How 'Strange World' troduc the first out gay teenager a Disney animated film

Contents:

• CHILD STAR STGGLED TO E OUT AFTER PLAYG ‘THE GAY KID’ ‘SCHOOL OF ROCK’
• DISNEY RELEAS ITS GAYT KIDS’ MOVIE YET—AT THE CRAZIT TIME
• HERE'S HOW 'STRANGE WORLD' TRODUC THE FIRST OUT GAY TEENAGER A DISNEY ANIMATED FILM: 'IT WAS A BETIFUL THG TO BE A PART OF'
• THE HEARTBREAKG TE STORY OF THE GAY TEEN AND HIS DAD BEHD ‘JOE BELL’

CHILD STAR STGGLED TO E OUT AFTER PLAYG ‘THE GAY KID’ ‘SCHOOL OF ROCK’

While TV shows have featured more and more diverse characters recent years, remas particularly difficult to fd fay-iendly LGBTQ+ movi, often bee the stori (problematilly) often foc on the paful, vlent, R-rated stggl of gay and lbian folks. LGBTQ+ them are not central to the plot of this 2022 Disney feature but the character Ethan is gay and openly smten wh his iend Strange World, rated PG, on Disney+. Inially shocked, Daniel asks how long he’s known he’s gay to which Tyler asks “How long have you known you’re straight?

The only plitn is that he hasn’t e out to him as gay.

Everybody’s Talkg About JamieMax Harwood as VioBased on a te story, Everybody’s Talkg About Jamie is a mil that follows Jamie, a gay boy livg northern England who dreams of beg a drag queen. Sudnly Billy fds himself a much more “tradnal” high school, plete wh homophobic bulli. Cast & crewUser reviewsTrivia2018R1h 55mThe son of a Baptist preacher unwillgly participat a church-supported gay nversn program after beg forcibly outed to his son of a Baptist preacher unwillgly participat a church-supported gay nversn program after beg forcibly outed to his son of a Baptist preacher unwillgly participat a church-supported gay nversn program after beg forcibly outed to his productn, box office & pany Vios42More like thisReview Hard to watch but absolutely credibleAs a gay man myself, this movie ma me sooooo angry.

DISNEY RELEAS ITS GAYT KIDS’ MOVIE YET—AT THE CRAZIT TIME

Former child actor Brian Falduto says that he wasn’t able to e out until his senr year of llege bee of the stggl he faced after beg dubbed “the gay kid” om “School of Rock. “I was so much nial [about my sexualy growg up], ” he said on the “Cooper and Anthony Show, ” “Thk about : I was the fifth gra when this movie me out and I was lled gay, and then someone told me that’s not ol, so I was jt like, ‘Oh, ok, then I’m not gay’. “So I was nyg before I even had a notn of what [beg gay] was, ” he told rad hosts Cooper Lawrence and Anthony Michaels.

Beg known as “the gay kid” om “School of Rock” stopped Brian Falduto om g out for years. “So by the time I realized I was potentially gay, I was already homophobic towards myself, sentially, ” Falduto, who is now an actor, filmmaker, mician and life ach said. As a 30-year-old gay man, I’ve met a lot of other queer people who also hid parts of themselv childhood.

Experimentg wh femy the safety of the home — even somethg as mcule as selectg girl characters vio gam and livg virly through her abily to kick ass — seems to be a shared gay experience for many of .

HERE'S HOW 'STRANGE WORLD' TRODUC THE FIRST OUT GAY TEENAGER A DISNEY ANIMATED FILM: 'IT WAS A BETIFUL THG TO BE A PART OF'

None of this mak a person gay, of urse. It feels remiscent of the adoratn that gay fans hold toward old Hollywood beti like Joan Crawford and Judy Garland, or the pageant-style exaggeratns of femy that unrpned so much of early drag culture.

Barbie has been the subject of the same gay diva worship over the years, and Gerwig’s film promently featurg LGBTQ+ actors feels like a nod to that history. Part of Barbie’s gay appeal might be that, spe beg plastic and unmalleable, she n transform herself to anythg: doctor, lawyer, judge, journalist, and vet, or whatever Mattel thks will sell the most dolls. ) As the world’s most famo doll, she has been st as both an aspiratnal hero and a rctive villa — the gay world, this polarizg dualy often turns women to ins.

THE HEARTBREAKG TE STORY OF THE GAY TEEN AND HIS DAD BEHD ‘JOE BELL’

After I me out as gay, I spent a lot of my younger adult life reilg when people said that they “already knew. Now, I feel proud of my ltle gay self for havg the urage to play wh those fabulo dolls — and of my parents for buyg me the toys I wanted, not the on I was supposed to like. That latter scriptn has been on my md the feelgs and memori were dug up this week bee I had a chance to watch the new Disney+ film Better Nate Than Ever, which jt may be the most gay-posive and enuragg youth programmg that Disney has ever released.

Consirg everythg that’s been the news about Disney, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the disturbg latn of unapologetilly anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric dissemated by GOP policians, uld be argued that ’s the bt time for a movie like this to e out. I have never felt more reprented on are hts that Nate is likely gog to realize he is gay one day, which is obv to everyone, though that label is never articulated.