WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH US?
Okay Disney… As a true Gay Icon once said, ‘why are you so obsessed with me?’ What is Disney’s obsession with the LGBTQ+ community. How come every villain is rooted in queer culture or inspired by real-life queer icons? As with all roots of homophobia it begins with rules made to discriminate against us, and we’re the villains?
QUEER CODING
What is ‘Queer-Coding.‘ No it is not queer folk who code, but rather queer coding is when writer’s, either consciously or subconsciously include negative stereotypes of queer people as characteristics of a particular character, particularly a villain. Well, what does this even mean sis?
Stereotypes used in male queer coding:
- Lisp (or speech impediment)
- Slender build & Makeup
- Flamboyant or femme voice and/or body language
- Cockiness or arrogance
Stereotypes used in female queer coding:
- Deep or baritone voice
- Larger build
- Butch or masculine voice and/or body language
- Exaggerated or no makeup
- Angular or masculine facial features
HAYS CODE
Not to be confused with the ‘haaaaaaaaaaaaay code’, which is a fictional code that requires all queer folk to acknowledge each other in public with a raising of the eyebrow or several snaps, the Hays Code is less fabulous and much more sinister. The Hays Code, is a code from 1940s Hollywood that prevented the positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters on screen. The Hays Code is attributed to the popular use of negative queer stereotypes in media at the time which inspired further use of queer coding. To be clear, it is not about a character actually being ‘gay’ but it’s about using negative stereotypes around gay and queer people in villain roles.
TLDR; Hays Code made it so that all portrayals of LGBTQ+ people could not be positive, therefore: LGBTQ+ = Villains (the only math this gay can do!)
EXAMPLES OF QUEER CODED DISNEY VILLIANS
Article by Chris Murphy
Graphics from Mario Oscar Gabriele