Has anyone else googled "Velma"

[MrsMorton]

She will be an actual lesbian, not gay, not queer. Lesbian. It even includes the actual lesbian flag. Alongside the corrupted rainbow but, small wins all the same.

Yes very much so. I tried to avoid Disney (unsuccessfully) for this reason, amongst others.

Donald wears a jacket but no pants - he was obviously expressing his gender (or something..) ahead of his time.

Oh I don't know. I thought it was Mrs Goggins, the old GILF.

Because as a lesbian I'm afraid of queer mission creep. Leave children's cartoons alone....
I wish more women liked Velma for herself
like we lesbians do...

I'm sure that I saw a film recently about Postman Pat where his wife had left him and he was depressed.
I think they got back together in the end.

The films are all newer, the tv show, which they come from, did not have romances.

What people find annoying is that it all seems very performative. In much the same way that if you want to have a book published now, especially in the youth market, you are pushed to incorporate certain types of things, and are in fact much more likely to be able to publish any old crap if you have some kind of trendy identity at the center of your book, there is a push in film and television to include these same kinds of symbolic characters.

And it's very often not naturally part of the story, it's shoehorned in.

The comment about Scooby and Shaggy is a rather cynical comment on the fact that films right now seem desperate to include anything that might be considered right on, often with zero real thought, and furries are quite on trend at the moment. Several people commented on the possibility that Daphne could turn out to be a man through the same kind of thought processes.

I think 11 year olds can assume whatever they like about the gang, heterosexual or not. I don't think that means they have to show it in the show, however.

Interesting fact - duck penises are like corkscrews.

Fred and Daphne have always been depicted as having some degree of romantic relationship. From the original 1969 they would always dance together, Daphne would kiss Fred on the cheek at times when he was smart or brave, one of them would act jealous if the other paid attention to or seemed attracted to a third party, etc. It's continued through most of the incarnations of Scooby Doo where both characters appeared, as there are a number of series without Fred and Velma and at least one began without Daphne. It was more subtle in the 60s and 70s but has become increasingly obvious as the idea of teenage romance has become less taboo to show children.

I agree with your discomfort around the whole performative bullshit of this Velma's a lesbian 'news.' The fact is that a decade ago, Velma was already depicted as being in a relationship with a girl. It was just a subtle, background plot point in a series with an excellent continuing storyline. It happened, it was something that made Velma happy but was otherwise no big deal. That's not what we're seeing today. Kids shows have often had some sort of romance element. A decade or so ago that started to include an occasional same-sex romance. And I think that was great. But what's happening this week is not that. It is pushing an agenda on kids and showing how great everyone involved is to be so progressive. It's not something that's done because it's natural to the story. It's done to tell us how we should think and what we should celebrate.

Yes, and I think they grow a new one each mating season - weird creatures!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you don't support LGBT rights all that much, if you think three characters in kid's media is 'forced'.

If straight kids can see themselves represented in the media they consume, LGBT kids should too.

I actually dislike the trend to put more teenage romances in kids stories.

Teen stories have in the past had this kind of thing - though not always, lots also didn't. But overall kids stories haven't. They've been much more concerned with other things that are often a lot more substantial and interesting.

I tend to see it as very similar to putting young kids onto teenage style clothes at younger ages. It's a pushing down of teen culture to kids who in a lot of ways would be better off thinking more about other things. Instead they are encouraged to mimic older kids who are developmentally in a different place.

It’s not even just representation for LGB kids, but even for straight kids, they’re going to see familiar situations too - maybe their friend has two mummy’s and their uncle just married a man.

For a lot of children these are not new or unfamiliar set ups, they’ll have seen it in their own lives, at books, at school etc.

Id love to see more diverse family set ups in kids shows - Buster had a single mom if I’m remembering correctly, Binky had an adopted sister etc

The Guardian article has the line: And what does a lesbian bring to her first date? Obviously, her cat and her toothbrush.

Is that something positive to be spinning to those dating?

The recent MN thread on having a man cook for you was full of people suggesting not to go to someone's house on a first date. Or was it just that it was a man's house?

So I'm assuming that Velma's 'coming out' has to do with Mindy Kaling's new cartoon? I just watched the trailer for it on youtube and the best thing about it is the comments.

I know this is an old thread, but I would point out that most Disney films have some romance, it's central to the princess films esp. Plenty of other cartoons, too.

I personally think less focus on romance in general would be good. We should go back to the days when suggesting Sooty get a gf, Soo, was met w an indignant, 'We do not want sex on Sooty!'

Why are you continually adding comments to zombie threads?

If you have something substantive to say or ask, the generally accepted way of doing that is to start your own new thread, not reply to one that is three or four or ten years old

Sorry, I promise I won't do it again.

Nothing wrong with adding to an old thread, when it's relevant to the conversation.

Why is it 'their own issues'? Kids who later realise they are gay normally feel happier if they have grown up with gay people being naturally included in media.

And some kids do have gay people as part of their life I they have gay parents.

It's not just an adult issue if a kid has gay patents.

Do you see straight characters like Cinderella & the Prince as 'adults exploring their own issues'?