Thread by @Maharhar, In light of ATLA, Korra, and She-Ra being discussed on Twitter, I'd [...]

In light of ATLA, Korra, and She-Ra being discussed on Twitter, I'd like to talk about women (lesbians, specifically) paving the way for acceptance for the queer community, and the mixed bag that comes with being the first examples of queer affection in media. SPOILERS!

So it happened: SHE-RA and the PRINCESSES OF POWER has ended, and in the ultimate episode Adora and Catra admit their love for each other. After seasons of teasing then engaging in it, BAM: kiss!

It wasn't hinting at love either. This was open dialogue and BAM! Kiss! Snog!

How did we get there? It's been a while. Women kissing women has happened in the media before, but took a long time to reach children's television. Insulting, but queer kissing was seen as an adult topic, i.e., as an adult you could leave/"protect yourself" if you didn't like it.

The first US recorded kiss between 2 women was in L.A. Law in 1991. In 1993, the show Roseanne had such a kiss too, but its network issued parental advisories before airing.

For children? Hah!

Kisses between men would follow later. The Real World (SF, 1994) on MTV showed a gay kiss; the first scripted gay kiss to my knowledge, was in Dawson's Creek in 2000.

I'm bringing this up because we have a trend here: lesbian kissing in media is a vanguard action.

It's happening again in cartoons. Lesbian (women to women) kissing is at the forefront, first with teasing at it (Korra) to actual kissing + weddings (Steven Universe) to young romantic love (She-Ra.)

She-Ra in particular in significant, because it shows kissing between leads.

Prior to this, most examples of gay relationships in cartoons were between adults in the series. Parents and guardians could engage in openly queer behaviour, but not children. SU's Steven has a partner in Connie (he's a child!), but there was no queer equivalent, until now.

I'm glad that diversity in relationships and affection is happening in children's programming. That said, because we are still in early days, there will be a couple fumbles.

Korra and She-Ra, for example, suffer the same problem: the relationship starts at the end of the show.

We see the rising actions that lead to the relationships being recognised for what they are. What we don't see are the relationships developing from their point of joining. We don't see fights, arguments, bonding---the things that make established couples endure.

This is part of the mixed bag of being the first. I imagine that it takes so much energy to even get the queer content on air, that by the time you have it, you're exhausted. That, or you don't want to deal with the burden of pushback, so you add it when it's over. (Less reaccs!)

Or it's your studio saying the market isn't ready, so they avoid anything controversial and just place it at the end, when you've already made your money.

For whatever reason, the way queer affection is handled in cartoons (between leads, anyway) is to delay its expression.

So as queer people, we get what we want, but later than our straight counterparts. While straight characters can explore relationships as children, because I presume, to discover heterosexual affection is considered normal, and therefore safe to animate and show to kids.

So it's a mixed bag. Let's also recall: this is for lesbian kissing. I don't begrudge Ls and Bs having their fun (Korra is bi), just that we're not seeing more affection for the Gs and Ts.

I'm hoping the trend I pointed out earlier repeats itself in cartoons.

Finally, we should ask: why is queer affection between women the starting point for acceptance?

It requires a lot of unpacking, and not all the answers will be pleasant. For starters: We need to contend with the male gaze. Girls kissing girls? Is hot. Guys? Not so much.

Add to that the gendered standards for affection. Women may show it more openly, as with many expressions of emotion. Masculinity, however, denies that opportunity to men, and by extension, gay ones.

Even progressive shows need to deal with this patriarchal baggage.

I'd also like to point out that the shows that do handle kissing between same gender expressions are squarely located in the fantasy milieu. While there is little realism in children's TV, there's much to be said queer kissing HAPPENS IN WORLDS FAR REMOVED FROM THIS ONE.

So my call to action is this:

- Celebrate queer acts of affection in children's media!
- Demand more of it!
- Ask that it appear in programming that is realistic and relatable to children's everyday contexts!

We should be represented at all ages.

For more context: @maronnecruz , I think this is the article you were referring to.

Important here: "...because for so long queer subtext — whatever its intent — was the stand-in for actual representation."

We need to be text, not subtext. Queerness needs to be vocalised.

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