Some wonderful movies dealing with LGBTQ families are rated for older audiences due to details that may not bother some parents: “ The Kids Are All Right” (several instances of nudity) “ Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (what is that lady doing with the ping pong balls?) and “ The Birdcage” (a home filled with phallic artwork). There are some YouTube channels, such as Pop’n’Olly and Queer Kid Stuff, that are well-known for providing age-appropriate and entertaining LGBTQ+ educational videos, but they’re hardly family movie night fare. TV is a little better, but too many shows still wait for the final episode to reveal a character’s sexuality rather than portraying the whole person throughout the story. None of the 18 films categorized as animated/family included LGBTQ characters.
In GLAAD’s latest survey (from 2018) of major studio film releases, only 20 of 110 feature films included LGBTQ characters, mostly in roles with less than three minutes of screen time. Parents in LGBTQ+ families don’t need to be told how little representation of gender and sexual diversity there is in media aimed at children. It is a huge leap for a major studio, but one that comes decades late.
Pixar’s latest short, “Out,” now streaming on Disney+, tells the story of a grown man coming out to his parents as he’s about to move in with his partner.
