When you think of Disney movies, you think of characters, usually female, who eventually find a prince and live happily ever after. But what is lacking are main characters who are in a gay or lesbian relationship who get married.
We see very little LGBTQIA+ representation in Disney, and I think the big screen is where it needs to be shown the most. It is important for young children to be exposed to these types of relationships so they know that it is normal. There is a gay couple, Bucky and Pronk, in the movie Zootopia, but is that enough to show kids that it’s okay?
There is some representation in the TV shows on the Disney Channel, such as two female characters kissing on the show “Owl House,” but not all children have access to that channel. We also have characters like Elsa, Moana, and Merida, who are not interested in relationships, and I would argue are asexual(at least Elsa). So it feels a little bit like Disney is trying to include it, but not nearly as much as it should.
Then there was the live-action remake of Mulan, which unfortunately didn’t include Shang (which was one of the reasons I didn’t watch it), but the reason was so biased that it would make people uncomfortable for him to begin falling in love with Mulan, while dressed as her male disguise. This is making most LGBT+ fans of the original Mulan not happy, including me.
There is so little representation in the world already, and there will always be parents who do not agree with same sex couples in Disney movies, but I think children should be able to decide for themselves. A child seeing two Disney animated characters is not going to change their sexuality, and I think that is what parents are most afraid of. Parents should be teaching their kids, not projecting their beliefs onto them. I think that Disney needs to take that backlash and throw it back in their faces because representation is important whether they admit it or not.
