A Children's Show With Gay Characters?

- One of the most popular
videos on my channel

is one where I talk about
the lack of representation

in children's TV and
film for LGBT characters

which is why I was so pleasantly surprised

when watching Netflix's
show Anne with an E

because it's a show based
on a children's book

that is rated suitable for kids

which has multiple queer characters

whose lives don't end in misery.

And it's set in historical period.

I just can't believe that this exists.

There is still something
genuinely revolutionary

about having LGBT
characters in kids' media.

I still get messages on that video

from people saying that it's inappropriate

to talk about gay people to children

as if children can't be gay themselves

or have gay parents or
gay friends or gay uncles.

As if gay marriage isn't
legal and, you know,

a thing that exists
that they can understand

and know about.

But it's also pretty revolutionary

to have queer representation
in historical fiction

in a way that isn't just
derived from misery.

Sometimes I think people have the idea

that gay people only sort of popped up

during the AIDS crisis.

Like they didn't exist then, you know,

the AIDS crisis happened and suddenly

they're there to have story
lines about being ill or sick

or dead or grieving for
straight and cis audiences

to watch and like to win Oscars.

(magical bell tinkling)

I think that the only
representation of queer characters

in children's media that's
also kind of set historically

that I've ever seen before

was the episode of Dr. Who,
The Unicorn and the Wasp.

- Oh yes, I was taking
(gentle music)

a constitution in the
fields behind the house.

(magical music)

Just taking a stroll, that's all.

(gentle music)

- [Man] Alone?

- [Roger] Oh yes, all
alone, totally alone,

absolutely alone,
completely, all of the time,

I wandered lonely as the proverbial cloud.

There was no one else with me, not at all.

♪ The sweetest thing ♪

- Not ever.

- But like that ends in
a burial gay's trope,

one of them dies.

So this is literally
something that I feel like

is a first of its kind.

That's the first time
that I've seen something

like this on screen.

So let's get into these
specific characters.

We have an elderly lesbian character.

Incidentally, she is my life goal

in terms of throwing like
amazing queer parties.

Like hella amounts of food
and also taking baby gays

under your wing and
generally being lovely.

My dream.

Although I will acknowledge the fact

that part of her story

before she comes onto
the show does involve

a burial gay's trope, the idea
that her partner has died.

This was actually on
reading kind of quotes

and stuff from the writers
and creators of the show.

This character is in the books herself

and there's not really
an explanation as to why

she's kind of appeared and
come to stay with her family.

And so they were like
well what if the reason

why she's come is because
of the death of a partner?

And what if her partner was a woman?

It happens before the
show begins off screen.

It's not the kind of like
trauma that you're made

to live in real time.

And it was just like
this perfect opportunity

to increase the representation on a show

from this original source material

without it really contradicting
the source material at all.

There is also a young gay boy as well

which is lovely.

So we have these characters

that are spanning different age ranges.

You have different identities.

We get the idea of a woman who has been

in this very long-term relationship

who's at a very different
stage of her life

as well as the story of
somebody who's coming to terms

with their sexuality.

I think with representation when you have

multiple characters with the same identity

allows you to tell
multiple different stories.

You don't feel like they're
stuck into one trope.

This boy is artistic,
he's kind, but he also has

this strength to him and
he's trying to pursue

his own destiny.

And between them there's

this beautiful
intergenerational friendship.

There is this episode in the show

which takes place almost
entirely at this woman's house

and she's throwing this very gay party

for a load of queer people
basically from her life

that she's gathered together.

(crowd clapping)
(gentle music)

- And it essentially revealed
that the partner who died

is the one who used to throw the party

and she wants to start
this tradition up again

and feel some kind of like remembrance

and love from it.

And there's this scene
where the boy tells her

that he feels like he's like
her, that he's gay, too.

And she has this reaction
that I don't think

I've really ever seen before

in terms of like a coming out scene.

Where a lot of the times when
coming out scenes happen,

you're coming out to a straight person

and so it's very like I'm your
mum and I love you anyway.

Which is all great and brilliant

but it was just so interesting
to see that be a scene

where you come out to
someone who's also gay.

(gentle music)

(Jo sighs)

- And I bawled like a baby.

I just wept because that was

just such a beautiful,
intergenerational friendship moment

that I don't feel like we see
in LGBT representation at all.

Not only will this not stop
you from having a good life,

actively the friendship
that she's developed,

the relationships she's
had because she's gay

have filled her life with such joy

even as she's kind of
in mourning and grief

was just stunning.

And we also have a third gay character

who is a closeted gay man who is very,

has a lot of internalised homophobia

that he takes out on
another gay character.

And that is a trope
that often frustrates me

but again when you have lots
of different representations,

I understand the idea of
actually this is something

that is realistic within
the time period as well.

You know, you're gonna have
multiple different characters.

You have multiple different story lines

and react to their
identity in different ways.

You can acknowledge the
truth of the reality

that he's living without making
it be the gay experience.

Also I think this is a
positive representation.

It's not limited to how
it might be positive

for LGBT people who are watching, right?

And not even positive in the way

of well, straight people
can see that gay people

are great, too.

But in having this queer party

in which the idea of, you
know, heteronormativity,

of cisnormativity is broken apart,

it allows those straight
and cis characters

to understand the limitations
that society is presenting

to them and forcing them into.

You know, why should women
have to be wives first

and people second?

Why should men and women
have to dress a certain way?

Why should love between two women be seen

as anything but beautiful?

It's a way of talking
about the queer experiences

bound by something other than by pain.

That if you talk to
children about queerness,

that far from being
something that damages them,

it allows them to
understand their own reality

in a different way even if
they're not gay themselves.

- By having multiple
characters also interact

with these queer characters,
it allows the show

to demonstrate the different
reactions to coming out

in different ways.

You have the character
of Anne, for example,

who is very much like oh
yeah, taking it in my stride,

nothing fazes me.

Which I think is especially
poignant because her character

is so in tuned with nature.

It is such a huge part of her character

about how fascinated she
is with the natural world

and it just feels like
such a subtle statement

to have the character who is so obsessed

with the beauty of
nature to see the beauty

and the naturalness of queer relationships

and love in that way.

But it also allowed other characters

to have their own struggles with it

that were shown to be more about them.

It's difficult for me to accept this,

not because it's inherently bad,

but because I feel like I've been deceived

because I know you really well

and you hadn't told me about it

all because you're making me
question my own assumptions

about what I should be dressing like

or how I should feel.

It wasn't seen as a this is
something that is inherently bad

and people have to, they
automatically will think

it's bad and they have to
work towards acceptance.

That complexity was displayed
which was fantastic to see.

Basically I suppose what I'm saying is

for like a gritty
reboot, it sure does have

a lot of happy friendships
and lovely endings

and queer representation.

Just saying.

It's been a little while since I've done

one of these videos that
focuses specifically

on one piece of media.

If you liked it, please
let me know in the comments

if there's any other
things like kind of shows

or films or things you
want me to talk about,

let me know.

If you want to help support
me make these videos,

I'm gonna leave a link to my Patreon

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with all of my social media

so you can find me all over the internet.

And until I see you next time, bye.