Disney Pixar has introduced its first explicitly Christian character in almost 20 years in the same animated series from which it recently axed a trans storyline.
Many are interpreting the move as a not-so-subtle indication of Disney’s priorities. Taken in conjunction with the company’s recent announcement that it is rolling back its DEI programs, it seems clear the corporation – which has been the subject of right-wing ire since it spoke out against Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law – is bending to conservative will.
Related
This trans woman was insulted at work for years. She just won $900K & is giving back in a surprising way
“Fight for your rights,” Diana Portillo says. “And do not allow anybody to humiliate you.”
The series in question, Win or Lose, is about the members of a middle school softball team. The 14-year-old character that would’ve identified as trans has remained in the show, but the lines of dialogue referencing gender identity have been removed. The trans actress voicing the character said she was “very disheartened” to find out the trans storyline was cut.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a Disney spokesperson said at the time.
Apparently, that does not extend to Christianity. The opening episode now introduces Laurie, whose first lines depict her praying to the “heavenly father.” Her introduction comes as Donald Trump and the Republican party continue to terrorize the trans community and use Christianity as justification, all the while claiming that Christians are being persecuted by diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
LGBTQ Nation has reached out to Disney for comment on its introduction of Laurie.
This is not the only trans storyline that Disney has erased recnetly. In November, it shelved an episode of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur that focused on a trans classmate who receives support from her teammates after her coach removes her from a girls’ volleyball team.
A Disney spokesperson claimed, “In this case, this decision was based on this specific episode, not because of the character being trans,” adding that the episode wasn’t “banned” but rather was being “held.”
Disney has also taken many steps to champion LGBTQ+ people over the past several decades.
The company began offering health care coverage to the domestic partners of LGBTQ+ employees in 1996 and its Disney World theme park has hosted the unofficial annual “Gay Days” event in which LGBTQ+ fans visit in red t-shirts.
In 2019, Disney launched its first-ever official Pride event, Disneyland Paris Pride, and in 2023, Disney announced its first U.S.-based Pride event at its Disneyland California park called Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite. Both events featured Pride-themed events, parades, and merchandise.
In 2022, Disney reported that a portion of the proceeds of its sales of Pride gear would go towards numerous LGBTQ+ organizations, including GLSEN, PFLAG, The Trevor Project, Zebra Coalition, Los Angeles LGBT Center, LGBT Center Orange County, San Francisco LGBT Center and Ali Forney Center. Its Pride gear sold in other parts of the world had their proceeds benefit local LGBTQ+ organizations.
While numerous villains in Disney’s animated films were queer-coded, many have since been reclaimed as campy LGBTQ+ icons of disruptive and subversive power.
Disney’s animated films have only ever once featured an explicitly LGBTQ+ character, gay environmentalist teenager Ethan Clade, in its 2022 film Strange Worlds. During the film, Clade admits his attraction to another boy.
Disney’s TV offerings have been generally more LGBTQ+ inclusive. A 2014 episode of Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie featured a lesbian couple as minor characters, and a 2017 episode of Disney Junior’s Doc McStuffins introduced a pair of lesbian mothers.
The 2016 finale of the supernatural adventure series Gravity Falls revealed that two overzealous policemen were a couple, but the series’ creator, Alex Hirsch, accused Disney of repeatedly removing LGBTQ+ content from the series throughout its creation.
A 2019 episode of Star vs. the Forces of Evil featured a same-sex kiss in the background of one scene. That same year, Michael Collins, a character in the animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, came out as gay and gender non-conforming.
In May 2022, Disney’s animated series The Owl House featured a same-sex kiss between Luz Noceda and Amity Blight and a romantic attraction between female witch Eda Clawthorne and nonbinary bard Rain Whispers. The show’s bisexual creator, Dana Terrace, said she had to fight for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the show.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.