Disneys first actual gay character
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Unless you count a lesbian couple appearing in the background of Toy Story 4, this might be the only direct reference to being gay in a G-rated movie ever, which is all the more impressive given the MPAA's reputation for rating gay content more harshly than equivalent straight content. She's featured in one significant scene talking with the elf brothers Ian and Barley while they're magically disguised as their centaur stepfather Officer Bronco.
The critically-acclaimed dramedy, which ran for two seasons from 2020 to 2021, is a Disney+ exclusive, but it was actually produced by CBS Studios and almost aired on The CW before it was decided that Disney+ was a better fit (per The Wrap). This led to a rise in “queer-coded” characters, where the subtext implies a character may be queer.Sean Griffin is a professor of film and media arts at Southern Methodist University and the author of "Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out" — the first book to address the interaction between the Walt Disney Company and the gay community."You had to leave broad clues to try and indicate that because you couldn't," Griffin said.
Mbita avoids being just a one-off character because he returns in the season finale as part of the "Little Hero 6" team that rescues Baymax after he runs out of batteries.
Throughout Episode 4, Mbita is flustered by Yukio, another man working at the farmers' market, and at the end of the episode, he works up the courage to ask Yukio out on a date.
These aspects of the character spring naturally from his Norse mythology inspiration. However, this isn't a case of Disney refusing to "say gay," but rather it's meant as a realistic portrayal of a young person still in the process of questioning and figuring out their identity. As you might have expected, "Eternals" was banned in multiple countries due to its gay content.
Wendy Conrad - Hawkeye
While "Eternals" was still playing in theaters, the MCU quietly introduced a gay supporting character in the "Hawkeye" Disney+ series.
These developments signal a significant shift in how Disney gets involved in politics and social issues, and that’s a pretty big deal considering its long and complicated relationship with the LGBTQ community in particular.To understand that relationship more, we’re gonna take a Disney deep dive, with the latest installment of Pop Quiz. Do you know who the FIRST openly gay Disney character is?It's a bit of a trick question, because it seems like Disney isn’t sure either.
The episode "Who You Callin' a Sissy?" deals with Michael being bullied for being gender nonconforming, for example, but it's clearly restricted by the times in what it's allowed to say.
The 2022 Disney+ revival, "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder," no longer had to use the same "coded language" formerly required by the Disney Channel (per Deadline).
Amy thinks it's Susan while Bob think it's Cheryl. These “first gay characters” reflect something contradictory about Disney’s LGBTQ legacy. Two additional characters have been confirmed to be queer by the show's creative team: The Collector is non-binary, and Eda's sister Lilith is asexual. When the mission goes haywire, Buzz volunteers to test the hyperspace fuel needed to return to Earth.
America's own sexuality is left a bit more ambiguous in the movie.
The clearest signs of queer coding regarding America in the film are the rainbow flag pin and the words "amor es amor" written on her jacket. Jokes have been made about it being awkward that the MCU's first gay black hero is someone who takes responsibility for the bombing of Hiroshima, but even so, it's still a step in the right direction for the mega-franchise.
Even if Disney didn't make the show, however, the fact that the House of Mouse distributed it is a sign of how the company has grown at least somewhat more progressive in regards to LGBTQ+ representation on television.
Roberto "Bobby" Cañero-Reed (Charlie Bushnell) is the older brother of the show's protagonist Elana (Tess Romero), a 13-year-old girl with her eyes set on the presidency (Gina Rodriguez plays President Elana in future-set flash-forwards).
Antoine arguably isn't even really a "character." He's just one potential suitor for Mia Thermopolis shown in a Powerpoint presentation. As such, Marvel Studios' first actual on-screen acknowledgement that gay people exist came in the form of an unnamed character in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."
In Steve Rogers' support group for survivors of The Snap, a man (played by the film's co-director Joe Russo) talks about finally bringing himself to go on a date with another man five years after Thanos turned his previous partner to dust.
yeah, let's watch the villains. Characters like LeFou and Phastos paved the way for more three-dimensional characters like Ethan Clade and America Chavez. And Stefanie Abel Horowitz's "Let's Be Tigers" is more about grief and depression than it is about LGBTQ+ themes, but it does briefly feature a gay couple.
Loki - Marvel Cinematic Universe
In Marvel Comics, Loki was canonically confirmed to be bisexual in 2013's "Young Avengers" #15 and genderfluid in 2014's "Original Sin" #2.
"It's everything that I ever wanted as a kid, to be able to turn on the TV and see reflections of myself bouncing back at me." In 2022, the series was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for outstanding kids and family programming.
Phastos - Eternals
With Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao onboard, there were hopes that "Eternals" could have been a rare awards contender for Marvel Studios.
Nate Foster does come out as gay in the third book in the series, "Nate Expectations." It remains to be seen if the movies will reach that point as well.
America Chavez and her moms - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
America Chavez is an out-and-proud lesbian in the comics, coming from the all-female universe known as the Utopian Parallel.
It proves including queer characters is more profitable than excluding them.