Gay characters (and couples) in Disney shows and movies

[DVC~OKW~96]

Anyone who defines disagreement as abuse or bigotry has quite obviously never experienced actual abuse or bigotry.

Absolutely.

 

[MsLeFever]

Disney gay characters:

Sebastian in Little Mermaid
ZaZsu in Lion King
Jafar (and maybe Iago) in Aladdin (But NOT as a couple....hehehe)


And quite possibly those two old gentlemen dogs in Lady and the Tramp (Jaques and Trusty?)

Maybe Cruella de Ville??

Odds would say at least one of the 7 dwarves....(I'm thinking Doc)

 

[Buckalew11]

Disney gay characters:

Sebastian in Little Mermaid
ZaZsu in Lion King
Jafar (and maybe Iago) in Aladdin (But NOT as a couple....hehehe)


And quite possibly those two old gentlemen dogs in Lady and the Tramp (Jaques and Trusty?)

Maybe Cruella de Ville??

Odds would say at least one of the 7 dwarves....(I'm thinking Doc)

See, that's what I'm thinking...

I like you're examples. I'm just wondering who in their right mind would sleep with Cruella de Ville? Male or female!

And maybe Timon?

 

[MsLeFever]

See - it always looks to me like Cruella is a little sweet on Anita, and jealous of Roger....

Oh - and the alien that Kevin McDonald voices in Stitch - Agent Pleakley.

 

[Eeyore98]

Odds would say at least one of the 7 dwarves....(I'm thinking Doc)

Well, going on those same odds, then one of Ariel's sisters, too...

 

[december]

I always though Timon and Pumba were a great couple. They remind me of my cousins, who have been together for almost 70 yrs (1 is my cousin on my grandmother's side, the other on my grandfather's).

 

[Buckalew11]

See - it always looks to me like Cruella is a little sweet on Anita, and jealous of Roger....

Oh - and the alien that Kevin McDonald voices in Stitch - Agent Pleakley.

Oh definitely Agent Pleakley!! He was my favorite. I still mad they took his little statue out of Tomorrowland!

 

[Aisling]

I always though Timon and Pumba were a great couple. They remind me of my cousins, who have been together for almost 70 yrs (1 is my cousin on my grandmother's side, the other on my grandfather's).

OMG This is so funny! Now that you mention it,they remind me of my uncle and his partner of 50 years! Can't wait to tell them!

 

[MsLeFever]

Cogsworth?

Baloo? (I have a friend who refers to himself as a "bear")

This is fun!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

And the Geni in Aladdin, of course. He's a bit campy, but none the less.

And some believe the big cheese himself, yep Mickey... Minnie being his beard and all.

 

[Aisling]

News flash- gay people can be religious too....

A close family member just got divorced after 23 years of marriage, great guy, wonderful wife, beautiful kids. I was angry with him for "doing this to" his wife, and I spoke to my priest about it. I was floored when the priest said to me "don't be angry. Even though he loves his wife and family, this man has suffered in silence for 23 years not being able to be who he really is." I was so surprised by that that I boldly asked him if he was Gay. He said no, but he's seen too many Gay people suffer the stigma and it breaks his heart for them.

 

[SandrA9810]

And the Geni in Aladdin, of course. He's a bit campy, but none the less.

And some believe the big cheese himself, yep Mickey... Minnie being his beard and all.

Mickey doesn't have to worry about Minnie... she's got Goofy.

Don't forget Piglet. But he's more on the transgender side of things, since no one believes Piglet is a HE.

 

[Aisling]

I am always, always confused when people talk about not wanting to explain what gay means to their children. It doesn't need to be a graphic sex talk.

I posted earlier about gay moms dreading the explaining of heterosexuality to their young children. Not all people are progressive, gay or straight. This was because they were reading the Little House on the Prairie books to the children and the question of why don't we have a "pa"?

Parents are parents, gay or straight, and for some, these discussions are hard. I believe in teaching the kids these things at a young age and keep it simple and matter-of-fact. This is a fact of life, both orientations.

Now the Male to Female trans married to a lesbian might be a little harder to explain, but those couples talk it out with others on that board and get a lot of helpful advice.

 

[CowboyCO]

(Note: I wasn't sure whether this belonged in the Gay and Lesbian section, but since that section's description says it is about Disney experiences, I figured this would be a better fit. If I am wrong about that, I apologize and hopefully a mod will move it.)

It is a fact that you don't see many gay characters in family entertainment. Sure, there are sometimes minor characters that fit the old stereotypes, but you pretty much never see a prince with a prince or princess with a princess.

Now, one can argue that this is just a reflection of the fact that most people do not belong to that group, but that is also true of many other minority groups that do get explicit representation in family entertainment.

One could also say that the matter is "too adult" for such entertainment, but is it really more inappropriate for a child to watch a prince seeking a prince instead of a princess?

When do you think Disney will have its first gay lead character? When will we see a princess seeking a princess? 10 years from now? 20? Never?

Not in my lifetime, I'm guessing. Disney is in the business of selling movie tickets and selling merchandise, not making political statements.

 

[EmmaBrault]

A close family member just got divorced after 23 years of marriage, great guy, wonderful wife, beautiful kids. I was angry with him for "doing this to" his wife, and I spoke to my priest about it. I was floored when the priest said to me "don't be angry. Even though he loves his wife and family, this man has suffered in silence for 23 years not being able to be who he really is." I was so surprised by that that I boldly asked him if he was Gay. He said no, but he's seen too many Gay people suffer the stigma and it breaks his heart for them.

The Catholic Church actually doesn't hold that being homosexual is a sin.

 

[Aisling]

The Catholic Church actually doesn't hold that being homosexual is a sin.

I know, but I still didn't expect him to be so compassionate, considering they got divorced over it. I was very happy with his attitude.

 

[SandrA9810]

I watched a 20/20 special one time. It was about a family, mom and dad sort of forced into getting married to make parents happy. Finally when they kids were about 13 or so, enough was enough. They got a divorce, and both the parents turned out to be gay. So the kids wound up with two dads, and two moms. The families of the parents had a harder time adjusting than the kids did. The kids had a better since of reality of what was happening, and liked that the parents were happier being who they really were, rather than trying to portray something they weren't.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd like it if characters could just be gay or not and no one would even blink an eye. Not that most characters need to be one or the other but if they are then no one would care or think a thing of it. Is that impossible?

I still don't expect Disney to make a stand on this in animation, at least not for a while.

 

[ashley0139]

Not in my lifetime, I'm guessing. Disney is in the business of selling movie tickets and selling merchandise, not making political statements.

In no way is being gay (nor would showing a gay character) be making a political statement. At all.

 

[Aisling]

I'd like it if characters could just be gay or not and no one would even blink an eye. Not that most characters need to be one or the other but if they are then no one would care or think a thing of it. Is that impossible?

I do think it's possible, but not for a long time. Society needs more time to accept this difference, but it's slowly happening.