LGBT Disney

[Disney's Divinity]

I assumed it was, the post was too strange.

[carolinakid]

I never automatically think of bots being the culprit (I’m old!) but strange it was, indeed!

[Sotiris]

Netflix, Disney leading the kids TV pack in LGBTQ representation
https://kidscreen.com/2023/03/21/netfli ... sentation/

[Sotiris]

The newest Disney Channel movie "The Naughty Nine" is stirring up controversy due to a male fifth grader calling an older male "hottie" in the film.

Disney’s New Christmas Movie Sexualizes Kids
https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/28/di ... izes-kids/

[UmbrellaFish]

The newest Disney Channel movie "The Naughty Nine" is stirring up controversy due to a male fifth grader calling an older male "hottie" in the film.

Disney’s New Christmas Movie Sexualizes Kids
https://thefederalist.com/2023/11/28/di ... izes-kids/

Such an insidious op-ed! I hope the writer gets the help she needs. From the picture included in the article, it’s clear that the “older male hottie” referenced… is also a child. lol.

Well, I thank God that in my own childhood, I escaped the clutches of Hollywood’s Heterosexual Grooming Syndicate!

WARNING: THE BELOW IMAGE IS NOT SAFE FOR CHILDREN

[carolinakid]

Thanks, Sotiris. Great article which will be eye opening for many parents who still trust unequivocally that anything “Disney” is suitable for children.

There’s a you tube video from I think, That Park Place, that says some theaters have been receiving calls from parents asking if Wish is “safe for kids”.

[Elladorine]

I know real fifth-graders who still believe in Santa and I cherish their innocence

Dafuq did I just read?

[Sotiris]

Well, I thank God that in my own childhood, I escaped the clutches of Hollywood’s Heterosexual Grooming Syndicate!

Not to equate the two, but I always found the "romance" between Alfalfa and Darla in Little Rascals strange and off-putting. They were way too young to be interested in each other in that way, and even though it was presented as something very innocent and cute, their behavior didn't feel authentic and true to how real kids their age would behave.

I think it would be best if Hollywood stopped showing minors below the age of 16 being romantically/sexually interested in others altogether.

[UmbrellaFish]

I think it would be best if Hollywood stopped showing minors below the age of 16 being romantically/sexually interested in others altogether.

To be honest I think that’s weird and puritanical. Firstly, I don’t see any evidence of contemporary Disney depicting kids with sexual interests. Side note, but why 16? The age of majority in the US is 18.

Kids have crushes on other kids, that’s a common part of the human experience. It’s questionable that certain groups only take issue now when media has begun depicting gay crushes. Did the Federalist release an article criticizing Clod having a crush on Ember in Elemental? Just an oversight, I’m sure… It’s not that The Federalist, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, and similar far right publications are bad actors with a goal of directly linking the LGBT community to pedophilia.

If the definition of child sexualization is so broad as to make a child’s usage of the word “hottie” off limits, where do you draw the line in general? Is it okay to depict any romance, even adult romance, in children’s media?

Edit: Originally I had written “Firstly, I don’t see any evidence of Disney (or really any other mainstream media I’m aware of) depicting kids with sexual interests.”

That statement was too broad and I didn’t mean to suggest that sexualisation of minors has never occurred, past or present in media. Snow White, Ariel, and Jasmine were all 16 or younger. I think Britney Spears was 16 when she dressed in that school girl uniform?

But I think “sexualization” is too strong a word to use for what the exchange written about in the article. I grew up watching 13 year old Lizzie McGuire trip over Ethan Craft and Aaron Carter, though.

[Jules]

I can understand that a 9-year-old calling an adult a "hottie" can seem a bit off, but to be honest, I recall having sexual thoughts as long as I have been alive.

When I was 9, I was definitely sexually attracted to men. (Even if I didn't know what sex or sexual attraction was, that didn't stop me from getting dirty thoughts.)

Of course, making an in-film reference to potential pre-pubescent sexual longing is a different story. Personally, I think it's fine ... but I can understand if some people find it mildly inappropriate.

[carolinakid]

Jules, I knew I was queer at a VERY early age, definitely by 7 or 8. And I always felt “squishy” inside around older boys (late teens) and adult men, never my peers.

