History of LGBT characters in animation: 2000s
In the early 2000s, LGBTQ+ representation in U.S. animation faltered, with under-representation of gay characters through the Fall 2000 television season for all broadcast shows, with trend continuing until at least 2003.[1] It would not be until 2005 that GLAAD would began their annual “Where We Are on TV” report"[2] starting its continuing effort to compile statistics on characters in the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups.[3] GLAAD, for their part, bemoaned the lack of LGBT representation. They noted in the regular 2006–2007 season, LGBTQ+ characters only comprised 1.3% of all regular characters on major broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, The CW, and UPN).[4] In a report the next year, they noted in the 2007–2008 season, the FOX network only featured LGBT characters in animated comedies like The Simpsons and American Dad.[5] In a report for the following year, GLAAD assessed the "considerable" LGBTQ+ representation in animated primetime programming," citing shows such as The Simpsons, American Dad, Sit Down, Shut Up, The Goode Family, Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, and Drawn Together, even as they had their reservations about existing LGBTQ+ characters on television.[6] In later years, GLAAD painted a bleaker picture, noting that no black LGBT characters were regular characters[7] on television networks, again noting American Dad,[8] The Simpsons,[9] and Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World.[10] They stated that most animated LGBT characters were on FOX, lamenting that while South Park historically had LGBT characters and storylines, it could be "hit or miss" like Family Guy.[11]
LGBTQ stories in the 2000s on Cartoon Network, Fox, and Adult Swim
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Comic-Con_2010_-_Stan_Smith_of_American_Dad_%284878075505%29.jpg/220px-Comic-Con_2010_-_Stan_Smith_of_American_Dad_%284878075505%29.jpg)
A few shows aired on Cartoon Network in the 2000s which had LGBTQ representation. This included Time Squad which aired from 2001 to 2003, with the voice actor of Larry 3000, Mark Hamill, implying in 2012 that Larry could easily have been interpreted as gay in the cartoon,[12] due to his femininity and presentation as the "gay best friend" to Cleopatra in "Shop like an Egyptian", although Larry has stated on multiple occasions he dislikes humans in general. However, this show never stated his sexuality, although Hamill described him as fierce and flamboyant.[13] Other shows had outright representation, although some it was subtle. One of these shows was The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. In a 2005 episode, "One Crazy Summoner", Dean Toadblatt and Squidhat, were revealed to be gay lovers, marrying each other in the episode. One critic noted that while you could call them Cartoon Network's "first gay couple," it was actually Steven Universe, also airing on Cartoon Network, that "broke down representation barriers" years later.[14]
Of the shows in the 2000s, one was most prominent, and continued to aired on FOX until 2014 when it moved to TBS: American Dad!. The show introduced Roger, a protagonist said to be pansexual,[15] due to the fact he assumed different aliases[16] and a carousel of seemingly-endless lives.[17] Later the show featured Linda Memari, neighbor of the Smith family and a bisexual Iranian-American woman.[18] The show also had a gay couple: Greg Corbin and Terry Bates, who were regular characters for many years.[19][20][21]
Additionally, Archer, which aired on FX and FXX, then owned by FOX, had LGBTQ characters too. In the show, Pam Poovey is the bisexual director of human resources.[22] In a behind-the-scenes feature, her voice actor, Amber Nash described Pam as "a sturdy bisexual".[23] Woodhouse, Archer's personal valet,[24] is of ambiguous sexuality. He had a romantic and sexual attraction to another man, Reggie, during the First World War, but it has not been specified whether he has ever had any sexual feelings for anyone since Reggie's death.[25] After his voice actor, George Coe passed away, the show did a tribute to Woodhouse,[26] who later had a funeral, becoming a plot thread followed up on in the show's eighth season.[27] At the same time, Ray Gillette is an openly gay secret agent, and a former Olympic medalist in skiing.[28][29] This was in keeping with previous years.
