Should Disney have a same sex couple?

[EveOnline2016]

Just getting views.

This is something I feel like Disney movies should have.

Being in a same sex couple is nothing to hide from children.

Mulan cross dressed didn't she? Not exactly a representation of TG as she wasn't but it certainly isn't only for comic effect. Agree it is just as worthy of Disney as sexuality though.

TG might be quite difficult to portray on screen without making a really big deal of it. Especially in a way that isn't comic but isn't confusing either.

I think most people are saying it should be normalised rather than prominent. You described it as "damaging" for children to see a homosexual relationship in Disney.

Yes. Both my children understand that same sex relationships are normal and we have a number of gay relatives. They probably think it's weird that there are no same sex couples in the cartoons they watch!

I don't believe children find same sex couples odd because they don't see it on TV, it's because they're parents are straight and what the majority of the population is.

I'm all for equality and diversity but get a bit fed up of this attitude that if there isn't a gay character is homophobic. I remember not long ago there was an uproar because a TV programme killed off a lesbian character? Well why the hell not? So just because someone is gay/lesbian they shouldn't be killed off? Urgh double standards!

Apologies for that phrasing middleclass.
I think depending on the child/age it can be confusing for them. I find that whenever I need to explain TG for example, I get a pretty baffled look back from my 5yr old.

What's confusing about a same sex relationship? It's the same as any other relationship. Two people want to be together.

I think there are many things wrong with Disney films and the less my kids see of them the better! I'd rather they enjoyed something else.

I like the old ones like Robin Hood and Fox and the Hound. That's about it. Can't stand anything that involves all this magic and fairies and unicorns

You know what would be nice? In films that are very much for a female audience; could we have crowd scenes 50:50 male:female, could the female characters talk as much as the male and could some of them not have 18 inch waists and 36 inch busts? Thanks Disney...

www.ew.com/article/2016/01/26/disney-princesses-speaking-roles-research

I think it's 'damaging and confusing' for children only to see representation of heteronormative relationships and then as they grow up have no understanding of feelings they may experience themselves or come across in others.

Bring it on I say.

Thinking about it, Elsa having a girlfriend would hasten this along.

I think it's 'damaging and confusing' for children only to see representation of heteronormative relationships and then as they grow up have no understanding of feelings they may experience themselves or come across in others.

I completely agree.

There's no reason that there shouldn't be. But I can't see it happening. I don't think America as a nation is quite as tolerant in general as the UK (thinking about the episode of Top Gear where they drive through hillbilly land in a pick up with 'man love rules ok' on it, and nearly get killed). Disney is about making money, as much money as possible, not about causing controversy or making statements. They wouldn't want to invest in making a film that was certain to be unappealing to at least some of the masses. I'm not saying it's right, I just can't see it happening, not for a good while yet.

"Disney has always been a sold reinforcer of conservative social norms." That's putting it mildly! I hate them.

Dd wasn't allowed to watch until she could understand the issues I had with them (and yes I applied that to certain other films too but Disney really do have form for this).

2009 it was before they even have an african-american princess! Stereotypes galore.

Make elsa asexual! She doesn't need to have a partner at all! Or bi-sexual!

As for not needing to 'expose' children to this, what about children with non-white/gay/transgender/disabled/mentally ill parents? Surely they deserve to feel their life/family is normal?

Also note they barely promoted 'the princess and the frog'

Yes they should have a gay male couple, a gay female couple, a disabled person, a black person, an Asian person who started out as male but then ruled the kingdom in heels and a dress, a person who started life as a female but ended up with a penis and in in control of 10000 soldiers marching up and down a hill..... Lets not forget the person with SN who conquered the World and his missus single handedly....OTOH maybe it should be down to parents to educate their children on social norms? WTF does Disney have to do it for them?

Afro is allowed her view and does not need to be made the subject of personal attacks such as "nasty, bigoted homophobe". It is perfectly OK for some people to think that homosexuality shouldn't be a promoted norm; that is their right and we live in a country of free speech.

"It is perfectly OK for some people to think that homosexuality shouldn't be a promoted norm"

Why?

I'd like to know that too, Cao.

Thinking homophobic thoughts is something that can't be controlled but expressing them is not acceptable including on mn.

But Disney is hardly all about life, is it?

The early ones were. Every single one had a message - Bambi came out at a time when thousands of children were losing parents to war, for example.

Frozen - expectation and pressure on women and to an extent mental illness. Current issue.

The latest film, Zootropolis, is about xenophobia and racism. Look at what's going on in the world today and tell me it's not about life!

Because everyone has the right to freedom of thought, Cao.

Disney only had its first gay character a couple of years ago.
m.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/disney-channel-debuts-lesbian-couple-good-luck-charlie-article-1.1603673
Considering the backlash against a one episode character in a show that had already been cancelled I can see why Disney isn't eager to risk profits on their feature films. It would be a nice starting point to see more gay characters in the made for TV stuff they do though.

The #giveelsaagirlfriend thing is way too late anyway. The plot of frozen 2 will have been planned out for ages now.

This is really interesting.

Several years ago the same thing was being said about having a black/Asian Disney princess.

I'm sure some people at the time said 'I'm sure that these people exist but should we really be promoting it to our kids?' You only have to look at the furore over the Oscars to see that this racism still exists even now. And dont get me started on misogyny in the film world.

If you took the posts here that disagree and changed the words 'gay' to 'black', 'female', 'disabled' it would look like a post from the 1970s.

The younger we ensure that our kids understand that there are people of different sexes, races, abilities, sexualities, the better.

If they are old enough to know that a man and woman can fall in love and live happily ever after, then they are old enough to know that a woman and a woman or a man or a man can too.

It's not about sex at that age, it's about love and about acceptance of others.

In 20 years we will look back and find it unbelievable that people felt it was to be 'hidden'. Just like we do now with the horrendous racism/sexism of the 1970s.

I think it's absolutely vital that people like Disney have a serious think about presenting a more diverse view of the world. My children have friends with same-sex parents and it doesn't faze them in the slightest. Giving Elsa a girlfriend (or Merida or anyone really) would be a really positive move.

Oh, and to the posters earlier who mentioned Tabby McTat I definitely assumed they were a lesbian couple, seems the most logical explanation for their relationship.