Will we ever see serious openly gay / lesbian characters in western animation?

R

redbird

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How long will it be, if ever till we have more openly gay or lesbian characters in serious roles in western animation?

Or will it always be something that is not spoken but just implied. Even in Japan which is more liberal to these things, I can't think of many characters when their sexularity wasn't used strictly for comic relief. The only examples I can think of Michiru and Haruka from Sailor Moon, actully almost all of the gay Sailor Moon characters sexual preference was treated seriously as they would a hetro relationship. For the most part in anime, the gay characters were perverted comic relief characters, and it was treated as a joke.

That being said, it is still more progressive compared to the west. We have character like Lexington who the creators outted years later, but it was just implied on the show. For some reason it didn't stop Lexington for competing for Angela's attention after the Avalon arc.

And is it true or not that Twilight Sparkle feelings for Princess Celestia are more than just student worship?
 
I highly doubt Twilight's feelings for Celestia are romantic. She just very much looks up to Princess Celestia and respects her. If anything, I'd say Celestia is like a second mother to Twilight and Twilight is like a daughter to Celestia.

Anyway, I thought Gus and Wally of Mission Hill were one of the finer gay couples I've seen in Western animation. They may have been a little stereotypical at times but I felt like they were treated as actual characters with real personalities and not just a big gay joke.
 
I agree. Twilight just has tremendous respect and admiration for Queen Celestia*. There's nothing romantic about their relationship.

 *Incidentally, I'm aware that due to Hasbro's insistence, Celestia is referred to as a princess and not as a queen, but it makes more sense for her to be a Queen, so I generally prefer to call the character Queen Celestia.

Their names were Gus & Wally. But to answer the question, I think that we're more likely to see a non-stereotypical gay couple on an animated prime-time series long before it trickles down to Kid-Vid TV.
 
I agree sadly, kids could use some role models, at the very least have parental gay characters as there are kids being raised by gay or lesbian couples and could use some role models to show them how to deal with that.
 
Prime time animation's full of gay people/couples, but that's more acceptable than having gay characters on kid's shows, even though a few have gotten in under the radar:

- Richie/Gear from 'Static Shock'
- Lexington from 'Gargoyles'
- Brainiac 5 fom 'Legion of Superheroes'
- Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy from 'Batman: TAS'
 
I haven't seen Static Shock in forever, so could you explain that one to me?

But I agree with Gus and Wally from Mission Hill. Even with a few stereotypes the were a loving and relatable couple. Hey Arnold! did a good job with hinting at Mr. Simmons being gay, especially during the Thanksgiving special where his alleged lover was at dinner. Seriously, those were some great undertones to the tension between his mother who didn't approve of the relationship and his friend.
 
To be fair, only the latter two's homosexuality was 'shown' on screen. The first two were just outed by their creators after the show ended.

Richie is suppose to be gay much like his comicbook counterpart.
 
For the original question I think we'll see it someday but I can't say when, it's not going to be tomorrow or even next year but maybe ten/twenty years from now it could happen. What's stopping it from happening are the general cultural attitudes towards homosexuality in America. We're not going to get anything close to a serious openly gay character till those attitudes aren't the loudest voices in the room.
 
As everybody else said, Mission Hill was great at this. I hope we can see some gay/lesbian couples that aren't simple played for jokes. I can't help but get annoyed when watching American Dad, Greg and Terry get some focus only to see their sexuality played out as a joke every time they're on screen. And this is one of the better portrayals in animation...
 
Whoa, hold up, what?! I never saw that episode, but it blows my mind that in the 90's any Nickelodeon show would approach that subject matter. Props to them!
 
I think its because of the christian foundation thats woven through america's early history. That's probably why homosexuality is frowned upon. Times are changing and what may have been a no-no 15 years ago, is mainstream now. I'll never use prejudice towards a gay person, cuz they're people just like everyone else. And through my christian faith I've learned to love them, plus I don't approve the lifestyle. So having my kids exposed to gay relationships in cartoons in the future doesn't sit right with me. Don't even have to lean on Jesus if you choose not to, because genetics lay down the solid foundation. Why can't 2 guys "do it"...? Wasn't meant to be.

That show Degrassi really focuses on those key points you said ealier.




Huh? Brainy was gay? Never gave of that impression imo. I mean...he's a "robot". Hmm.
 
I wouldn?t necessarily say it's just due to Christian's but stuff that's now just a part of the culture in America. That perception is slowly getting worn away with more and more gay characters being accepted in media now. What's stopping that affecting cartoons now is that they're still considered a children's medium so some people will get up in arms and outrage over it "corrupting the youth" or some such. Cartoons will probably be the last place to have openly gay characters because of that.



Watch the first episode of season 2 (hell just the first five minutes of it) and tell me he's not gay for Superman. The basics of it is that Brainy was running simulations where he and Superman are fighting villains and Brainy dies in Superman's arms. That plus the dialog makes it so blatant it's not even subtext.
 
Yeah, in this episode Arnold and Helga spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Simmons' family because they weren't enjoying theirs. It turns out his family isn't like the perfect loving people he portrayed them as in his play. He had his mother, his uncle, a female friend and a male friend at dinner (forgot their names) and those two didn't like each other. The specific scene is where his mother suggested that Mr. Simmons take his girl friend out on a date but then it shoots to the male friend scowling and hinting at Mr. Simmons, who then nervously declines the offer. His "friend" and his mother then continue to argue the rest of dinner, and I'm pretty sure she makes a snotty remark about his err orientation. I think there was another episode where he was featured. I didn't get it at all when I was little, but after watching it again a few months ago it all made sense.
 
I had to see it and you are totally right...in the first few minutes it's so obvious that it hurts...

I didn't see that Hey Arnold episode with Mr. Simmons, but I do have vague memories of something like that.
 
There are some hints in the Gargoyles comics that Greg Weisman wrote a couple of years back, particularly in the second trade paperback. But Greg had already revealed Lex's orientation at a fan convention way before that. Funnily enough, a lot of gargfans' response to that revelation was basically "called it!", so clearly Lex was already tripping someone's gaydar.
 
I've seen every episode of Batman:The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures and I don't remember them once stating that they were lesbians.
 
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