SpongeBob SquarePants Is Gay! Nickeloon (Fally) Confirms His LGBTQ Stat for Pri

Contents:

• 12 POPULAR CHILDREN’S TV SHOWS THAT HAVE GAY CHARACTERS
• SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS IS GAY! NICKELOON (FALLY) CONFIRMS HIS LGBTQ STAT FOR PRI

12 POPULAR CHILDREN’S TV SHOWS THAT HAVE GAY CHARACTERS

Wh shows like Steven Universe leadg the charge and changg the game, no longer do we have to settle for “child-appropriate” (read: homophobic) censorship. Premierg on Nickeloon, The Loud Hoe ma history by troducg the work’s first married gay uple, Howard (Michael McDonald) and Harold McBri (Wayne Brady). In addn to s vibrant animatn and killer soundtrack, the show ma wav wh s troductn of Benson (Coy Stewart), an openly gay male character (who even the word gay onscreen, a rary kids’ animatn.

“Say goodbye to the regular plot l of Blue’s Clu and Soby-Doo — and hello to a 21st century lson transgenrism, sex, homosexualy, non-bari, and drag queens, ” said the msage.

Related: Pixar releas adorable, gay-themed short movie ahead of Pri month. When live-actn televisn began makg roads for gay reprentatn durg the turn of the century, animatn remaed a tratgly straight (if equently queer-d) affair. The reasons behd the medium’s slowns were obv and, predictably, homophobic.

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

So, pearl-clutchg TV crics would argue, children shouldn’t be exposed to “adult” (read: gay) characters through rnchy rtoons. Wtern animatn, meanwhile, eher featured gay characters one-off episos (see “The Simpsons'” inic John Water’s gay steel l episo) if they were aimed more at adults, or kept hidn subtext if the target dience was younger. For example, years after “The Proud Fay” first aired, creator Ralph Farquhar admted that the character of Michael was wrten as gay, but had to be merely queer-d to nform wh Disney’s standards at the time.

Between the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill and numero anti-trans laws passed red stat, there has been a ncentrated nservative effort to monize LGBTQ people and prevent discsn of sex and genr inty among children. In celebratn of Pri Month, let’s take stock of the bt and gayt that animated TV has to offer. Pl, was ambig enough that the creators had to e out and affirm they were gay to a nfed fanbase.

It might not be the bt gay animated show, but between s numero LGBTQ characters and a seri fale set at a pri celebratn, might be the most gay animated show. When Kipo attempts to make a move though, Benson reveals he’s gay a sweet, funny, and lovely sual g out scene. Anime fans had seen hundreds of shows of s ilk premiere before: sports seri ( this se, the sport is men’s figure skatg) where the protagonist (anx Japane performer Yuri Katsi) velops a blatantly homoerotic relatnship wh his bt iend/rival/mentor (his new ach, Rsian champn Viktor Nikiforov).