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RantAnimation and Gender Politics
As a lifelong fan of animation, I’m exhausted by all of the gender identify garbage that’s been injected into animated shows and films recently.
No, Netflix, I don’t want to watch movies or TV shows featuring trans-identified females (Wendell & Wild and Dead End Paranormal Park come to mind).
No, Sony, I don’t want to see a “PROTECT TRANS KIDS” banner in your new Spider-Man film.
No, Paramount, I don’t want to see a Transformers robot with “They/Them” pronouns, or a Blue’s Clues pride parade with an animal character who bears mastectomy scars. But said animal is wearing a baseball cap, and everyone knows baseball cap = boy. /s
And don’t get me started on Disney. They’ve been jamming the trans characters in their shows and movies left and right (see “Elemental” for their latest). I have a friend who works for the company, who revealed to me that Disney covers “gender-affirming care” for their workers. Disgusting, but not a surprise. After decades of movies and television featuring glammed-up, effeminate female characters, what a shock that they want to “fix” those who don’t conform to these harmful stereotypes (they’ve been a bit better about that recently, but it seems like most of their female characters are one of two flavors: Damsel in distress, or girlboss).
Additionally, with all of the remakes and reboots coming out of Hollywood, even old “safe” media is being tarnished by gender politics. Hot Topic currently sells Pride merchandise featuring the Looney Tunes characters, who are pictured next to transgender flags and symbols. I’m currently watching Secrets of the Mogwai on Max, and I’m waiting for a transgender/non-binary character to inevitably show up, even though the show takes place in China in the 1920s.
I’m so sick of being beaten over the head with this stuff in animation. I’ll be mainly watching pre-2015 animated media until this blows over.