Should there be homosexuality in cartoon-shows for kids?

I recently saw a animated movie(for kids) called Disco Worms. It wasn't brilliant, but nice enough, and my sister seemed to like it, so that's what's important. Bu what caught my attention was that it was implied that one of the worms was "in the closet," and at the end of the movie, I think he actually admitted his sexuality.

So it made me thinking; should homosexuality be allowed in a tv-show/movie for kids?

These days it'll make grown ups more uncomfortable than kids.

They should introduce gay characters in Veggie Tales. Since it's a Christian show though, they'll have to make sure kids can notice the difference between a good straight vegetable and a bad gay vegetable. Hmm. Oh, what if we don't make them vegetables at all? What if we make the gay characters...fruits? Evil fruits who try and mix in with the vegetables, hoping they can fool everyone into treating them like vegetables instead of fruits. Then there can be this whole arc where Bob the Tomato is suspected of being a closet fruit, but he swears he's really a vegetable.

...too on the nose?

Some shows just need to stay away from sexuality in general.

Seriously, I don't get why it's such a big deal. Plenty of kids shows portray straight relationships, and since we're talking kids shows it's not like anything inappropriate or overtly sexual is going to take place. I don't see any harm in showing homosexuality in the same light, as just a normal thing that some people do. It kind of irks me that gayness is treated like it's some taboo adult subject really. I feel like hiding it away from kids is like saying that it's not as nice, or normal, or acceptable as opposite sex relationships. To say it's inappropriate to expose kids to the idea that boys can love each other just like a girl and a boy can, well to me that is in itself inappropriate. It's like saying there's something dirty or wrong about it compared to other types of love.

And that's what you're talking about, when you're talking about portrayals in kids shows. Not weird sex stuff, just straight up fairytale love. I'm not saying get in people's faces with it, I'm not talking agenda pushing or making gay rights cartoons...just normal stuff. Gay treated as being no better or worse, as being no more or less important that straight. And really, who ever watched Cinderella and found themselves thinking "GOD why must this story be all about her being heterosexual, sheeesh, I get it....". There are ways of doing things so they are tasteful. Seems to me like we can't expect kids to grow up unprejudiced if we only expose them to the parts of society and types of people that we personally approve. Like sure, I'm gay myself, and fortunate enough that even when I've gotten abuse for it, I have never struggled with my sexuality, not even for a second. But that's not because of the time I grew up in, or because of my own attitudes. I've always been comfortable with it, because my mum and dad have always acted like being gay was totally okay.

Bubbline for the win!

Yup. Other than some of the parents, I don't see a reason why not.

This.

As much as heterosexuality, meaning that some shows for children stay away from certain material, for a variety of reasons, and thats fine, but there are degrees as well. Some kids shows just involve counting numbers and learning letters, others ambiguously gendered small animals with friends and family, others children with gender and friends and family that have certain roles that correspond with real life, and limited ideas of attraction and preference, then others much more complicated. So the way relationships between people differs in act one, in some the number nine isn't going to be french kissing the Moon, conceptually its attempting too achieve something else, just help a kid with counting or knowing the difference between night and day.

Basically if the contexts allows for heterosexuality relationships, ideas, situations, then the same could be said for homosexuality. Then whether it should be introduced? Yeah sure, depending on where you live, but familiarity at such an earlier age, helps individuals come to terms with certain ideas, so portraying diversity in general helps contribute to individuals who are more tolerant of others in regards to superficial differences and more likely to care about deeper characteristics where it matters, work ethic, friendliness, etc and right now a lot of fiction is going through a stage where there are so few homosexual representatives they can be cliche and or are treated with too much sensitivity in order to not piss off people, the more representation (not just for homosexuality but everything) the better. Especially as far as helping people realize what is superficial or not. Gay people can be shallow, ignorant, fashion clueless, lazy idiots too, and stoic, and tough, etc but its tricky trying to achieve such things organically with minorities, its why we don't really have a lot of black villains either, and female villains also tend to be pretty similar.

Actually in this respect in recent years a lot of children/teenage shows are pretty progressive, look at shows like Adventure Time and Avatar/Korra. Such shows subvert a lot of traditional roles/expectations. Comics themselves use to be pretty progressive as well, unfortunately with lower sales safer stories have resulted.

Ever watch frozen?

But I don't see what would be wrong with gay chatacters.

Regardless of homosexuality, modern cartoons still suck ass compared to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon when I was 6th Grade.

JImmy from Ed. Edd and Eddy was gay

Kids are going to learn about it at some point. Why not tell them when they're young and open-minded?

That too :D

@saint_wildcard: And to a lot of people Spongebob and Patrick as well. The Ulama Council (Muslim leaders) in my country tried to get Spongebob banned because of that and "violence".

Gay people exist. If they're going to show heterosexual relationships in said cartoon, then yes. Lump it in with the meat and potatoes and hopefully kids won't grow up to be hateful little homophobes. It isn't part of any gay agenda trying to brainwash kids.