Apart from these shows, in Moral Orel, there were at least two LGBTQ+ characters. Coach Daniel Stopframe was Orel's bisexual coach as well as Shapey's biological father,[30] Daniel lusts after their father, Clay,[31] and at one point has sex with three women and a dog in episodes like "The Blessed Union." Stephanie Foamwire-Putty is a lesbian character who's revealed to have fallen in unrequited love with her old high school best friend, Kim Latchkey.[30] Superjail! was different. It featured Alice, a hulking and muscular head prison guard of Superjail and a trans woman[32] who regularly engages in sadomasochistic rituals with the prisoners, and rebuffs The Warden's constant advances as shown in episodes like "Jailbot 2.0." There's also Jean Baptiste Le Ghei and Paul Guaye, inmates and a recurring couple as shown in the episode "Superbar" and others. In an interview with the creators of the show, co-creator Christy Karacas called them well-rounded characters, who are a couple, with Paul as more feminine and intelligent than Jean who is "the bad boy."[33]
From Queer Duck to Rick & Steve
In 2000, Queer Duck premiered on Icebox. The show became relatively influential after its premiere and later streaming on Showtime. It was the first U.S. animated TV series to have homosexuality as a major theme[34] and was produced by Mike Reiss, a producer of Simpsons and The Critic.[35] beginning in 2000. It was received positively by some in the LGBTQ+ community since it had lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters. This included Adam Seymour Duckstein, the main character of the series. He is presented as a stereotypical gay duck[36] and has been a victim of gay bashing.[34] However, in the series finale, he wakes up to discover that he had sex with a woman. Steven Arlo Gator was Queer Duck's significant other,[34] and latter married Queer Duck in a Jewish Wedding in Vermont in one episode, "Wedding Bell Blues." Melissa Duckstein, is Adam's sister, is occasionally revealed to be lesbian throughout the series.[37] She is in a relationship with Yvette, in episodes such as "Homo for the Holidays," and the movie.
This show was not alone. Clone High, which aired on MTV and Teletoon from 2002 to 2003, featured a gay couple: the foster dads of JFK, named Wally and Carl in Clone High.[38] Additionally, Phil and Chris would say they are gay lovers if it was "convenient."[39] In 2007, a friendly and flirtatious Vietnamese trans woman, who runs a salon, named Cherry Pie, debuted in The Nutshack, which aired on Myx TV.[40]
There was also Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World on Logo TV, a satiric comedy which featured the "only Filipino-American and gay lead character on television" at the time.[41] It would feature a lesbian couple and two gay couples. During the series, the gay couple Rick Brocka, a Filipino-American, and Steve Ball have a baby with the lesbian couple Dana and Kirsten.[42][43] Chuck Masters and Evan Martinez are a male gay couple as indicated in episodes like "Mom Fight," with Chuck helping Evan with his drug addiction.[44][45] Dana Bernstein and Kirsten Kellogg additionally have a baby with the gay couple, Rick and Steve.[42] Finally, there were two lesbian couples (Mo and Trish, Souki and Jenn) which appeared in a June 19, 2009 episode of ABC's The Goode Family, "A Tale of Two Lesbians".[46][47] GLAAD praised this show, noting that Mo and Trish were as recurring characters.[6]
See also
- List of animated series with LGBTQ characters
- History of homosexuality in American film
- History of anime
- Media portrayals of bisexuality
- Media portrayal of lesbianism
- History of LGBTQ characters in anime: 2000s
- History of LGBTQ characters in animated series: 2000s
- List of LGBT-related films by year
- Cross-dressing in film and television
- List of animated series with crossdressing characters
- List of anime by release date (1946–1959)
References
Citations
- ^ Cook 2018, p. 11-12.
- ^ Cook 2018, p. 6.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 2.
- ^ GLAAD 2006, p. 1.
- ^ GLAAD 2007, p. 3.
- ^ a b GLAAD 2008, p. 18.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 3.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 8.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 9.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 11, 14.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 16.
- ^ "039 – Mark Hamill on Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen – Weekly Voice Acting and Voice Over Tips". Tech Jives Network. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ "Love Unique Deadpan No-Nonsense #Skips but #Larry3000 of #TimeSquad was Fierce-Flamboyant & more Crazy-Fun to play!". Twitter. Mark Hamill. Archived from the original on 2020-03-19. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ Baron, Reuben (December 27, 2018). "10 Things We Miss About Old-School Cartoon Network (And 10 Things The Channel Does Better Today)". CBR. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ GLAAD 2009, p. 3, 9, 16.
- ^ Hugar, John (November 15, 2014). "Ranking Roger's 10 Most Memorable Disguises On 'American Dad'". Uproxx. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (July 6, 2012). "Comic-Con posters for Seth MacFarlane's shows revealed -- FIRST LOOK". EW. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; March 17, 2020 suggested (help) - ^ Anderson-Minshall, Diane (October 20, 2011). "10 Reasons You Should Watch". The Advocate. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ GLAAD 2005, p. 8.
