@@ Disney Channel Characters Become Girlfriends

[ssmjlm]

I know nothing about this show and I know Disney isn’t known for being inclusive, but hopefully a step in the right direction.

popculture.com/tv-shows/news/beloved-disney-channel-characters--luz-amity-lumity-finally-become-girlfriends-shippers-rejoice/

[keyslover]

My girls love the show and I've watched some episodes with them. I like it- Wendie Malick voices the lead. It's not typical Disney- it's a bit darker and sarcastic.

I didn't watch the latest episode, but saw it coming. Knowing my kids, they won't say anything because it's not a big deal.



ETA: not being dismissive on that it really is a big deal, just my girls are open minded and inclusive. The younger generation gives me hope.

[seeyalater52]

I’ve never heard of this show but gay Twitter told me this happened so I watched the clip and it was very cute.

It will probably never stop blowing my mind that this is a thing now, just like I cried real tears when I saw the giant Love, Simon display at the big movie theater. It would have meant the world to baby gay seeya to live in the world these kiddos get to grow up in. 😭❤️

[SusanBAnthony]

I will ditto that kids these days don't care (in a good way).

My kids have non binary kids in their classes and as friends and they do.not.care. It isn't even a thing.

[sonrisa]

Aug 4, 2021 19:54:54 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

I will ditto that kids these days don't care (in a good way).

I beg to differ (not to be argumentative

It may not feel like a big deal to kids who are straight/presume they will be/haven’t thought about it. However, representation matters. For some kids it means everything.

My daughter is still little and sorting out who she is in the world. But she notices representation. Just a few weeks ago she insisted that there aren’t any gay people in her life. When we pointed out some friends and the kids she knows with two moms, or two dads, she scoffed and said ‘but not in our specific family.’ Every book or show that shows two women in a relationship, especially beyond a parenting role, matters to her. Just getting ‘maiden and princess’ out of the library made her feel better.

[meganew]

My kids looooove this show! I wonder if they’ll mention this to me when they finally watch the new episode.

I recommend it all the time, but another great show with diverse representation is Kippo on Netflix.

[sent]

Even if the main Disney stuff won't go there, Disney Junior is trying.

Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital had an episode where one of the toy families has 2 moms.

I read last week that Gonzo turned into Gonzorella and wore a dress despite the other Muppet baby friends telling Gonzo to be a knight. I haven't seen the episode yet.

[Michelle]

Aug 4, 2021 19:24:18 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

I’ve never heard of this show but gay Twitter told me this happened so I watched the clip and it was very cute.

It will probably never stop blowing my mind that this is a thing now, just like I cried real tears when I saw the giant Love, Simon display at the big movie theater. It would have meant the world to baby gay seeya to live in the world these kiddos get to grow up in. 😭❤️

Such a huge change since 1996 for sure.

I'm so very happy for kids today.

[sporklemotion]

Not Disney, but there is a new Netflix show called Ridley Jones that has a character with two dads. There are only 6 episodes so far, but she appears to be a recurring character and her dads appeared a few times.

[picksthemusic]

We watched She-Ra and there were some LGBTQIA+ storylines there too, so this will not phase my kids at all.

Good step in the right direction!

[karinothing]

Aug 6, 2021 9:30:02 GMT -5 sent said:

Even if the main Disney stuff won't go there, Disney Junior is trying.

Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital had an episode where one of the toy families has 2 moms.

I read last week that Gonzo turned into Gonzorella and wore a dress despite the other Muppet baby friends telling Gonzo to be a knight. I haven't seen the episode yet.

The new Jungle Cruise movie also has a gay character. I haven't seen the movie yet, but a male character has a 1:1 conversation with The Rock about how he turned down marriage with a woman because his interests lied elsewhere and his family disowned him basically. Note sure if that is main Disney or not. 


www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dwayne-johnson-jungle-cruise-lgbtq-inclusion.html/

[seeyalater52]

Aug 4, 2021 20:56:23 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Aug 4, 2021 19:54:54 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

I will ditto that kids these days don't care (in a good way).

I beg to differ (not to be argumentative:)

It may not feel like a big deal to kids who are straight/presume they will be/haven’t thought about it. However, representation matters. For some kids it means everything.

My daughter is still little and sorting out who she is in the world. But she notices representation. Just a few weeks ago she insisted that there aren’t any gay people in her life. When we pointed out some friends and the kids she knows with two moms, or two dads, she scoffed and said ‘but not in our specific family.’ Every book or show that shows two women in a relationship, especially beyond a parenting role, matters to her. Just getting ‘maiden and princess’ out of the library made her feel better.

