Disney Welcomes a New Bisexual Character
There is a new Disney Channel cartoon series “The Owl House”. It is making Disney Channel history by having the first openly bisexual character on the network. The creator Dana Terrace explained the plot to the LA Times,
““spooky, magical comedy-horror-adventure” series, “The Owl House,” which premieres Friday. It follows Luz, a fantasy-loving human teen who finds herself in the demon realm, where she meets a witch named Eda and her tiny warrior of a roommate, King. After a joint adventure, Luz decides to become the witch’s apprentice.”
Disney has had LGBTQ+ characters in the past with titles such as Pixar’s “Onward” or Disney Channel’s “Andi Mack”. Pixar also released a short called “Out“. However, this main character being a bisexual, Dominican-American girl is very exciting.
In dev I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast. I'm a horrible liar so sneaking it in would've been hard haha. When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the Channel.
— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) August 9, 2020
As seen above, the creator went through many struggles to get Luz to be able to be who she is especially in the role as a main character. Terrace is bisexual and wanted to write for one in the show. This also acts to bring awareness to the LGBTQ+ community.
Credit: Disney Channel
Alex Hirsch, creator of another Disney Channel original cartoon “Gravity Falls”, said that Disney did not allow for any sorts of LGBTQ+ content to be in his show.
In 2012 the Disney censor note on this image would have been:
“inappropriate for channel, please revise, call to discuss” (to avoid a paper trail)Now in 2020- there’s no note at all.
Props where props are due! This time, Disney- you did good. pic.twitter.com/HLDux1jNUk
— Alex Hirsch (@_AlexHirsch) August 9, 2020
How is the Owl House fairing?
Thankfully, Disney is supporting the show and has already been greenlit for a second season. A Fox News article quotes Terrace by saying,
“Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am very supported by current Disney leadership… Representation matters! Always fight to make what YOU want to see!”
Credit: Disney Channel
The show is meeting with positive ratings especially from the LGBTQ+ community. It is great that Disney Channel is not only diverse in skin tones but with sexuality as well. It will leave kids growing up now with an opportunity to see themselves on screen.
season 1 of the owl house is not even complete and we already have a girl being explicitly in LOVE with another girl and they’re both MAIN CHARACTERS do you understand how HUGE this is for a disney channel show
— lud (@azulasbitch) August 15, 2020
With all the craziness going on in the world, the news of a new Disney Channel cartoon with diversity is great. Maybe one day we will see these characters represented in the park. Maybe a pride month parade with them manning the float.
