As I mentioned in the last class, here is a lo-fi version of the workshop I would have done. Enjoy, and feel free to comment on the questions! Happy Holidays!!
Video:
Steven Universe (2018): first gay wedding televised on a children’s cartoon / Andi Mack (2019): Disney’s first gay character and coming out scene
Articles and links:
https://www.them.us/story/rebecca-sugar-steven-universe-interview
https://ew.com/tv/2018/08/22/steven-universe-voltron-kids-cartoons-lgbtq-characters/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCecsVoeJcsXbAra7Sl4mOPw Queer Kid Stuff – an independent Youtube show: “LGBTQ+ vids for kids! I’m your host Lindsay and with the help of my best stuffed friend, Teddy, we’ll be teaching you what gays mean, what LGBT stands for, what’s up with marriage equality and so much more!”
https://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/GLAAD%20WHERE%20WE%20ARE%20ON%20TV%202019%202020.pdf GLAAD annual “Where We Are On TV” Report
PowerPoint:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TkXfw9e-WCfnIDxlVsSEpm7j5t5UqbiQ/view?usp=sharing
Discussion Questions:
1. When discussing whether queer content is ok in children’s tv, it’s often a conversation around “appropriateness”, if it’s “wholesome”, even if the characters in question are doing nothing different from straight/cis characters. Queer content is often sexualized even when it is not in any way. Why do you think this is, and why and how do you think it came about? How does this contribute to the internalized homophobia queer children might experience?
2**. Many queer creators writing about queer characters face much higher standards in their work than straight creators do. What responsibility do creators have to share their own experience, when the media they make is for children? Do they have an obligation to teach with what they made, and does everyone? In what way do these higher standards manifest, and how do they contribute to the lack of and missed opportunities for queer creators even as LGBTQ characters are increasing?
3. When did you first feel you saw yourself (your entire self, or only a piece of your experience) represented in a piece of television? Was it as a child or an adult? Has it still not happened?
4. Looking at children’s media, it is common for creators and critics to take a long view approach. While things have improved over the years, especially the last handful, it has happened slowly – in many ways, more slowly than in media for adults. Recently there has been pushback against this, with many saying change should happen faster. What are your thoughts, and how do you see things changing over the next few decades in children’s television?
**as a queer woman who writes fiction professionally, this is something I’m always thinking about.
