I love Disney films. From Snow White to Moana, there’s a special kind of magic to be found there that will unfailingly make you smile, especially now Disney has focused on writing strong female characters. But for all the progress the company has made, they’re still slacking when it comes to queer representation. And no, that blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the live action Beauty and the Beast film doesn’t count.
There is nothing that would make me happier than seeing a gay character in a Disney film – if it does ever happen then I will undoubtedly cry through the whole thing. It wouldn’t be a giant political success and it’s not going to do much to increase the rights of gay people around the world, but it would still be an incredible thing to see. As an incredibly conservative for-profit company, Disney doesn’t want to rock the boat. When they try to put even the most vaguely queer-coded character in their films, they get boycotts and backlash. And this is over the most pathetic attempts at representation – dancing with another man does not make a man gay. With the desire to not to be controversial, it’s unlikely we’re going to see a gay character with any measure of significant plot. The director of Frozen hinted that nothing was ruling out Elsa being gay in the sequel, and that too got nationwide petitions even though there’s no chance of it turning into reality.
So why do we even need gay Disney characters? There is queer media out there if you go looking – Netflix has a LGBTQ+ film section if you want something to watch – but Disney is hugely culturally significant. The queer community is hardly going to grovel for representation from the industry giant, but it would still be incredibly affirming for countless queer and questioning teenagers to see themselves represented in a Disney movie; the positive effects on young gay kids would be unmeasurable. Straight children would also benefit from more inclusive films, learning to be more sensitive towards and accepting of their peers.
Many of the complaints I see about same-sex couples in child-aimed media is that sex has no place there, and that comment in itself is entirely correct, but gay characters are not more intrinsically sexual than straight characters. If Ariel can kiss Eric then she could equally kiss an Erica and it would be just as appropriate for a young audience and it wouldn’t take much to demonstrate that – just one lesbian princess in a PG relationship should surely set some of the strange comments to rest.
So, what is it going to take? What would I consider adequate gay representation? In my lifetime, because that is the kind of timescale we’re probably talking about, I want to see a prince marrying the knight who was in charge of guarding him, or a princess who is warring with the princess of a neighbouring country only to meet her and fall in love. It’s going to be a gradual progression to get there, no doubt. Maybe we’ll have a sidekick with a genuinely explicit gay storyline first, and then someone who isn’t just used as a comic stock character, and then maybe a queer leading character but undoubtedly their storyline will consist of nothing but their sexuality. Still, perhaps we will eventually get the lesbian princess we deserve. Your move, Disney. Your move.