100% this. Thank you for saying this.

[RitzyHeifer]

Aug 4, 2021 20:56:23 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Aug 4, 2021 19:54:54 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

I will ditto that kids these days don't care (in a good way).

I beg to differ (not to be argumentative:)

It may not feel like a big deal to kids who are straight/presume they will be/haven’t thought about it. However, representation matters. For some kids it means everything.

I * think * what SusanB meant about kids not caring in a good way is that there IS representation so more of the younger generations just view gay relationships as being one way that relationships happen. A stark contrast to my childhood/adolescence.

[sonrisa]

Aug 6, 2021 16:35:58 GMT -5 RitzyHeifer said:

Aug 4, 2021 20:56:23 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I beg to differ (not to be argumentative:)

It may not feel like a big deal to kids who are straight/presume they will be/haven’t thought about it. However, representation matters. For some kids it means everything.

I * think * what SusanB meant about kids not caring in a good way is that there IS representation so more of the younger generations just view gay relationships as being one way that relationships happen. A stark contrast to my childhood/adolescence.

There is some representation, but much less than I think people feel there is.

It's the straight person's version of men thinking women are "dominating the conversation" if they speak 30% or more of the time.(not that anyone is implying gay characters are "dominating." but you can see the over emphasis on the scant representation that does exist even in this thread. Two children's programs each with *a single episode* are being held up as representation - one where the focus character isn't even gay just has gay parents and the other where the character just wants to dress outside of gender norms, no real suggestion of identity. 

And when there is representation it is primarily gay men. Gay women occasionally show up (mostly as moms) trans girls show up rarely and very few transboys. 

"Maiden and Princess" is literally the only children's picture book I can find in our library system (a progressive Bay Area library system that strives to include anything they can find) that has central gay characters who are female and not mothers. Out of thousands of books. 

So representation is a big deal. And still lacking. And straight kids and parents probably don't realize how lacking because they see some and it checks the box. Like a single women or POC on a board checks the "diversity" box in the corporate world. 

[sonrisa]

I think my issue with "my kids don't care" is we've heard it before. You can imagine a similar message board in the 80s having the same discussion about a show including a POC and white parents saying "kids these days are color blind. they don't notice."

[gretchenindisguise]

Aug 4, 2021 19:54:54 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

I will ditto that kids these days don't care (in a good way).

My kids have non binary kids in their classes and as friends and they do.not.care. It isn't even a thing.

It was likely a thing for the non-binary kids.

It was for my kid. It took them a while to come out to us, their classmates, and eventually others. One of their most trusted adults was just 2 weeks go (we learned in March or April).

Everyone has reacted positively and supportively, which is fantastic and makes it easier. But it’s still been a process, even here in Southern California. I imagine other places would be more difficult.

[fumbalina]

I like that we age seeing more LGBTQ+ characters but it is still pretty scant. Bow's fathers ate am improvement over the 1 second shopkeeper in frozen having am all male family.

More stories need to include more types of people. I have enjoyed reading Rick Riordin's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series. The secondary characters have challenges. One is deaf, the live interest is fluid trans, and they are treated as complete characters. For picture books the only one I know is Stacy is not a Girl by colt Keo Keo-Meier.

To be honest though it can be hard to even know of picture books with non white characters that are not about being not white. There is The Snowy Day, the Amazing Grace series. I There are more each year which is great but media is slow to reflect acceptance.

[RitzyHeifer]

Aug 6, 2021 17:56:26 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

I think my issue with "my kids don't care" is we've heard it before. You can imagine a similar message board in the 80s having the same discussion about a show including a POC and white parents saying "kids these days are color blind. they don't notice."

You are absolutely right. I apologize for my wide-brush thoughts that inclusion and representation were a “done deal”. I should know better from my own life experiences, and should want better for the current and future generations.

[keyslover]

This thread has been on my mind and I've been wrestling it.
I have been saying, my kids aren't making a big deal about it and the relationship wasn't a big thing for them.

Then today, DD2 and I went to a reptile store. Second one we've looked at. This one she watches their YouTube videos and really wants a snake.

First one was filled with male employees, nice people and helpful.
I look around at this store- all female staffed. Seems silly and I know not the same, but it mattered. My daughter got to see younger women working and running this reptile store.

I asked if she noticed, she said "well, i saw they were girls". But that was the extent of it. It made a difference to both of us, but differently.

So when I thought it didn't really matter to them or they didn't seem to care, they still notice. It makes an impact on their world view.

I get it. Sorry.