.
Of course, some television shows, such as “Orange is the New Black,” have been much more progressive in portraying the LGBTQ+ community in a positive light, but these shows are much more mature in nature and are not suitable for a younger audience.
By opening the door to producers to include such characters and themes in their shows, we will be teaching younger generations more about the world they live in, and we can start to eradicate intolerance at a younger age.
Not only that, but keeping this representation in cartoons is very important to children who might already identify with the LGBTQ+ community by teaching them it’s perfectly OK and not abnormal to be themselves. Otherwise, children will grow up feeling isolated and as though they don’t belong.
