Queer coding: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:04, 12 February 2024

Revision as of 20:14, 6 March 2024

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{{Short description|Implicit representation of LGBT characters}}

{{Unreliable sources|date=July 2021}}

'''Queer coding''' isinvolves theattributing stereotypically [[Subtext|subtextualqueer]] [[Codetraits without explicitly stating gender and sexual identity<ref>{{Cite journal (semiotics)|coding]]last=Piluso |first=Francesco |date=2023-11-27 |title=Above the heteronormative narrative: looking up the place of aDisney’s charactervillains in|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/sem-2023-0168/html media|journal=Semiotica as|language=en [[queer]]|volume=2023 |issue=255 |pages=131–148 |doi=10.1515/sem-2023-0168 |issn=0037-1998}}</ref>. Though such a character's sexual identity may not be explicitly confirmed within their respective work, a character might be coded as queer through the use of traits and stereotypes recognisablerecognizable to the audience. Such traits are greatly varied, but traits of exaggerated masculinity and femininity, vanity, and [[hypersexuality]] are frequent.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} 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==

The idea of non-explicit queer coding likely stems from the strict regulations of how queer characters were able to be portrayed in the early days of film-making. In 1930, the [[Hays Code]] was established as a standardregulation for what was allowed to be shown on the big screen.<ref>{{Cite book|jstor = j.ctvfjcx5v.4|chapter = Origins of the Code|last1 = Billheimer|first1 = John|title = Hitchcock and the Censors|year = 2019|pages = 9–23|publisher = University Press of Kentucky| doi=10.2307/j.ctvfjcx5v.4 |isbn = 9780813177427| s2cid=214143884 }}</ref> According to the code, films were not allowed to portray "perverse" subjects such as homosexuality, which inevitably led to the portrayal of non-explicit queer characters. The trend of the inclusivity of queer characters in a subtextual way likely bled into modern portrayals of queer characters. One scholar, Jo Johnson, argued that Jerry in the ''[[Tom & Jerry]]'' cartoons had an androgynous design, even if feminized, and noted a possible [[homoerotic]] subtext between Jerry and Tom, especially when there is [[cross-dressing]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Queers in American Popular Culture Volume 1: Film and television|last = Johnson|first = Jo|publisher = Praeger|year = 2010|isbn = 9780313354571|___location = Santa Barbara, California|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/page/246/mode/2up |access-date = September 23, 2021|editor-last = Elledge|editor-first = Jim|volume = 1|chapter = "We'll Have A Gay Old Time!": Queer Representation in American Prime-Time Television from the Cartoon Short to the Family Sitcom |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/mode/2up |pages=249, 251 }}</ref> Johnson pointed to the 1966 short "[[Jerry-Go-Round]]", by [[Chuck Jones]], as having a coded same-sex relationship between Jerry, who was gendered by Jones as female, and a female elephant who wears a pink tutu. She argued that the episode's ending could be read as a "prophetic depiction of [[Gay pride|Gay Pride]]".<ref>{{Cite book|title = Queers in American Popular Culture Volume 1: Film and television|last = Johnson|first = Jo|publisher = Praeger|year = 2010|isbn = 9780313354571|___location = Santa Barbara, California|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/page/246/mode/2up |access-date = September 23, 2021|editor-last = Elledge|editor-first = Jim|volume = 1|chapter = "We'll Have A Gay Old Time!": Queer Representation in American Prime-Time Television from the Cartoon Short to the Family Sitcom |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/queersinamerican0000unse/mode/2up |pages=256–257 }}</ref> Cade M. Olmstead, an interdisciplinary philosophy scholar, built upon Johnson's work. He 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> Despite the queer coding in "Bugs Bunny" and "Tom & Jerry" cartoons, as scholars Deborah A. Fisher, Douglas L. Hill, Joel W. Grube, and Enid L. Gruber noted, before 1970, almost no gay characters were on television, and they remained relatively absent "until the 1990s".<ref>{{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> Continuing from the late 1980s, villains in Disney films which were queer coded appeared in this decade.<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>

''[[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>

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===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 [[LGBTILGBT|LGBTQ]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.periodicos.ulbra.br/index.php/txra/article/view/1181 |title = O vilão desviante: Uma leitura sociocultural pela perspectiva de gênero de Scar em O Rei Leão |journal = Revista de Educação e Letras |language = pt |year = 2014|volume = 16 |issue = 32 |last1 = Santos |first1 = Caynnã de Camargo }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://www.gaymer.es/es/2018/10/villano-afeminado/ |title = La problemática del villano afeminado |journal = Gaymer |language = es |date = 13 October 2018}}</ref> Disney characters have attracted attention because their films are popular among children.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://thetempest.co/2020/06/04/entertainment/disney-villains-gay-queer-coding/ |title = Wait a second, are all Disney villains gay? |journal = The Tempest |language = en |date = 4 June 2020}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://elpais.com/babelia/2021-05-28/los-villanos-de-disney-salen-del-armario.html |title = Los villanos de Disney salen del armario |journal = El País |language = es |date = 28 May 2021}}</ref> Examples include:

* Governor Ratcliffe in ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', who is the only male character with makeup, braided hair and bows, and wears pink.