This child actor's gay days at Disney st him his reer - LGBTQ Natn

Contents:

• THIS CHILD ACTOR’S GAY DAYS AT DISNEY ST HIM HIS REER
• NEW BOOK ALLEG WALT DISNEY WAS A GAY PEDOPHILE

THIS CHILD ACTOR’S GAY DAYS AT DISNEY ST HIM HIS REER

DeSantis’s move was explicly retaliatn to Disney’s opposn to HB 1557, better known as the “Don’t say gay” law. In terms of the LGBTQ+ muny, though, Disney’s relatnship go far eper, and has veloped ways the pany self n never have Disney was never a rd-rryg homophobe but he was a steadfast nservative, and long after his ath 1966, Disney’s output ntued to promote “tradnal” and “fay” valu. That didn’t disunt “dg” Disney characters (ually villas) as queer, that they exhibed stereotypilly gay attribut such as effemate behavur or distert the oppose sex: Jafar Aladd, for example, or Sr The Ln Kg, or even Shere Khan the tiger The Jungle Book.

He moved to Florida and worked for Disney for 15 employe prott agast Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill. One of the unsung LGBTQ+ hero of Disney lore, for example, is Howard Ashman, the openly gay lyricist and producer, who died of an Aids-related illns 1991.

“You didn’t always feel safe as a gay kid, now you’re walkg down Ma Street, USA, and everythg is manicured, everythg is clean. This was the park’s first Gay Day, and has ntued ever sce. Compose: Guardian DignIn the early years, Disney would warn “straight” visors when was Gay Day and hand out whe T-shirts to non-participants who had advertently turned up wearg red.

NEW BOOK ALLEG WALT DISNEY WAS A GAY PEDOPHILE

While Disney do not officially regnise Gay Day, soon me to appreciate the mercial clout of the LGBTQ+ muny.

There is no end of rabow-loured Disney merchandise on sale, and Disney acmodat and facilat the Gay Day schle of events, cludg a week-long ftival takg place across the cy, wh club nights, drag shows, pool parti, and special hotel his first Florida Gay Day 1998, Shapiro found a sister Gay Day Anaheim at the Los Angel Disneyland. While Orlando Gay Days are more party-centric, the lower-key Anaheim event tak place mostly si the park.

Disney now hosts a table at s wele centre promotg fairytale gay weddgs at Disneyland and hosts premier at Gay Day. “Gay Day was never formed wh a polil agenda, ” says Shapiro. Even if s “openly gay character” proclamatns rarely live up to the billg, there have been fleetg referenc to same-sex relatnships movi cludg Toy Story 4 (two women drop off their dghter at krgarten); Onward (Lena Wahe’s p refers to her girliend); the live-actn Bety and the Beast remake (the character LeFou, played by Josh Gad, is telegraphed as gay and danc wh another man, although not even Gad was particularly proud of that one; “I don’t thk we did jtice to what a real gay character a Disney film should be, ” he admted).

Jack Whehall went a step further, playg a gay man Disney’s live-actn film Jungle Cise last year. Photograph: Chris Livgston/Getty ImagWhen DeSantis first announced the “Don’t say gay” bill early March, Chapek’s rponse was to stay silent.

Pixar employe released a statement allegg that Disney executiv had mand cuts om “nearly every moment of overtly gay affectn” s movi. But potentially more harmful than the attacks on Disney is the “Don’t say gay” bill self, which is likely to e long-lastg harm to Florida’s young LGBTQ+ people and their wh prev ocsns when nservativ have “gone after Mickey Moe”, this latt attack is likely to blow over. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights Edutn Act, which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill bee prohibs classroom discsn of sexual orientatn or genr inty wh stunts gras K-3, emed velopmentally or age appropriate.

“I had very few openly gay role mols, ” Disney said. Joni Madison, the group’s terim print, said that HRC wants to see Disney “build on their public mment and work wh LGBTQ+ advot to ensure that dangero proposals, like Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ bill, don’t bee dangero laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books.

Wh all that’s been wrten about the Walt Disney Company’s embrace of the LGBTQ movement, om affirmg TV shows like When We Rise to movi like Bety and the Beast, om “gay days” at Walt Disney World to out sger Sir Elton John’s mic for The Ln Kg and so on, ’s astonishg that prec ltle has been wrten about Tommy Kirk, Disney’s leadg young male star of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Many a gay boy, myself clud, grew up watchg Tommy mourn his dog Old Yeller (1957), turn to a dog himself The Shaggy Dog (1959), tame the savage wilrns wh his brothers The Swiss Fay Robson (1960) and reluctantly kiss Ante Funicello The Misadventur of Merl Jon (1964).

Kirk is gay–which is why he is this lumn the first place–a fact about himself hat he is que open about and willg to talk about his terview:. “I’m not ashamed of beg gay, never have been and never will be.

But Kirk knew that his homosexualy would jeopardize his movie reer, clash wh his All-Amerin Boy image and anger both the homophobic Disney and Kirk’s “strict Baptist parents”. “I knew I was gay, but I had no outlet for my feelgs.