Children's Shows
(Gay Stereotypes and Controversy)
"Smurfs" - Vanity
Children of the 1980's remember the Smurfs and its premise of those little blue creatures living and working in a self-sufficient village, constantly chased by the villian Gargomel.  As I watched the Smurfs when I was younger, I remember 1) thinking that it was strange that Smurfette was the only girl-Smurf in the Village, and 2) wondering if Vanity Smurf was a boy or a girl.  What I didn't ever think was that Vanity might be gay, though looking back, many of the stereotypes of gay men were present in Vanity.

***I am not suggesting that Vanity was meant to be gay, but merely would like to point out the effeminate stereotypes illustrated by the character.***

Gay Stereotypes:
- flower in hair
- constantly concerned with appearance
- no real job in village, flits around from place to place
- haughty, lispy voice

A manifesto created by a man named J. Marc Schmidt, suggests that even more of the Smurfs than just Vanity are gay archetypes, and that the Smurf community makes comments on Socialism and Feminism.  (For his entire paper, follow the link below.)
Socio-Political Smurfs
"Teletubbies" - Tinky-Winky
Controversy began in the late 1990's over the children's show, the Teletubbies, when Rev. Jerry Falwell suggested that the BBC show should be protested because the Tinky-Winky character represented homosexuality.  Falwell cited the following signs:

- Purple is the gay-pride color
- Triangle on his head is representative of the pink triangle symbol
- Though he has a male voice, he carries a handbag

Falwell's allegations produced advocates for the Teletubbies and also created protests against it that have since died down, though Gay Rights groups have taken to mocking Falwell's claims by making Tink-Winky a symbol for the cause.
Teletubbies Homepage
Jerry Falwell's Homepage
Home:
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1