[UmbrellaFish]

Jules, I knew I was queer at a VERY early age, definitely by 7 or 8. And I always felt “squishy” around older boys (late teens) and adult men, never my peers.

carolinakid, so what is your take on this passage from the The Federalist op-ed?

There’s also the disturbing aspect that Jon’s character may have just hit on an older male when he called him “hottie.” Sure, maybe “Cute Teen Boy Pop-Up” (Aidan Miller), as the credits call him, is actually the same age (in which case Jon is a teen and he called a fifth-grader “cute” in a questionable way). But children viewing the movie would see that the “cute teen” is taller and more masculine, which could easily give them the impression that he is older. An adult wouldn’t assume the two are different in age just because of height and masculinity, but many kids would. So an impressionable young viewer might see a child using suggestive language with a more mature male, and could be encouraged to do the same. (Of course, with kids, just a year or two is significant in maturation.)

The actors’ actual ages don’t matter, it’s how children perceive them. McCabe appears to have recently turned 15 and Fegley is 14, but, again, playing a 10- or 11-year-old. Child actors often play a different age than their own.

[Elladorine]

I know I didn’t say much in my previous post but wanted to come back to expand when I had the time. Just the Santa line alone from the article is extremely manipulative and misleading as part of their justification of “protecting the innocence of our children.”

The world is changing to be more inclusive, and they’re angry that Disney is finally starting to catch up. Yes, we have gay/trans/etc. people. We’ve always had. It’s stupid to pretend they don’t exist, and outright malicious to claim acknowledging them in an innocent manner is akin to grooming.

Groomer is a term that’s lost all meaning now, thrown around as an ugly, irresponsible false accusation to dehumanize people that are just trying to live their lives, people that should be entitled the same human rights already given to straight couples and cisgendered individuals.

I believe the following line from the article is also extremely telling: “Christians aren’t hateful, they just don’t want sex pushed on kids.” It sounds noble out of context, right? But it’s entirely hypocritical when the exact same people fail to complain about straight crushes being depicted between young characters in entertainment, have no issue with child beauty pageants that obviously sexualize little girls, and argue against passing laws to shut down child marriages because they don’t want any parental rights or religious liberty restricted.

Seriously, child marriage is still legal in 80% of the United States (minimum of age varies from state to state), and 10% do not even specify a legal minimum age at all, meaning young children can be legally married with their parents’ consent. It also must be noted that this can be done against the child’s will, and little can be done legally to remove these minors (the majority of which are girls) from their spouses, even under abusive situations. Again, all for the sake of keeping parental rights and religious liberty unrestricted, in most of the US there is no law in place to prevent a sexual predator from marrying a minor and these people want to keep it that way.

There’s no hate like Christian love. They’re straight out lying about not wanting to push sex on kids; it’s all good to them as long as it doesn’t, say … involve one boy calling another “a hottie.”

[Sotiris]

Side note, but why 16? The age of majority in the US is 18.

I just think if one wants to tell a story about minors who are romantically interested in others, it's "safer" to go with older teenagers to avoid, or the very least reduce, any possible accusations of sexualization or exploitation.

[UmbrellaFish]

Elladorine, beautifully expressed. You addressed the heart of the issue much better than I did. Thank you.

Side note, but why 16? The age of majority in the US is 18.

I just think if one wants to tell a story about minors who are romantically interested in others, it's "safer" to go with older teenagers to avoid, or the very least reduce, any possible accusations of sexualization or exploitation.

Sotiris, thank you for answering my question. I disagree with you because I don’t think it’s possible to appease people who hate LGBT representation. Plenty of nasty things were written about Love Simon and Love Victor, too, which were about high schoolers.

[Disney Duster]

Children feel attraction to others their own age all the time. Maybe it didn't happen to some of you, but it happens. It's the truth. And to depict something as innocent as that should not be cause for being attacked or forbidden!

[Sotiris]

71% Want Disney to Return to Family-Friendly Entertainment
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public ... ertainment

[UmbrellaFish]

Rasmussen is a famously conservative polling group whose results often skew towards conservative biases.

Anyways, Disney dropped the 2024 Pride Collection on the Disney Store website earlier this week. There was a nice sweatshirt and much other merch.