I really am Quite Proud of Disney for Featuring a Same-sex Couple on Their Show & Being so Respectful to it

I have not blogged in so long. I have got nothing to say anymore..... And I'm lazy so you know. But this sparked something in me so I have to say something about it.

So a few days ago, Disney Channel aired a new episode of its show Good Luck Charlie. This was one of the show’s last episodes, it is ending soon. The episode has two plot lines. The main plotline focuses on Teddy trying to help Ivy’s parents on dealing with Ivy leaving for college. The sub-plot deals with Bob and Amy setting up a play date for Charlie with her friend Taylor. The thing about the play date is that it featured a child being raised by a same-sex couple. Which, of course, has angered some people but we’ll get to that later.

I remember blogging about this a few months back when the synopsis for the episode was first discovered. Even just the idea of a same-sex couple in Disney anything was enough to anger people because, you know, it’s such a tragedy for a company to respect different types of families. To be honest, I was a bit worried after seeing all the controversy Disney faced for it. I was worried that Disney would cave under pressure and scrap the episode or reshoot it without the same-sex couple. I’m happy to see that Disney stood their ground and stayed true to the values they’ve built themselves upon. I know Disney has aired this episode more than once as well because I didn't see it the original air date (January 28) but I did see it on Saturday (maybe Sunday) when they reaired it. Caught me off guard too but it was a awesome surprise.

If you want, you can watch the clip introducing the lesbian mothers here and you can view the full episode here. If you don’t want to watch either, let me explain what happened. The couple is introduced when Amy mentions to Bob that she invited Taylor’s parents over for a play date, saying she spoke to the mother Susan. Bob mentions he spoke to the mother as well but thought her name was Cheryl. After Amy makes a joke about Bob always being wrong, they answer the door to reveal that Taylor has two mothers. Bob points it out in secret and Amy makes a joke about Bob pointing out the obvious, thus treating it as something normal that Bob didn't need to point out (which is great for them to have done).

It was done very respectfully and I’m proud of Disney.

Too often, same-sex couples are used as a joke. They’re made fun of and mocked in the media, we’re treated as nothing more than some stupid punchline by the media. And it sucks. When you think you’re going to get representation, you only find your “representation” to be a joke. Like The New Normal. I was excited for it and then I watched it and saw how they made the same-sex couple a fucking joke. I was disappointed. So I am very happy that Disney did this so respectfully and made it seem, well, normal.I’m happy to see us getting representation in such a big company and I’m very happy to see Disney treating the lesbian couple as normal as they treat heterosexual couples.

Beyond that, Disney also went against common stereotypes used for lesbians.

Later in the show, Bob mentions that during every play date, he goes to watch the game with the father. After discussing how they were going to ask the mothers, Bob decides to go out and play it ‘smooth’. He mentions he’ll be going to watch the game and if anyone wants to join him. I was expecting the mother dressed in a t-shirt and jeans to volunteer since it’s, you know, a stereotype for lesbians that only ‘masculine’ looking ones will be into masculine things like sports.

But that’s not how it went. The other woman wearing the dress was the one who volunteered. I thought that was a nice touch. Not only was it breaking down stereotypes about lesbians, but it also broke down stereotypes about women. Who says a feminine woman can’t be interested in watching sports? I also loved when the mother with Amy mentioned that she had been with her wife (girlfriend?) for 10 years, which was breaking down another stereotype against same-sex couples. It’s quite a common stereotype for people to think that gays are promiscuous people who can’t stay in a monogamous relationship, so I was happy that Disney made that little play to break down that stereotype.

I’m very happy and very proud of Disney for standing their ground and going about it in such a respectful way. As a lesbian, this episode makes me particularly happy because I can relate to it. I do want a family someday. I do want to find a woman who I can fall in love with and someday start a family with. I do want kids and I want to raise them together with the woman I marry. It breaks my heart when I see people saying same-sex couples can’t or shouldn’t raise children. I’ve had people tell me to my face that I’ll never be a good mother because of my sexuality and it breaks my heart. It hurts more than I can put into words.

So I’m thankful that Disney did this. I’m thankful that they’re taking a stand for what is right.

Of course, not everyone shares me sentiments. I’ve seen a lot of people slam Disney for featuring a same-sex couple on one of their shows. Funnily enough, people have slammed Disney for not being “family friend” and supporting “family values” by putting a same-sex couple into their show…. Because, you know, hate is a family value but love isn’t.

I am sick to death of people saying that. Hate is not a family value. Hate is not family friendly. There is nothing family about hate and there is nothing right about hate. Simple as that. There is not a single thing wrong with Disney featuring same-sex parents.

Disney did what was right. They stood up for and gave representation to thousands of their fans worldwide. Disney has been around since 1923, it is about time they gave representation to their LGBTQ fans.

I’m proud of them.