While television has come a long way in terms of the range and complexity of homosexual characters that it offers within adult drama and soap opera, albeit not on prime-time, one area noticeably lacking in LGB representation is within children’s television. I’m not suggesting that there should be programming targeted at kids dealing with LGBT issues but that it should at least be mentioned, explored or visible within their content. The fear surrounding showing gay or lesbian parents is a remnant of section 28 which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools as well as labelling homosexual parents as “pretend” (Stonewell, N.D.). Section 28 was born out of a widespread fear that a gay “lifestyle” could be chosen and was only repealed in 2003 (Local Government Act, 2003) but its legacy is still reverberating today.
Any number of kids TV shows have been accused of promoting homosexuality from SpongeBob SquarePants in Ukraine (Todd, 2012) to Winnie the Pooh in Poland (Wheaton, 2014). Yet, here in the UK with our more progressive gay rights track record (Sanier, 2013) we still lag behind in producing progressive content on children’s television for fear creating a controversial backlash (Benecke, 2014). Kids are growing up now surrounded by a multitude of screen and a wide range of viewing options and their adaptation to these new modes of access is reflected in BARB’s 2014 study into audience viewing behaviour suggesting that youth consumption is actually increasing but happening across increasingly diverse platforms (Thinkbox, 2015). It seems that the way in which kid’s content is being watched is changing at an increasingly rapid pace and ITV's just released figures reflect this change with their share of viewing on linear TV down 5% in 2014 yet their profits showing an overall 18% growth with a significant 30% increase in revenue from online, pay TV and interactive streams (Barraclough, 2015). Unfortunately there is a slower pace of change for content that reflects LGB parenting and ITV seems to have placed their emphasis on pleasing shareholders with revenue performances as opposed to focusing on their PSB responsibilities. While their remit doesn't specifically require them to catering for minority audiences, unlike Channel 4, it is important that they don't loose sight of the changing social landscape in which we live.
The New Normal (NBC, 2012-2013)
It is also important to mention the success of two American TV shows, The New Normal (NBC, 2012-2013) and Modern Family (ABC, 2009-) which portray gay parenting in a frank and light-hearted way. They revert back to the tradition of the 'nuclear family' of past sitcoms and flip it on it's head. Their success has proven that a show with gay central characters can garner such national and international success (Presse, 2013). Yet the Iranian translation of Modern Family, which un-surprisingly leaves out the gay couple, highlights the issues surrounding our new global transmedia environment and the pressures that broadcasters are under to neutralise content in order to maximise profit, although NBC announced that in this instance it was an unofficial adaptation (Vincent, 2014). It is important this content such as this continues to have a presence on our screens and although it's influence might not be immediately calculable it's importance should not be underestimated.
Bibliography:
Barraclough, L. (2015). U.K. TV Network ITV Sees 8% Rise in Revenue, 18% Growth in Profit. Variety. March 3 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/u-k-tv-network-itv-sees-8-rise-in-revenue-18-growth-in-profit-1201445854/ [Accessed 03/03/15].
Benecke, J. (2014). Why don't we see LGBT parents portrayed in children's films? The Guardian. March 25 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/25/gay-parents-kids-films-pixar-disney-frozen. [Accessed 02/03/15].
Presse, A. F. (2013). Gay Parents On TV: Why The 'New Normal' Is No Longer Just The Nuclear Family. Huffington Post. July 12 2013. [Online]. Available at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/07/gay-parents-tv_n_4402297.html [Accessed 01/03/15].
Stonewall (N.D.). Section 28. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/what_the_law_says/8800.asp [Accessed 01/03/15].
Thinkbox. (2014). Viewing figures for 2014 show changing TV landscape. [Online]. Available at:http://www.thinkbox.tv/viewing-figures-for-2014-show-changing-tv-landscape. [Accessed 01/03/15].
Todd, M. (2012) Move over SpongeBob – the kids' TV closet is full of gay characters. The Guardian. [Online]. Available at:http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/22/spongebob-gay-kids-tv-closet [Accessed 04/03/15].
Vincent, A. (2014). Iranian Modern Family remake leaves out gay couple. The Telegraph. July 03 2014. [Online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10943738/Iranian-Modern-Family-remake-leaves-out-gay-couple.html [Accessed 25/02/15].
Wheaton, O. Winnie the Pooh branded a ‘hermaphrodite’ and ‘inappropriate for children’. Metro. November 21 2014. [Online]. Available at:http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/21/winnie-the-pooh-branded-a-hermaphrodite-and-inappropriate-for-children-by-cruel-polish-town-4957017/ [Accessed 20/02/15].
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