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{{Short description|Implicit representation of LGBT characters}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=July 2021}}
'''Queer coding''' (also written without a space: '''queercoding''') is the attribution of stereotypically [[queer]] traits to [[Character (arts)|fictional characters]] without explicitly stating their gender and sexual identity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piluso |first=Francesco |date=2023-11-27 |title=Above the heteronormative narrative: looking up the place of Disney's villains |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/sem-2023-0168/html |journal=Semiotica |language=en |volume=2023 |issue=255 |pages=131–148 |doi=10.1515/sem-2023-0168 |issn=0037-1998|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Queer coding may have had a negative impact on perceptions of queerness in media as villains are often queer-coded.
Queer coding is a concept both in the discussion of [[media portrayal of LGBT people]] and academic research involving [[queer theory]] or [[gender studies]].
==History==
In 1930, the [[Hays Code]] was established, which regulated the content of films and prohibited the portrayal of homosexuality.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Billheimer |first1=John |title=Hitchcock and the Censors |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2019 |isbn=9780813177427 |pages=9–23 |chapter=Origins of the Code |doi=10.2307/j.ctvfjcx5v.4 |jstor=j.ctvfjcx5v.4 |s2cid=214143884}}</ref>
In animation, cartoon artists were able to portray the gender of characters in androgynous, asexual, and gender-fluid ways. Paul Wells and Patrick Brion argue that Jerry from the ''[[Tom & Jerry]]'' cartoons to have an androgynous and even feminine design. The 1966 short "[[Jerry-Go-Round]]" has been interpreted by Jo Johnson as containing a coded [[lesbian]] relationship between Jerry and a female elephant, even though Jerry is male.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Jo |url=https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/mode/2up |title=Queers in American Popular Culture Volume 1: Film and television |publisher=Praeger |year=2010 |isbn=9780313354571 |editor-last=Elledge |editor-first=Jim |volume=1 |___location=Santa Barbara, California |pages=256–257 |chapter="We'll Have A Gay Old Time!": Queer Representation in American Prime-Time Television from the Cartoon Short to the Family Sitcom |access-date=September 23, 2021 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/page/246/mode/2up |url-access=registration}}</ref> Cade M. Olmstead, a philosopher, has argued that ''Tom and Jerry'' "subverts normalized gender and sexuality structures" through theatrical play and performance, transgressing the normal construction of gender.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=ugswork |title=Tom and Jerry: Performative Queerness in Action |last=Olmstead |first=Cade M. |date=2018 |website=Undergraduate Student Work |publisher=[[University of Northern Iowa]] |access-date=September 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318122855/https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=ugswork |archive-date=March 18, 2020 |pages=1–8 |url-status=live}}</ref> "Queer coding" has also been observed in the ''[[Bugs Bunny]]'' cartoons.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Fisher |first1=Deborah A. |last2=Hill |first2=Douglas L. |last3=Grube |first3=Joel W. |last4=Gruber |first4=Enid L. |date=2007 |title=Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on Television: A Quantitative Analysis Across Two Seasons |journal=[[Journal of Homosexuality]] |volume=52 |issue=3–4 |pages=167–168 |doi=10.1300/J082v52n03_08 |pmid=17594976 |pmc=2000838 }}</ref>
''[[Time Squad]]'', which aired from 2001 to 2003 on [[Cartoon Network]], had the character Larry 3000, who was interpreted as gay by many viewers. In 2012, the voice actor of Larry 3000, [[Mark Hamill]], implied that Larry could easily have been interpreted as gay,<ref>{{cite web |title=039 – Mark Hamill on Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen – Weekly Voice Acting and Voice Over Tips |url=http://techjives.net/2012/05/04/039-mark-hamill-on-talkin-toons-with-rob-paulsen-weekly-voice-acting-and-voice-over-tips/ |website=Tech Jives Network |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319040214/http://techjives.net/2012/05/04/039-mark-hamill-on-talkin-toons-with-rob-paulsen-weekly-voice-acting-and-voice-over-tips/ |archive-date=2020-03-19}}</ref> due to his femininity and presentation as the "gay best friend" to Cleopatra in "Shop like an Egyptian", even though Larry has stated on multiple occasions he dislikes humans in general. However, the show never directly stated his sexuality. Even so, Hamill described Larry 3000 as fierce and flamboyant.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hamill |first=Mark |title=Love Unique Deadpan No-Nonsense #Skips but #Larry3000 of #TimeSquad was Fierce-Flamboyant & more Crazy-Fun to play! |url=https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/733579727215042560 |website=[[Twitter]] |access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200319034956/https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/733579727215042560 |archive-date=March 19, 2020}}</ref>▼
In the late 1980s, villains in Disney films which were "queer coded" began to appear.<ref name="insidersnydes">{{cite web|last1=Snyder|first1=Chris|last2=Desiderio|first2=Kyle|url=https://www.insider.com/the-evolution-of-queer-characters-in-kids-animated-tv-shows-2021-6|title=The evolution of queer characters in children's animation|website=[[Insider (website)|Insider]]|date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 1, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210701050407/https://www.insider.com/the-evolution-of-queer-characters-in-kids-animated-tv-shows-2021-6|archive-date=July 1, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Commentary on the treatment of LGBT+ characters in film is made in the 1995 documentary ''[[The Celluloid Closet (film)|The Celluloid Closet]]'', and is one of the first instances in which the idea of queer coding is presented to the public.<ref>{{Cite book|jstor = 10.3366/j.ctt1bgzbtn.12|doi = |chapter = Youth, Realism and Form|last1 = Pullen|first1 = Christopher|title = Straight Girls and Queer Guys|year = 2016|pages = 147–168|isbn = 9780748694846}}</ref>
