Ask the Flying Monkey: Are There Any Out Gay Characters on Children’s TV?

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Q: Hey Arnold, the popular 1990s TV show on Nickelodeon, is known for subtly touching on issues which most, if not all, other children's shows wouldn't touch. For example, one of the character's moms was obviously an alcoholic, and the kids' fourth-grade teacher was gay (this was confirmed by the guy who made the show, Craig Bartlett). Are there any other children's shows with gay characters, whose gayness has been officially confirmed? -- Selina, SUNY Oneonta

A: You’re right that creator Craig Barlett did confirm, after-the-fact, that Robert Simmons, Arnold’s second fourth grade teacher (voiced by Frasier’s Dan Butler, an out actor), was gay.

The number of coded or gay-seeming characters on American children’s TV is, of course, endless, but most are extremely stereotypical, and very, very few are “openly” gay (which is why I think “gay” options in more and more video games, and the upcoming addition of a gay character to the Archie comic book cast are both actually extremely big deals – no joke).

Which children’s TV characters have actually been “confirmed” as gay, either on the show itself of by the creators after-the-fact? These are the ones I found:

Gargoyles' Lexington (confirmed by creator Greg Weisman).
Clarence, a flamboyantly openly gay game design in the G4 show Code Monkeys.
Richie on Static Shock (confirmed by creator Dwayne McDuffie)

Pretty pathetic, eh?

Clockwise from top left: Gargoyles' Lexington, Archie's Kevin Keller,
Code Monkeys' Clarence, Static Shock's Richie

I spent an hour trying to find somebody to confirm that Jambi the Genie or Cowboy Curtis were gay on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, but no go.

Jambi (left) and Cowboy Curtis

There are a number of openly gay characters on, say, Comedy Central or Fox’s Sunday night animation block, and there’s Showtimes Queer Duck, and the title characters on The Ren & Stimpy Show (who were confirmed as gay by their creator in a subsequent series, Ren & Stimpy “Adult Party Show). But none of these are TV shows for children.

Characters whose creators have specifically said are not gay include:

Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie (although they share a room and originally shared a bed until the “gay” controversy drove them apart)

Peanuts’ Peppermint Patty

SpongeBob Squarepants

Tinky Winky

Incidentally, Fred “Mr. Rogers” Rogers was straight and married, although I did sit behind him at a New York performance of Angels in America, which he seemed to love.

Next Page! Will there be a sequel to Shelter?