Hiding in plain sight: 10 of the queerest cartoon characters ever
By the late 20th century, animation had become part of childhood life in the Western world. Between animated feature films and Saturday morning cartoons, kids flocked to see their favorite characters on the screen… and take on a few of their most appealing qualities.For LGBTQ kids, animation also held a hidden treasure: the coded queer character.
Many of us recognized ourselves or aspects of our personalities in certain characters, even if as kids we couldn’t quite articulate how or why.Like these ten characters.
From the earliest days of animation to the present, these icons have kept us entertained with their antics…and the occasional wink that we had something special in common.Besides conquering the box office and making a radio splash with “Let It Go,” Elsa, the ice-spewing princess from Frozen, raised questions with her disinterest in men…an unusual quality among Disney princesses.
Critics immediately began to wonder if Elsa might be a lesbian—something Disney even flirted with making overt in Frozen 2. Ultimately her sexuality remains a subject of speculation… though we one day hope to see her meet the right girl.He-Man remains something of an ironic gay icon thanks to his Tom of Finland build, penchant for wearing what looks like a BDSM harness and love of a guy named Fisto.