- ^ GLAAD 2011.
- ^ GLAAD 2012, p. 8.
- ^ Jirak, Jamie (October 4, 2018). "28 Of The Best Bisexual Characters On Television". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
Pam has slept with pretty much every single character on the show. Way to go, Pam.
- ^ "Voice actress and Atlanta native Amber Nash talks new season of animated hit 'Archer'". Atlanta INtown Paper. 2019-05-14. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
- ^ Jesey, Ben (July 6, 2020). "Archer: Every Main Character, Ranked By Funniness". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (February 24, 2011). "Archer: "The Double Deuce"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ McCarthy, Tyler (July 25, 2015). "How 'Archer' Addressed The Loss Of Woodhouse Voice Actor George Coe". International Business Times. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ Travers, Ben (July 22, 2016). "'Archer' Season 8 Trailer Answers Season 7 Cliffhanger, Introduces 'Dreamland'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 18, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ Lambe, Stacy (January 7, 2014). "10 Qs: With Archer's Ray Gillette on Sochi, Beyonce & Rent Boys". Out. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ GLAAD 2011, p. 9.
- ^ a b SunnyAgo (April 11, 2014). "Moral Orel: Repression in Moralton". The Artifice. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Rizzo III, Francis (April 28, 2007). "Moral Orel, Vol. 1, The Unholy Edition". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ GLAAD 2012, p. 12.
- ^ Burra, Kevin (February 2, 2016). "Christy Karacas, 'Superjail!' Co-Creator, And Janine DiTullio, Writing Director, Discuss Beloved Adult Swim Show". HuffPost. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c Meisler, Andy (April 7, 2002). "Television/Radio; 'Queer Duck,' a Web-Footed Survivor, Migrates to TV". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ "Mike Reiss". harrywalker.com. Harry Walker Agency. March 25, 2020. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Multi Channel News Staff (March 29, 2018). "Queer Duck Crosses the Pond". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2015). Internet Lesbian and Gay Television Series, 1996-2014. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 152. ISBN 978-0786498055.
- ^ Roth, Dany (February 5, 2017). "Stuff We Love: Christopher Miller and Phil Lord's Clone High". Syfy. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020. The mention of "gay foster dads" refers to Wally and Carl, which anyone with common sense would realize.
- ^ "Fun Facts". Clone High Official Website. June 2, 2008. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ "Cherry Pie". The Nutshack – MYX Filipino Pinoy Animation Cartoon. June 7, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2020. Entry for Cherry Pie says: "Cherry Pie is a tall drink of Vietnamese coffee that’ll make a grown man cry. This multi talented beauty queen is smuggling raisins and a Portuguese sausage. Born Joeseph Gotmytan, Cherry dominates the Vietnamese Cross dressing scene. One time she was mistaken by a police officer for a prostitute...she got mad and raped him."
- ^ GLAAD 2007, p. 8.
- ^ a b Clarke, Victoria; Ellis, Sonja J.; Peel, Elizabeth; Damien W. Riggs (2010-04-01). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Psychology: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. pp. 276–. ISBN 9781139487238. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ GLAAD 2008, p. 8.
- ^ Washington, Terri (August 22, 2015). "PICS: It's Hard To Find Committed, Recurring Gay Couples In Animated TV". Hornet. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ Smithson, Nick (2008). "Rick and Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in all the World - DVD Review". Review Graveyard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ Hogan, Heather (June 19, 2009). ""The Goode Family" makes good with lesbians". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
{{cite web}}
:|archive-date=
/|archive-url=
timestamp mismatch; October 16, 2017 suggested (help) Hogan would go on to write for Autostraddle later. - ^ GLAAD 2008, p. 3, 7, 11.
Sources
- Cook, Carson (May 2018). "A History of LGBT Representation on TV". A content analysis of LGBT representation on broadcast and streaming television streaming television (Honors). University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2005–2006 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-04. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2006–2007 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. August 21, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-13. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
The number of LGBT scripted representations on the six major broadcast networks will comprise only 1.3% of all series regular characters on the networks' 2006-07 schedule.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2007–2008 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-25. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2008–2009 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-25. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2009–2010 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-26. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2010–2011 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-28. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Where We Are on TV Report: 2011–2012 Characters List". GLAAD. GLAAD. 2012. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2020. See the overview page here.
- Where We Are on TV Report: 2012–2013 (PDF) (Report). GLAAD. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-26. Retrieved March 11, 2020.