Progressive Polar Bears

Recently, the famous children’s show “Peppa Pig” introduced a lesbian polar bear couple in an episode titled “Families.” The characters are introduced in a perfectly age-appropriate manner with one of Peppa’s friends, Penny, speaking about how she has two mommies and depicting the family having a meal together. It’s the first same-sex couple to be included in the series in its 18-year run after a petition advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the show garnered nearly 24 thousand signatures.

The impact of “Peppa Pig” is unmatched, with $1.3 billion in global retail sales and three billion views on its official YouTube channel. Therefore, the inclusion of same-sex couples in “Peppa Pig” is a step in the right direction that can contribute to the normalization of queer identity and non-heterosexual family structure on a much wider scale than many other children’s shows can achieve. However, what should be a cause for celebration has quickly brought in waves of extreme disapproval.

Italian politician Federico Mollicone, whose party is predicted to win the general election, has gone so far as to say that the episode should be banned in Italy. A former Maltan member of parliament said that the episode is a form of media indoctrination. Public outrage on Twitter became common, with some going as far as to say that the episode is leading to the end of the global “Peppa Pig” phenomenon. Others accused Peppa Pig of submitting to woke ideology and leftist thinking, and some have gone the route of declaring that they’re not homophobic, but they just don’t think children are ready to be exposed to LGBTQ+ content.

The controversy around LGBTQ+ representation in children’s media is not new. It was seen earlier this year when an Oklahoma theater posted a warning about a same-sex kiss in the Pixar film “Lightyear.” It is reflected in the countless book bans that have been placed on children’s books with LGBTQ+ characters. It was seen when Alabama banned an episode of “Arthur” that depicted a same-sex wedding and again when viewers debated LeFou being portrayed as gay in the live action version of “Beauty and the Beast.”

Critics of LGBTQ+ content in children’s media argue that kids are too young to learn about sexual preference. However, these critics ignore that kids are exposed to subtle notions of sexual preference throughout “traditional” children’s media. Common fairytales are centered around cisheteronormative and even patriarchal ideas. Society has normalized exposing kids to princes kissing unconscious women as a form of true love but shuns two men holding hands in a film or show designed for children. Critics aren’t upset at kids being exposed to sexual preference. They’re upset that kids are being shown diversity in sexual preference, and they are perpetuating the false fear that including LGBTQ+ content will turn their children queer.

Including a scene with a same-sex family after 18 years of being on air is seen as indoctrination, but drowning children with cisheteronormative content is seen as morally righteous. Overly heterosexual content failed to turn gay kids straight, and LGBTQ+ content won’t do anything that will “turn” kids gay. Instead, including LGBTQ+ content in children’s media can help children understand that there is more than one type of family and one type of love. It can help children learn to empathize with people who may come from a different family structure than their own and even allow them to accept themselves. About as many as six million children and adults in America have an LGBTQ+ parent, and more than 111 thousand same-sex couples are raising approximately 170 thousand biological, step, or adopted children. Including LGBTQ+ content in children’s media helps make these families feel seen, normalized, and celebrated. We expect children to be raised as kind, accepting, and loving, but we cannot instill these values if we refuse to provide our children with the tools to learn them.

Criticizing LGBTQ+ content in children’s media as “not appropriate” furthers the stigma that LGBTQ+ identity is inherently vulgar and sexual. Continuing to include LGBTQ+ content in children’s media in age-appropriate ways is the only way to dispel this stigma so that we can continue to normalize LGBTQ+ identity. LGBTQ+ people and their allies need to continue the fight to embrace inclusivity in all forms of media. Children shouldn’t feel surprised to see a gay couple on their favorite show, but rather should learn to see it as a common occurrence that reflects the diversity of the real world around them.