The Issue With Disney’s LQBTQ Representation
Disney’s PR team seem to regurgitate the phrase “Disney’s first gay character” every time the studio releases a movie. Cinemas fill up with queer audiences eagerly waiting to finally see themselves represented on the big screen…
Image Source: Walt Disney Studios
Only to blink and completely miss the second-long hint towards a character’s potential queerness. The line is rolled out again and again because the measly scraps of representation that Disney feeds us are utterly unmemorable. From Beauty and the Beast’s Le Fou dancing with another man to the flash of Oaken’s presumed husband in Frozen, queerness on-screen is fleeting and far too easy to miss. Maybe our high expectations are letting us down, but if so many people have the same expectations, shouldn’t Disney start living up to them?
It often feels like Disney is filling an LGBTQ quota with its tentative efforts towards representation. There are various instances where queer couples are pushed into the background of scenes. It happened in Toy Story 4, Finding Dory and Zootopia. You probably didn’t even notice them, and this is exactly what Disney wants. They get the headlines that drag in queer audiences but can also appease socially conservative audiences by claiming coincidence because these queer couples have no substance. But their covert approach reinforces the idea that queerness is something that should be hidden. Increased visibility is always a great thing. But when it’s the only representation you get, it can’t help but feel like Disney is saying: we know you exist, but we’re just going to shove you in the back and pretend you don’t.
Pixar’s Luca tells the story of two boys who hide that they are actually sea monsters. Luca’s parents forbid him from spending time with Alberto, believing his influence is having a negative impact on their son. It couldn’t be a more blindingly obvious allegory for coming to terms with queer identity in a heteronormative world that threatens to suppress it (not to mention the superficial comparisons with Call Me By Your Name). It was dubbed Disney’s first gay movie by many media outlets, but director Enrico Casarosa said that he had no intention for the film’s subtext to be gay. Audiences have every right to interpret the film how they wish, despite the intentions of its creators. But when will Disney step up and write canonically queer stories?
Another way to bypass the boycotters is by queer coding. This occurs when a character’s sexuality isn’t explicitly mentioned, but their traits, appearance, or behaviour is not stereotypically heterosexual. But this leads to the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes that homogenise the queer community. The most recent first gay character is Artie from Cruella, whose queerness is, of course, never overtly mentioned. We’re supposed to infer that he is gay because of his androgynous glam rock look and because he works in the fashion industry. But neither of these things necessarily relates to sexuality. Artie is yet another stereotypical portrayal of a gay man, showcasing how white cis gay men are centred in media representation of the LGBTQ community. When caricatures of gay men make up the majority of gay characters, it becomes grating. Especially when 90% of them are played by James Corden.
Certain markets around the world have strong anti-gay laws, and the studio knows that they would take a big box office hit if countries like China and Russia pull their movies from theatres. Disney took a monumental step with the recent Marvel blockbuster, Eternals. The movie stars Marvel’s first gay superhero, Phastos. It also features a kiss between the hero and his husband, resulting in various requests for Disney to edit the scene out, something Disney has a history of. They refused, resulting in the film being banned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. Director, Chloé Zhao, stated in an interview with IndieWire that “there’s a big desire from Marvel and myself – we talked about this – to not change the cut of the movie”.
But we also can’t pawn this off as an overseas problem when homophobia is rife at home. A petition to boycott the live-action Beauty and the Beast circulated amongst American conservatives all because of a three-second waltz between two men. The brevity of this scene lent itself nicely to Disney, who could easily edit it out. But their decision not to cut the kiss in Eternals shows that the storylines have progressed, because cutting it out isn’t as plain and simple as it once was. Queerness isn’t just the sum of one moment, one dance, or one kiss. It’s a lived experience that cannot be erased.
With its numerous subsidiaries, the hold Disney has over the box office is truly inconceivable. It becomes increasingly harder to continue to support a franchise that provides scarce queer representations and conveniently cuts it out when it suits them. Though Eternals points to progress, the progress is infuriatingly slow. LGBTQ visibility and rights have progressed substantially since the turn of the millennium, but you wouldn’t know that watching a Disney movie. Their media will always be popular with people of all ages, but they need to commit to more inclusivity that represents their audience. Being gay doesn’t interfere with their family-friendly values, and they owe their young queer audiences the representation that so many were starved of.
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