Is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? Here's what character creator Stephen Hillenburg had to say | MEAWW

Contents:

• NICKELOON JT ANNOUNCED THAT SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY
• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? NICKELOON JT RERCED THAT THEORY
• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY! NICKELOON (FALLY) CONFIRMS HIS LGBTQ STAT FOR PRI
• THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY CONTROVERSY EXPLAED (& WHY IT'S DUMB)
• SO... IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY?
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? EVERY TIME THE SHOW SUGGTED HE IS
• HERE'S WHY FANS OF SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS THK HE IS GAY AFTER NICKELOON'S PRI MONTH POST
• IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? HERE'S WHAT CHARACTER CREATOR STEPHEN HILLENBURG HAD TO SAY
• SPONGEBOB ASEXUAL, NOT GAY: CREATOR

NICKELOON JT ANNOUNCED THAT SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS 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.

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.

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

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.

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

5% feel unsafe at kids had jt as many beloved gay rtoon characters as those they assume to be straight, how many LGBTQ kids might feel better accepted and unrstood? The cln of the rtoon sponge igned a social media nversatn surroundg SpongeBob’s sexual inty, wh some folks clarg him “a gay in.

“We never tend them to be gay, ” Hillenburg said of SpongeBob and Patrick 2005, per People.

SO... IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY?

” (FYI someone n be both gay and asexual, as such inti are not mutually exclive. 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.

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.

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

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. 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. 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.

HERE'S WHY FANS OF SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS THK HE IS GAY AFTER NICKELOON'S PRI MONTH POST

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.

The post ma s rounds onle and has led many to regnize this as nfirmatn of SpongeBob's sexual orientatn after s of speculatn that SpongeBob is gay. "We never tend them to be gay, " seri creator Stephen Hillenburg said 2005.

IS SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS GAY? HERE'S WHAT CHARACTER CREATOR STEPHEN HILLENBURG HAD TO SAY

Regardls of what the creator said 15 years earlier, #SpongebobIsGay began to trend on Twter, as many took the image as nfirmatn of what they spected. Several fans shared their own thoughts on Twter about Nickeloon's post, wh @Drebae tweetg, "Announcg Spongebob beg gay then turng off ments e a't no bate. " In 2012 the Ukraian Natnal Expert Commissn for Protectg Public Moraly also released a report claimg the rtoon pos, "a real threat to children, " and lled for a ban of the animated seri due to s perceived "promotn of homosexualy.

Nickeloon revealed SpongeBob SquarePants is an LGBTQ+ ally, but do that mean he's gay? Qutns about whether SpongeBob is gay or not have been floatg around for years as the show has dropped some hts about , even though seri’ creator Stephen Hillenburg spoke about years ago. The biggt one is that of SpongeBob’s sexualy, wh many groups accg the show of promotg homosexualy and gay marriage.

SPONGEBOB ASEXUAL, NOT GAY: CREATOR

People sisted the episo promoted gay marriage, but as sea spong aren’t eher female or male (and Hillenburg was a mare science tor), playg the role of mother was normal for SpongeBob.