LGBTQ+ Identities in Children's Animated Media: A Reading of Digital Screens

Abstract

This research paper aims to shed light on LGBTQ+ identities as portrayed in animated cartoons targeted at children through digital screens. Today’s child is exposed to a wide range of content featuring animated characters, and each child often has a favorite character they admire, imitate, and buy merchandise of. However, the cartoon industry does not share the innocence of its young audience. It exploits this admiration to inject mental images and subsequently impose stereotypical portrayals of characters who display behaviors and inclinations that deviate from natural human instincts chief among them being LGBTQ+ identities. One of the key findings of this study is that cartoons promoting LGBTQ+ identities seek to introduce unfamiliar identities and normalize them through repeated exposure to related content. Even if nothing else, repetition makes ideas seem important and memorable especially since animated shows have become an almost essential part of a child's daily life and can be followed for many years. Furthermore, the cartoons analyzed in this study aim to reinforce a positive stereotype about LGBTQ+ identities to gradually encourage children to accept them, ultimately supporting the integration of this group into various societies.