This issue makes note of a cartoon about two female principals, Korra and Asami, who are incidentally romantically involved with each other.
“The Legend of Korra,” commonly shortened to LOK, most notably ended with its main female protagonists, Korra and Asami, entering a romantic relationship with each other. This was one of the first portrayals of a same-sex relationship in a popular, American animated show. It was a milestone for queer audiences in the U.S., particularly younger fans, who rarely see themselves represented in mainstream entertainment.
In the years since then, queer representation has improved slightly but still remains scarce.
Queer representation in animated shows can be particularly impactful for young people. Eve Ng, an associate professor of media arts and studies at Ohio University, notes that representation can normalize queerness for everyone, regardless of sexuality, but that it is especially important for validating and helping younger audiences who are still in the process of self-discovery.
“For queer young people, they’re often still coming out to themselves," Ng said. “So it’s not just, ‘I want to see myself.’ It’s, ‘Wait, am I queer too?’”
Queer characters are still drastically underrepresented, despite robust fandoms
“Writing queer characters makes queerness a lot more normalized. Growing up, I didn’t get a lot of queer media. In fandom, you get queer media everywhere,” they said. “As an asexual person, fanfiction helps me better understand my relationship to romance and attraction.”
Despite this hunger for content, mainstream media outlets still fail to meet those needs. GLAAD [Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] estimated in 2017 that 20 percent of the U.S. population aged 18 to 34 identifies as queer. Yet, according to their 2019 report, only 10.2 percent of characters across all TV shows, including those for adults, are written as LGBTQ."
source
In the years since then, queer representation has improved slightly but still remains scarce.
Queer representation in animated shows can be particularly impactful for young people. Eve Ng, an associate professor of media arts and studies at Ohio University, notes that representation can normalize queerness for everyone, regardless of sexuality, but that it is especially important for validating and helping younger audiences who are still in the process of self-discovery.
“For queer young people, they’re often still coming out to themselves," Ng said. “So it’s not just, ‘I want to see myself.’ It’s, ‘Wait, am I queer too?’”
Queer characters are still drastically underrepresented, despite robust fandoms
“Writing queer characters makes queerness a lot more normalized. Growing up, I didn’t get a lot of queer media. In fandom, you get queer media everywhere,” they said. “As an asexual person, fanfiction helps me better understand my relationship to romance and attraction.”
Despite this hunger for content, mainstream media outlets still fail to meet those needs. GLAAD [Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] estimated in 2017 that 20 percent of the U.S. population aged 18 to 34 identifies as queer. Yet, according to their 2019 report, only 10.2 percent of characters across all TV shows, including those for adults, are written as LGBTQ."
source
So, do you think we should continue to strive to "normalize queerness," particularly by including it in more cartoons and other TV and internet shows?
.