The British preschool animated television series Peppa Pig has received plaudits from just about everyone except conservatives since the show's creative team responded to calls for more LGBTQ+ characters on the show.
The show—which has delighted young children for 18 years—recently aired an episode titled "Families" in which Peppa's classmate Penny Polar Bear talks about her two mothers.
Penny announces her parents are two lesbian polar bears, saying:
“‘I live with my mummy and my other mummy. One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti."
Viewers then see shots of the happy family sitting down for dinner together, which you can see below.
The inclusion of the loving lesbian couple is a win for LGBTQ+ rights advocates, who have long campaigned for more representation in film and television on the basis the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people and those who love them is not inherently political.
In 2019, campaigners launched a petition calling on Peppa Pig's writers to include a family of same-sex parents in an effort to make the show more inclusive for all children, noting "excluding same-sex families will teach [young children] that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal."
But the episode has raised the ire of conservatives who denounced the move, evoking the ongoing "groomer" hysteria they've used in recent months to disparage LGBTQ+ people, accusing them of building relationships, trust and emotional connections with children so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.
Many have taken to social media to air their grievances with the program.
\u201cI didn't like the idea of my kids watching a pig as a cartoon character anyway, let alone one that comes pre-packaged with indoctrination on the label. \nhttps://t.co/MWLfSBBIBF\u201d— Dr Tallha Abdulrazaq (@Dr Tallha Abdulrazaq) 1662593995
\u201cPeppa Pig: First same-sex couple for children's show? Disgusting! Wrong! https://t.co/LpSJYGEGDE\u201d— World of Plastic (@World of Plastic) 1662570017
\u201cNow this is insane! For the LGBTQP to push for a children's show to have a lesbian couple!WHY ? \ud83d\ude44\ud83e\udd14\ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2640\ufe0fUtterly wrong,disgusting! They are little kids. Leave them alone!\nSHAME! SHAME!!\nhttps://t.co/R2orWD5QNx\u201d— Tisherrie Kinser (@Tisherrie Kinser) 1662594483
\u201c'I live with my mummy and my other mummy': Peppa Pig introduces character with same-sex parents \n< Creep, creep, creep \u2026 indoctrination of our kids. \n\nhttps://t.co/lFqlxBBrAF\u201d— Sir Olicanarama (@Sir Olicanarama) 1662537206
\u201cCongrats, @peppapig, on caving to groomer demands to also become sexual groomers of young children.\n\nVote with your dollars, people.\u201d— BowTiedAdjacent (@BowTiedAdjacent) 1662645059
As disheartening as that pushback might be, the move has been hailed as a win for representation by LGBTQ+ advocates and allies.
\u201cOur families deserve to be reflected on screen. We \ud83e\udde1'd seeing Penny Polar Bear and her two mothers on a show as beloved as Peppa Pig! https://t.co/3epTfrxvrl\u201d— Family Equality (@Family Equality) 1662657061
\u201cWell what do you know? My kids saw the first same-sex couple on Peppa Pig and the world didn\u2019t end. Penny Polar Bear said she lives with her \u2018mummy and her other mummy\u2019 and the four horsemen of the apocalypse didn\u2019t came storming over the horizon to bring humanity to a close.\u201d— Simon Harris - #LovelyBitOfSquirrel (@Simon Harris - #LovelyBitOfSquirrel) 1662536863
\u201cI don't know how people find the time to get angry about something as normal as this, it's not the 1950's anymore, thank goodness.\u201d— Timothy Eastaughffe (Tim) (@Timothy Eastaughffe (Tim)) 1662584243
\u201cLove this sooo much!\n\n\u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c\n\n"Many of those who watch the show will have two mums or two dads themselves and it will mean a lot to parents and children that their experiences are being represented on such an iconic children's programme"\n\nExactly. \n\n#LoveIsLove\u201d— Pam Grzyb (she/her) (@Pam Grzyb (she/her)) 1662605854
\u201cHow cool is this?! 'Peppa Pig' has a character with same-sex parents! Our daughter loves this show and it\u2019s great to see representation. Thank you @peppapig! \u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 https://t.co/ADJxpyAFwf\u201d— Eric Rosswood (@Eric Rosswood) 1662593582
Peppa Pig has for years been targeted by conservatives who objected to its positive messages and efforts to be more inclusive.
Last year, a conservative children's book publisher released an ad branding the beloved animated character a "communist" before featuring a caricature of Peppa wearing Soviet Russian garb and declaring children "are being told by the media and the school system that socialism is great."
But Peppa Pig is only one of the children's entertainment characters conservatives targeted.
Last year, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz made headlines for attackingSesame Street after Big Bird announced on Twitter he'd been vaccinated against COVID-19. Cruz claimed the announcement was evidence of "Government propaganda... for your 5 year old."
Cruz would later reignite his bizarre feud with Sesame Street after Elmo, everyone's favorite furry red monster, announced he'd also gotten vaccinated against the virus.
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