Late in 2021, [[Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)|Kevin Williamson]] told The Independent he believed that "the [[Scream (franchise)|Scream]] movies are coded in gay survival."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-12-06 |title=Kevin Williamson interview: 'The Scream movies are coded in gay survival' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/kevin-williamson-scream-interview-b1968631.html |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> In the same interview, prior to him saying the previous statement, Williamson talked about how much of himself he unintentionally projected onto the main character of the first movie, [[Sidney Prescott]]. "As a gay kid, I related to the final girl and to her struggle because it’s what one has to do to survive as a young gay kid, too."<ref name=":0" />▼
Until the 1970s, gay characters generally did not appear on American television.<ref name=":2" />
===Villains===
{{anchor|Sissy villain}}
{{further|Sissy|Disney villains}}
[[File:Divine-by-origa.jpg|thumb|[[Ursula (The Little Mermaid)|Ursula]]'s character in ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' was inspired by the [[drag queen]] [[Divine (performer)|Divine]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pdCrF4JxKDIC |title = From Mouse to Mermaid: The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture |journal = Indiana University Press |language = en |year = 1995|isbn = 0253209781 }}</ref>]]
Because of the Hays Code, positive portrayals of homosexual characters were barred, and the only characters in fiction that could be perceived as homosexuals had evil roles and were punished throughout the work.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://filmicmag.com/2015/08/01/from-sissies-to-secrecy-the-evolution-of-the-hays-code-queer/ |title = From Sissies to Secrecy: The Evolution of the Hays Code Queer |journal = Filmic Magazine |language = en |date = 1 August 2015}}</ref> Thus, [[villain]]s became noted in particular to have [[Effeminacy|effeminate]] characteristics, behaviors or gestures that could be perceived as [[
* [[John Ratcliffe (governor)#In popular culture|Governor Ratcliffe]] in ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', who is the only male character with makeup, braided hair and bows, and wears pink
* [[Ursula (The Little Mermaid)|Ursula]] in ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' was inspired by the [[drag queen]] [[Divine (performer)|Divine]]
* [[Captain Hook]] in ''[[Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan]]''
* [[Scar (The Lion King)|Scar]] in ''[[The Lion King]]'', who has mannered{{what?|date=August 2023}} gestures.▼
* [[
* [[List of Disney's Hercules characters#Hades|Hades]] in ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]''
* [[Hector Barbossa]] in the [[Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|Pirates of the Caribbean franchise]].▼
* [[Shere Khan#The Jungle Book|Shere Khan]] and [[Kaa#1967 animated film and sequels|Kaa]] in ''[[The Jungle Book (1967 film)|The Jungle Book]]''
* The [[Cheshire Cat]] in [[Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)|Alice in Wonderland]], as an [[anti-hero]].▼
▲* [[Scar (The Lion King)|Scar]] in ''[[The Lion King]]''
* [[Dr. Facilier]] in ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]''
* [[Jafar (Aladdin)|Jafar]] in ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]''
▲* [[Hector Barbossa]] in the [[Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise]]
▲* The [[Cheshire Cat]] in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', as an [[anti-hero]]
While many examples can be pulled from Disney, the trend of queer coding villains in prominent media and film extends beyond the corporation. Some examples include:
* The character
* The Red Guy, a personification of [[the Devil]] from ''[[Cow and Chicken]]'' and ''[[I Am Weasel]]''. Being openly effeminate and naked most of the time, he uses a lot of costumes to assume numerous roles, most prominently female ones while crossdressing.
* The primary antagonist [[Rumpelstiltskin]] in ''[[Shrek Forever After]]''.
* The lethal duo of Billy Loomis and Stu Macher in ''[[Scream (1996 film)|Scream]]'', who are based on murderers [[Leopold and Loeb|Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb]] according to the screenwriter of Scream, [[Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)|Kevin Williamson]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-12 |title='Scream' Screenwriter Kevin Williamson Confirms Billy and Stu's Queer-Coded Relationship Was Based on Real Gay Killers |url=https://pridesource.com/article/billyandstu |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Pride Source |language=en}}</ref>
* The androgynous ''[[Overwatch 2|Overwatch]]'' hero [[Moira (Overwatch)|Moira]], who is an agent of the terrorist organisation Talon.
▲
▲
* [[Xerxes I|King Xerxes]] of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]] in ''[[300 (film)|300]]'' was intentionally depicted as effeminate to "scare" young heterosexual men in the audience.
==Impact==
Queer
[[Gaston (Disney)|Gaston]] and LeFou in the 1991 film ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' and [[List of Disney's Aladdin characters|Jafar]] from the 1992 film ''[[Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' were created by an openly gay animator named [[Andreas Deja]],<ref name="craig2000">{{cite magazine | first=Craig | last=Seymour | title=Yep, They're Gay | url=
In February 2021, producer [[Ralph Farquhar]] said that in ''[[The Proud Family]]'', which aired on the [[Disney Channel]] from 2001 to 2005, they had to use "code to talk about if Michael was gay, to talk about sexuality" and to be "sort of underhanded about it." He said this changed with ''[[The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder]]'' with the biggest changes to the show are "gender identity, obviously racial identity and quote-unquote
==See also==
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*[[He never married]]
*[[Medieval singlewomen]]
* [[LGBTQ themes in Western animation]]
* [[LGBTQ themes in anime and manga]]
== References ==
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