Is Western Animation Ready For Gay Characters?

Mr. Simmons? I wouldn't be too surprised if he was, but I never heard anything about him being homosexual.

I have heard some speculation that the principal from Jimmy Neutron was though, but was never directly stated on the show. That would make more sense to me, since he does seem a bit, well, fruity, I suppose.
 
This is the biggest problem. More so the parent groups than just singular parents.

The groups will try and stop anything like this from happening no matter how well it is portrayed.
 
No. Only when America give homosexuals the same legal rights as heterosexuals will the country be ready to have gays in American cartoons.
Of course, shows that are target towards an older audience will allow it. To many, homosexuality is as much as an adult topic as discussing sex. So it'll never be mentioned in a show targeted towards younger viewers.
But I realize my statement isn't entirely true. To my knowledge, parents don't complain about gay characters and kid's shows unless they're actually engaging in a relationship. If it's left ambiguous to the children, then that's also perfectly fine. It wasn't revealed until the show ended that Lexington (Gargoyles) or Richie (Static Shock) were gay, and it's not well know to anyone except the diehard fans.
 
I get what you're saying, but regardless of whether you support homosexuality or not, the argument that the gay-rights debate is exactly the same as the race debate just doesn't hold up. Now, don't take me wrong - I'm not saying the former is not an issue at all. What I am saying is that, as a behavioral condition, homosexuality is far different from skin color, which is purely a physical feature. Being black or white does not directly affect your personality or behavior in the least - but it's hard to argue that the same thing is true of being gay. Even if you do believe homosexuality is purely a genetic condition, it's still a different issue than interracial dating, simply because it relates to the emotions rather than physical features.

Again, though, that's not to say that people who are vehemently anti-gay are in the right. The reality is that this issue is a very complex one and has generated some very strong feelings on both sides. I doubt it will be resolved any time soon, and that is why I don't think childrens shows can realistically feature openly gay characters.
 
Craig Bartlett confirmed it in a chat with fans.

I think it would be great to see openly gay or lesbian, non-stereotypical characters in animation not mainly intended for adults, but it likely won't happen for a long time.
 
Dwayne McDuffie has said he was gay.

"It'll never come up in the show because it's Y-7 but as far as I'm concerned, Richie is gay."

http://forums.delphiforums.com/Milestone/messages?msg=425.232

"The way I dealt with Richie's homosexuality was to write him aggressively and unconvincingly announcing his heterosxuality whenever possible ('Wow! Look at those girls in the swimsuits! I sure like girls!'), while Virgil rolled his eyes at the transparency of it."

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=10250320&postcount=69
 
Give it another generation and we'll probably see more of them.

Personally, I don't see why a character's orientation is such a big deal unless it plays a big part in the show's storyline.
 
Lexington was already mentioned, and you can definitely see some pretty blatant hints about that in #8 of the comic when he meets Staghart in London.

Greg Weisman also revealed at a Gathering that Irma in "W.I.T.C.H." is a lesbian. He didn't mean to, he just said that he thinks one of the main characters is a lesbian, and Andrea called out "It's not Irma, is it?" Greg paused and said "How did you know it was Irma?"

Maggie Sawyer in "Superman TAS" was a lesbian. Her girlfriend was even visiting her in the hospital during Darkseid's invasion.

This was as blatant as they ever got:

SupermanTASLesbians.jpg


There have got to be more.
 
I'd suggest Mission Hill. The show has a gay married couple who's sexuality is not only, not played for laughs, but their focus episode doesn't emphasis on their sexuality (but rather a crappy sci-fi movie that one of them made).
 
As a cartoon fan who is gay, I'd like to see more gay characters in American animation, particularly ones that're more well-rounded.... when gays appear at *all* in animation (basically only in adult-oriented cartoons---"gays aren't suitable for children!!!"), they tend to be portrayed in ways one haven't seen in live-action productions since the 70s, i.e. either as closeted or some sort of (usually effeminiate/flamboyant) stereotype. If live-action in 2010 can now portray gays as talk show hosts, lead characters in sitcoms and dramas, etc., I'd like to think American animation can do better than Smithers and Big Gay Al by this point.

And no, "this character is, you know, nudge-nudge, wink-wink, look-the-other-way-Fred Phelps-types" doesn't cut it... if a character's gay, they should be portrayed as openly such, and also as wacky/butt-kicking/etc. just like everyone else in said production (i.e. if it's a superhero show, they're probably taking part in the action like everyone else, or if it's some show about teens in high school, a plot might be "Archie and Jughead try to help Kevin prepare for his date with John in time for the Riverdale prom, but being Archie, wacky hijinks ensue.").

-B.
 
Ok. Didnt know about the actual interview confirming that he was gay. Thats my bad. So that confirms it for me. Thanx

As far as Static getting a series in 2011. Let me elaborate more in case this is misconstrude. Static is getting his own Comic series in 2011. Not a new cartoon. On the one hand, yeah that sucks. no new cartoon. On the other hand. hes back to having an ongoing comic that continues his adventures. I dont know if his mom will be alive in the series. Now that hes in the DC universe, it looks like they are taking his cartoon history and merginf it with the cartoon. But Im goi g on the assumption that shes alive.
 
Now that I remember, in an issue of Archie Comics next month, an openly gay character is supposed to make his debut. I suppose that's as close as we can get.
 
We've got more than the stereotypes. As someone mentioned, the couples on Mission Hill and American Dad, Patty on the Simpsons isn't that bad, and Earl and Dale's father on King of the Hill. It'd be tough to find an adult cartoon that hasn't had a gay character in it at some point, although it is true that a lot of the time, they are used for jokes. The Daria movie "Is It Fall Yet?" had an interesting subplot where Jane goes away to art camp and is hit on by a female.



Hey, they got away with confirming that it's her girlfriend in the commentary of the episode. Speaking of Maggie (or even Richie), quite a few homosexual comic book characters have made it to cartoons (although obviously not out in said cartoon), including Northstar (X-Men TAS), Rene Montoya (BTAS), and Obsidian (JLU).
 
Really though, how many shows (even kids shows) don't involve some kind of romantic tension somewhere? Especially action/drama cartoons like Gargoyles or Justice League, but even comedies like Fairly Oddparents or Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

Off hand, I can think of Spongebob as one of the few that don't (aside from the one episode with Krabs and Puff), and that's why it's so weird that Spongebob's sexual orientation gets focused on in the media. I don't think anyone wants sexual orientation to play a big role in a show like Spongebob. It's the shows that do have romantic angles where it matters.




That all said, I can't help but wonder. Does being gay affect your personality, outside of who you're attracted to? I know it involves biology and hormones and stuff in your brain, but I honestly don't know what effect it has on one's personality.
 
If they can do it in friggin' Archie comics, where the kids still go get malts and drive around in jalopies and have the cleanest, all-American values possible, then it looks like they could do it in kid's cartoons.
 
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