Disney Not Gay Enough? Have They Been to Drama Class?!

Politics has it's own unique way of making us laugh. Some of my favourites are the bizarre, politically motivated "scientific" studies that come out from time to time. The semi-satirical British tech website the Register published an article regarding a study that says that G-rated Disney movies aren't gay enough. The study was conducted by Emily Kazyak and Karin Martin, who examined the top grossing G-rated films for their hidden sexual content. According to the pair, the movies "send a memorable message to impressionable young viewers that heterosexual love is not only the norm" (which it is) "but that it is also exceptional, powerful, transformative and magical". Kazyak and Martin went on to say that heterosexuality is "construed through depictions of overtly feminized women and masculine males, with the male characters spending much of their time longingly gazing at the former". Hey, that last part is what made Hugh Hefner a millionaire. He must be doing something right. They concluded that "both ordinary and exceptional constructions of heterosexuality work to normalize its status because it becomes difficult to imagine anything other than this form of social relationship or anyone outside of these bonds."

I personally think they're not giving Disney enough credit. I mean Timon and Pumba from the Lion King were obviously gay. Let's not forget the movie's soundtrack was done by Britain's Other Queen himself Elton John. The silliness of these studies comes from people reading far too deeply into things than they were ever meant to. As Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Most Disney movies are based on classic fairy tales, many produced during the romantic era. The highly exaggerated romance of it all is simply a characteristic of that time. Interestingly, most recent Disney films during the period they looked at have not included any romantic content what so ever. Namely the Pixar movies, with Wall-E being the exception. The fact that this study exists though does highlight a major milestone for the gay rights movement. You know a movement has come far when they no longer have anything important to complain about and they start focusing on the stupid stuff. These are probably the same academics that would have you believe that every important figure in the history of man was gay.

It's also important to point out that the media is reflective of society, not a director of it. Disney wouldn't produce a G-rated movie involving homosexual romance simply because American society is not ready for it. It would likely bomb at the box office and attract all sorts of undesirable attention from the religious right. The gay community is at vary least partially at fault for this. When so called "mid-westerners" turn on their TV during pride week and see a bunch of flamboyant men parading around wearing assless chaps in what is essentially a sex orgy sans intercourse itself, they believe that's what being gay is. The gay community has done nothing to dispel their stereotypes and indeed has done the exact opposite. Maybe it's time for them to reconsider the way they reach out to the public.

Source: The Register