No please: a rebuttal

Lately I been seeing this journal pop up in the "More from deviantART" section.  This person argues that maybe there should be more blatant LGBT representation in kid's shows.  I'm going to break down his arguments to explain as clearly as possible why I don't agree.

It starts by noting a few peoples' thoughts on the matter.  Basically saying you cannot and should not put anything LGBT-related in kid's show.  This pretty much is true in places like America.  As TV Tropes notes on the trope called Get Back In The Closet a show's content rating is often bumped to PG-13 or even R levels if that stuff is in your face.  Heck, even "slash" fan-fic writers do this.  Yes, even other homosexuals think kids should be kept away from that stuff.  People like John McKellar and H.O.P.E. (Homosexuals Oppose Pride Extremism) come to mind.  But some shows and movies have been slipping this kind of stuff in often as a joke.

This person makes the mistake of saying that when Disney's live-action show ("Good luck Charlie") featured a homosexual couple that no one complained.  People did complain.  A lot.  Seriously, parents were fuming.

But more to the point, he argues that they should be represented much like the blacks had to be many years ago.  And that quote:

...for kids who are growing up in a very confusing time of their life, having representation like a same sex couple in a show they’d watch would send the positive message of “you are not an abnormality.”...Remember the controversy surrounding Tomodachi Life? People weren’t upset that Nintendo patched out a bug which allowed same sex couples. People were upset that Nintendo then issued a statement which said that “it’s just a cute game, we weren’t trying to send any sort of political message,” without realizing that a dating game where everyone is heterosexual IS sending a political message. The message that gays don’t exist. It wasn’t the bug or the patch which upset people, it was the concept that “heterosexual life is normal, everything else is a glitch to be swept under the rug.”

  First off and simply put, gay is not the new black  Second, most kids aren't in the awkward phase until much later (puberty at the earliest).  And for third, I'll quote John McKellar for this:

As an openly gay male, I have no problem conceding that heterosexuality is and always
will be the great human norm. But I'm sick and tired of a media culture that faciley
equates homosexuality with heterosexuality and asks no deep questions about human
psychology beyond the superficial liberal-vs-conservative, freedom-vs-oppression
dichotomy...Introducing kindergarten and grade one students to alternative behaviours and lifestyles is
psychological pedophilia. You don't have to engage solely in physical contact to molest a
child. You can diddle with their minds and their emotions. ... Spare me the tolerance
and compassion bunkum. Just leave the kids alone and let them enjoy their short period of
innocence and sexual latency. Then when they approach puberty, balance the pop-culture
bombardment with messages of abstinence, discipline and self-control... The unhappy truth is that male
homosexuality will never be fully accepted by the heterosexual majority, who
are obeying the dictates not of "bigoted" society or religion, but of procreative
nature.  Sourced here: theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/22SxS…  And here: theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/22SxS…

Also, while you may not have intended this, it sounds like a "If you're not with us, you're against us" mentality when you mention why Nintendo's game upset these people.

Speaking of which, he then says:

Now for the most part I blame Christianity for this, primarily because America is predominantly Christian and Christian morals and beliefs are what permeate 99% of all kids cartoons on TV here... Christianity seems to have it’s hooks deep in children’s media, and that kinda bothers me. Sanitizing and watering things down for kids isn’t always good. Kids are smart and kids can handle deeper challenging stuff. There’s a reason darker shows like Batman: The Animated Series or Gargoyles stood out as being “important” shows in the childhood of people my age. And out of all religious groups, it seems like Christianity is the one doing their best to prevent things like LGBT representation from happening.

First off, while this may also be unintentional, he sounds like he have some sort of beef with Christianity.  But that's off topic anyway.  Second, most shows aren't really Christian as much as they are, for lack of a better term, secular (not for a religion, but not antagonistic to one either.)  Third, while Batman and Gargoyles were dark, they had limits.  When they dealt with heavy subjects, they knew (for the most part) how far was too far.  And as said before, most people would rather that children stay innocent a bit longer so subjects even vaguely sexual are off the table.  To quote Tammy Bruce, another open homosexual that opposes such measures,

...we’re talking about children who are not psychologically mature enough to decide what to have for dinner, let along comprehend the intricacies of sexuality and all its physical and psychological repercussions.  Sourced here: theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/22SxS…

I hope this answers you questions.  Please don't hate me.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hide in my bunker because I've most likely upset the PC hive again.