Is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? Tweet creat rabow of speculatn | Children's TV | The Guardian

Contents:

• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? NICKELOON JT RERCED THAT THEORY
• NICKELOON JT ANNOUNCED THAT SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY
• THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY CONTROVERSY EXPLAED (& WHY IT'S DUMB)
• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY! NICKELOON (FALLY) CONFIRMS HIS LGBTQ STAT FOR PRI
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? EVERY TIME THE SHOW SUGGTED HE IS
• NICKELOON MAY HAVE JT CONFIRMED WHAT WE KNEW ALL ALONG: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY
• NICKELOON PRI TWEET HTS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? TWEET CREAT RABOW OF SPECULATN
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? HERE'S WHAT THE SERI CREATOR HAD TO SAY.
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? TWEET CREAT RABOW OF SPECULATN

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? NICKELOON JT RERCED THAT THEORY

#SpongeBobIsGay started trendg as many cid the tweet was nfirmatn of the character’s sexualy. Due part to his close relatnship wh bt iend Patrick Star, the ter had long ago cid that SpongeBob was ed gay.

“We never tend them to be gay.

) Patrick both wh limp wrists, forhadowg this revelatn by reprentatn children's media remas srce, largely due to phback om studs and parents who equate visible gay, lbian, bisexual or trans characters wh the "sexualizatn" of children. Jt last month, Pixar released a short film on Disney+ featurg a gay protagonist; Out followed his journey to e out to his parents and troduce them to his boyiend. And later this year, Marvel Studs will but the first openly gay superhero the MCU — and his hband.

NICKELOON JT ANNOUNCED THAT SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY

The cln of the rtoon sponge igned a social media nversatn surroundg SpongeBob’s sexual inty, wh some folks clarg him “a gay in.

THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY CONTROVERSY EXPLAED (& WHY IT'S DUMB)

“We never tend them to be gay, ” Hillenburg said of SpongeBob and Patrick 2005, per People. ” (FYI someone n be both gay and asexual, as such inti are not mutually exclive. Even Ukrae's moraly watchdog picked up on this and tried to ban the show back 2012 for s "promotn of homosexualy" (as reported by Huffgton Post).

Unfortunately, what's probably a surprise to no-one, there are also people out there who actively rent Nickeloon's celebratn of SpongeBob's the announcement went live, homophobic trolls have been quick to nounce SpongeBob for beg "gay", throwg the ual tantms over their "ed" childhoods. While we don't wish to lend the voic a platform by sharg their plats here, the most amg thg about all this is that SpongeBob has always been queer – and that was even nfirmed by the show's creator 2002, Stephen Hillenburg nied SpongeBob is gay, explag stead that, "I always thk of [the characters] as beg somewhat asexual. By simply scribg SpongeBob as "gay, " this eras one of the few posive forms of asexualy seen on screen, and even some major publitns are guilty of g this 's not to say asexual people n't also be gay, straight or bisexual.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY! NICKELOON (FALLY) CONFIRMS HIS LGBTQ STAT FOR PRI

As The Trevor Project explas here, asexualy exists on a spectm, and there are many ways for people to intify unr this when Hillenburg said SpongeBob is asexual and therefore not "gay, " he uld have been assumg that the two are mutually exclive. After all, the queer genr polics of SpongeBob Squarepants are more plex than most, and that's thanks largely to how each character nnects fluid and often homoerotic ways.

1592054553Naturally, took leral sends for the ter to fly to a enzy over the apparent reveal that SpongeBob is as gay for Patrick as we all always knew he was. \u201cGAY SPONGEBOB STANS RISEEEEEEE\u201d — brtany (@brtany).

1592096177Of urse, Nickeloon didn’t explicly say SpongeBob is the gay in we’re all so eager to claim he is, but the tweet DOES suggt he’s part of the LGBTQ+ “SpongeBob is gay!!

IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? EVERY TIME THE SHOW SUGGTED HE IS

” paras swept across the ter, other diehard fans of the crter who liv a peapple unr the sea began potg out that we’ve actually known SpongeBob has his place unr the LGBTQ+ umbrella for a long time 2005, creator Stephen Hillenburg said that he “never tend [SpongeBob and Patrick] to be gay. 1592072825Wh so ltle asexual reprentatn media, ’s important not to erase SpongeBob’s ace inty, though some have poted out that there’s still room for him to be homo- or bi-romantic and asexual.

\u201c\u201cspongebob is gay\u201d \u201o, spongebob is asexual! He\u2019s homoromantic asexual; you n have both. SpongeBob SquarePants has had s dose of ntroversy, the biggt one beg about SpongeBob promotg homosexualy.

SpongeBob SquarePants hasn’t been safe om ntroversy, and the biggt one is that about SpongeBob beg gay and “tryg to turn children gay”. The character has been acced of promotg homosexualy, wh var groups exprsg their disfort and even mandg that Nickeloon stops airg the show.

NICKELOON MAY HAVE JT CONFIRMED WHAT WE KNEW ALL ALONG: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY

The SpongeBob SquarePants Is Gay Controversy Explaed.

The “SpongeBob is gay” ntroversy n be tracked all the way back to 2002, when the episo “Rock-a-Bye Bivalve” first aired. The show was acced of promotg gay marriage, but as sea spong aren’t eher female or male, SpongeBob beg the mother is actually normal for him – even more when rememberg that Hillenburg was a mare science tor, and he add as many real life characteristics to the characters as possible. Hillenburg even clarified that he nsired the character to be “somewhat asexual”, and all claims that SpongeBob is gay are false.

NICKELOON PRI TWEET HTS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY

A few years later, 2005, a vio wh clips of children’s shows, cludg SpongeBob SquarePants, promotg diversy and tolerance was cricized by an evangelil group, statg the show was “advotg homosexualy”. Others have poted out SpongeBob’s relatnship wh his bt iend, Patrick, sayg they are a uple and th, once aga, promotg homosexualy.

Meanwhile, some others have simply cid that SpongeBob is gay bee of how he acts. Social media ers quickly exprsed their overwhelmg approval of Nickeloon's announcement, sparkg the hashtag "#SpongeBobIsGay" to trend on Twter.

IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? TWEET CREAT RABOW OF SPECULATN

"We stan spongebob the gay in, " wrote one Twter er. "All those homophobic rats are screamg si #SpongebobIsGay, " said another.

In 2005, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg told Rters that the loveable rtoon character was asexual, spe many fans assumg he and his starfish pal, Patrick Starr, were gay.

IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? HERE'S WHAT THE SERI CREATOR HAD TO SAY.

“We never tend them to be gay, " said Hillenburg, who died 2018.

IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? TWEET CREAT RABOW OF SPECULATN

Given the fandom’s long-held belief that SpongeBob intified as gay, ’s the least Nickeloon uld do for this beloved kids show, and social media reactns did not disappot.

Fans quickly reacted sharg stills om the show and celebratg SpongeBob’s om SheKnowsGrey's Anatomy Fan-Favore Chyler Leigh Com Out Heartfelt LetterCoolhs Founr Natasha Case Spills Her Kid-Snack Hack & It Involv Eel, Not Ice CreamThe Trans Moms Hate Mother's Day -- Here's WhyNot surprised about #SpongebobIsGay sce has always kda jt been the way I have seen SB, but that do not stop me om beg DELIRIOUSLY happy about SB reprentg lgbtq+ culture ❤️?️‍?— ℍ???? ???? (@EmmaHso) June 14, 2020Other fans of the show have taken issue wh this, however, potg out that SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg had intified the character as asexual years ago. Further, sce SpongeBob is not explicly lled gay, fans are left wonrg whether the tweet was fact a misguid alln to his asexualy, which is not referenced the LGBTQ Nickeloon would undoubtedly have ma a stronger statement by, well, makg an actual statement, this is still a big step forward for reprentatn kids’ TV, which has long led LGBTQ characters and relatnships too “adult” for s ntent, spe their fort cludg adult heterosexual relatnships.