“I think the people hoping for a lesbian princess need to be reminded that Disney movies are aimed at kids. I don’t think there is anything wrong with being gay, but to push the idea at kids before they understand what that means will only confuse them. Also as a parent, I would be pissed at Disney for addressing such controversial topics in a movie intended for children.”
I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. Generally I don’t pay much attention to opinion blogs because a lot of people are under the impression that there is no such thing as a ‘wrong opinion’ (which there is) and talking to said people is much like talking to a pile of rocks, except even rocks would be preferable to these kind of ridiculous people.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay, but -” Nope. Stop right there. If you truly think there is nothing wrong with being gay, then that would be the end of it. You would not have this opinion. There is no ‘but’. Queer couples should have the same representation in children’s movies as heteronormative couples because - gasp! - there is nothing wrong with being gay!
You speak of ‘confusing’ the kids - tell me, though. How? How would this confuse them? When children watch Disney films, they are not thinking about sex. When they see Ariel and Eric kiss, or Aladdin and Jasmine, or Aurora and Phillip, or every goddamn couple in the entire franchise, they are not thinking about penises and vaginas, they are watching two people who love each other kiss. It’s simple and actually incredibly clear. There is nothing confusing about two people in love.
See, heterosexuality and heteronormativity is so ingrained in our culture that, most of the time, we don’t even realize it’s there. This confession is a prime example of that. And to assume that representing a gay couple would somehow be ‘pushing’ homosexuality on them is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Considering sexuality is an innate part of us, something we are born with and cannot change, you could show a child nothing but animated gay couples going on adventures and falling in love and if the child is straight, they’ll still be straight at the end of it. Representation is not about trying to coerce anyone into being anything they’re not - it is about shedding light on the people of society who have been kept in the dark, about teaching children that not being the norm is okay.
Do you realize that there are children out there with gay parents? Gay relatives? Gay friends? That there are children out there - prepare yourself - who are gay? What do you think it’s like for them to see the same boy and girl fall in love over and over? That what they feel isn’t ‘appropriate’? That what they feel is ‘too confusing’ to be displayed?
It is statements and opinions like these that reinforce homophobia and make kids afraid to be themselves. This is what keeps people in the closet, in denial, afraid to come out, because the majority - heterosexuals like yourself, I presume - have condoned homosexuality/being queer as being ‘too confusing’ when it’s been proven time and time again that it’s just as natural as anything else.
