I saw a post shared on Facebook that suggested Teyana Taylor was boycotted for saying "LGBTQ themes don't belong in children's cartoons."
First of all, Teyana Taylor never said this. I wasn't surprised at the number of straight-identifying people who were in the comments agreeing with this nonsense (because using children to justify bigotry is not unusual for them). What was surprising (and disappointing) was the number of LGBTQ-identifying people replying with things like, "I'm gay, and I agree with her," as if internalized homophobia is something to be proud of.
Many would argue that they need to "get a backbone," but I'm aware of the rampant anti-LGBTQ propaganda that got them here. Christofascism is dominating our media with little to no pushback, and anti-LGBTQ hate crimes continue to rise.
When most people think of a phobia, they immediately think of having an "irrational fear" of something (like spiders). While this is true, it's important to understand that simply having an aversion towards something is "phobic."
So, to agree with the notion that "LGBTQ themes don't belong in children's cartoons" is an aversion to LGBTQ people, which makes anyone who agrees with this notion homophobic, full stop. It's time to stop using children to hide behind your bigotry and just start saying that you're homophobic with your whole chest.
LGBTQ characters being in ANYTHING declined drastically in the last few years, according to a GLAAD study. So why is this even a concern? Homophobia and transphobia, that's why. Television has never, and will never, influence children to be someone they're not. I know this to be true because I've personally watched SEVERAL cartoons that featured nothing but heterosexual nuclear families on tv when I was growing up, and I have never had a desire to marry a woman and have children with her.
Being so focused on non-existent threats has caused many of you to ignore the very real threats that are actually harming children. Statistics from the United States Sentencing Commission show that it is heterosexual white men who have committed the most sexual-related crimes against children. Not a gay person. Not a trans person. Not a drag queen. Numbers don't lie.
Also, statistics confirm over 70% of the children cannot read or do math at grade level. Those numbers should radicalize you way more than the handful of LGBTQ characters on tv.
So, again, stop using children to justify your anti-LGBTQ bigotry and address the actual threats coming for them. And if you don't want to do that, then just say you're a homophobic bigot and stand by it.
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