@sc:

Hahaha, SC, when you use to go to school and the teacher would have you writing essays were you done in like two seconds, man?

I don't think having homosexual figures in cartoons or games would really have a drastic change. I remember cartoon characters and games that I grew up with that I use to wonder what gender they were, and for some I still wonder today. Like Frieza from Dragonball Z I though he was a girl until he transformed and didn't have a shirt on and Goku was referring to Frieza as "him".

Same pretty much applies for: Tweety bird, Birdo, Poison(Final fight), Spongebob, Korra, Batwoman(Kate Kane), Him(Powerpuffgirls), and no one complained at all when seeing those characters especially considering some of them are protagonist.

Of course.

Sure, why not. Kids should learn that some people are "different" at an early age, so we could evade prejudice. Just don't make somebody gay just for the sake of making somebody gay. Make a likable character, who just happens to be gay

There was a gay character in Frozen? I sure hope you're not talking about Elsa and Anna, because they were sisters. That WOULD be a pretty bad message to be imparting on our youth!

As to the topic, what others above have said. Homosexual relationships should be applicable in the same context and situations as heterosexual relationships are. For example Korra and Asami could have actually acted like two characters falling in love similar to what went down between Korra and Mako earlier, and cemented their relationship with a polite, loving kiss instead of leaving it up to our imaginations.

Hate is bred by misunderstanding. People grow up not understanding homosexuality because the vast majority will never interact with an openly homosexual person until well into adulthood, and maybe not even then. So where are we to learn that this even exists as a possibility? I learned about it from Middleschool bullies who accused me of being that in a VERY disrespectful way, so I spent a fair amount of my early life believing it was BAD to be homosexual. Eventually I learned better, but I can't help but feel that entire period of ignorance could have been circumvented if at least one of the shows I watched as a kid had a pair of homosexual characters to introduce the concept to me in a less aggressive, bigoted manner.

NO!

@ariesxmasters: Maybe… heh heh, essays always seemed really easy to me at school, it was vague multiple choice answers with ambiguous wording that I struggled with. Which of the following is different to the rest. A. Apple. B. House C. Cloud D. Turtle. E. Dragon. Dammit, they are all different! Great rest of the post by the way… wait Frieza isn't a girl?!?! 0_0

The whole movie was about being gay.

Elsa had to conceal her differences so other people wouldn't hate her. When she did reveal it everyone wanted to kill her. Let it Go is about coming out. Then Anna was cured by the true love kiss. It was Elsa who kissed her. In the end everyone accepted Elsa for who she was.

On Clarence, Jeff has two Moms.

They're kids. Just leave them out of the political bs. Who cares otherwise?

@sc:

I use to go like Hulk mode on the teacher when ever she said it was essay time, SC, I was like about to rip out my shirt and turn green lol. Yes Frieza is in fact as male, though it is incredible hard to believe since he has some feminine features. His brother cooler looks a lot more masculine than him though.

I think it doesn't matter to them other than arousing their curiosity as to why two girls/boys are together, only it will be wrong if their parents told them that it's a sin, wrong or unacceptable to the community.

@ariesxmasters: you'd think freeza's second suppressed state (the king cold replica)

Would give it away

I'm kinda surprised it hasn't happened more already.

Gimme a sec and I'll find you a link to that Swedish children's cartoon about penis & vagina... I really don't think that 12 year olds need to know about sexual organs in detail.

It already is

but sure, children's programs normally deal in life lessons

Wrong forum, this should be in off topic.....

Rock on, yo.

Nah. They'd be doing it just for the same of doing it. Kids don't need to be involved in all that mess.

I think it already is, or at least hinted at. There is one fairy in the fairly oddparents that im pretty sure is supposed to be homosexual.

If we count anime than I think it is because im positive General Blue in Dragon Ball was gay, and there was a very openly gay man at the end of DBZ named Otokosuki

I don't get why. Who cares if there isn't, it's not a big deal. Plus it would just be for the sake of doing it..

I'm sure they would just overexaggerate the characters too.. nothing worse than making stereotypical characters just to push an agenda.

That's all I'm saying on this.

I don't see why it shouldn't be. Its a part of life, so yeah. ^_^

#LGBTSupporter

Korra was kinda gay

Who cares about 2% of the pop? That's not " normal reality", that's a fringe group.

Gays, women, blacks, and fat whales should not be catered to.

I don't think there should be any sexuality in children TV shows at all... That way you avoid offending anyone.

Teen shows are obviously different.

As long as it doesn't tell the children being gay/lesbian is bad it won't cause any harm. Although already worrying about the future of society to be honest.

No. There shouldn't be.

Yes there should be, Jesus is gay, Christians just deny the truth.

The apostles were a nomadic band of sex crazed hippies.

E: Dragon the rest are real.

@dernman: Heh heh… wait what …dragons aren't real?

**Runs from thread so people can't see tears streaming from eyes**

@sc: There there. Puff will always exist in your heart.

@dernman: Heh heh thanks. I will lock him and Toothless in my heart so they can never escape… ever. 0_0.

Did you not see He-man ?