Queer Representation in Children's Media

Backlash and a Way Forward

LGBTQ+ representation in children's media has been hard won. "Every time you see a queer character on screen, that is the end result of someone having really, really put themselves on the line to push that storyline through. And that was even in the best of times," said three-time Emmy Award-winning children's television screenwriter and producer Chris Nee in an interview.

Nee ("Doc McStuffins"; "Ada Twist, Scientist") and Emmy Award-winning animation casting and voice director Kristi Reed ("Steven Universe"; "DeadEnd: Paranormal Park") spoke with me about their efforts to encourage queer representation in children's media, the state of the industry, and how to create change.

Both of them "know how much resistance there is" to queer representation, Nee said. Several years ago, she and Reed were "lamenting the state of the business," and wondering how to encourage people. They asked themselves, "Why don't we just give out our own awards?"

The two of them, along with entertainment executive Jeremy Blacklow (Prime Video; Amazon MGM Studios), therefore launched The Rainbow Project and its first initiative, the Velma Awards (therainbowproject.tv), in 2024. The Velmas take a different approach than most media awards. "Part of what we wanted to do was queer the awards structure," Nee explained. Traditionally, she said, "studios submit, there are nominations, and then there's a winner." With queer content, however, the studios often don't want anyone putting a spotlight on it, she said, so rather than relying on studio submissions, The Rainbow Project seeks out such programming itself.

When they find it, Reed said, "We award anybody who has had the temerity to make that happen," rather than selecting just one winner from a group of nominees.

And instead of being aimed at the studios, Nee added, the Velmas are "purely for the creators to know that people are cheering them on and paying attention."

Award categories adjust to fit the programs and include ones like "Best Queer Relationship That's Just a Plain Ol' Relationship," "Best Episode for Storytime with Drag Queens," "Best Helping My Dad Propose to My Other Dad," and "Best New NonBinary Cast Member."

Last year, The Rainbow Project also launched an archive of first-hand accounts from creators and producers who have gotten queer stories through or around the studio system, in order to help others trying to do the same. The archive is closed to the public so that creators can speak freely about where they found pushback, Nee noted, but stressed, "We're not here to shame anyone." Instead, they want to create a "safe space" for creators to be honest about their experiences and share best practices.

Their goal is to build the archive into "the best resource we can for the children's media market in anything queer narrative," Reed said.

The motivation behind The Rainbow Project is personal as well as professional. All three founders grew up watching "queer-coded stuff" where they had to imagine themselves in the storylines, "because nobody was projecting ourselves back to us," Nee reflected.

When her own son was growing up, she saw how it mattered when he saw families that looked like his on screen. Now, however, she said, "I think we're back in a place where kids know how dangerous it is to be themselves." But whether kids are figuring out their own gender identity or sexuality or have LGBTQ+ parents, she insisted, "We want everyone to see that there is representation."

Nee thinks that many shows on the Velmas list would not get greenlit now, however; they have simply already been in progress. She knows people working on new shows, and said it feels like things are "going back 10 years" where the networks are telling them not to include same-sex parents or nonbinary characters. "People are being told flat out, 'No, we're not doing that right now because it invites the online trolls,'" she shared. Nee experienced such trolling firsthand with her Netflix show "Ridley Jones" (2021-2023), because it included a nonbinary character. "The networks don't want to get into that," she said.

Reed agreed that among the people they both know in high positions at the networks, "everybody is just really afraid of the consequences." She urged, "We have to take risks regardless of the outcome. It is for the sake of our country as a whole."

Both she and Nee were adamant, however, that the networks harbor no villains or evil overlords. "I think everyone is in a bad place and we want to keep encouraging people to be courageous," Nee explained.

A way forward, too, could come from new approaches, such as independent platforms outside the studio system, Reed said, noting, "If somebody is able to fund that, I think it could be immensely successful." She said that today's "market-driven narrative" is "not teaching [children] values and all the fundamental building blocks that I think children's programming is essentially meant to be."

Nee concurred that "purely market-driven media" is not the answer, "especially not in the kids' space." As she sees it, "The whole paradigm of the business is going to keep moving towards people making their own stuff and it finding life online"; eventually, "the studio system is not going to be the only game in town." When that shift really happens, she believes, people will "get out of having to ask all the permissions up the lines in these old structures that are built to protect the bottom line. I'm really excited for that."

But while she finds her biggest hope in the independent pathways, she also insisted, "The studio system still tells us more about ourselves than any smaller platform, so it still feels really important to keep fighting the fight to make sure that people see themselves in the big brands."

To other professionals in the industry, Nee said, "I think we're all looking for places to change the direction of what's happening in our world. The most powerful and specific thing that any of us can do is to figure out what steps we can take this year within the media landscape." She exhorted, "Go out and do letter writing or protesting or whatever else, but don't forget the power that's right at our fingertips. Every small thing you do will reverberate with a generation of kids."

Viewers also have a role to play. Reed advised watching the shows on the Velmas list, talking about them, leaving positive reviews online, and promoting them on social media. "Let people know you care, you want to watch it, you appreciate it, your family sees it, and let the creators know how important it is to you. All that stuff matters," she said.

Looking ahead, Reed revealed, "I am working on a number of things that will come out in the next year or so that do have wonderful queer narratives. Some of them are some pretty big IPs [intellectual properties], and that is hopeful."

Although children's programming is often seen as a small part of the entire media landscape, Reed feels it plays a vital role. "I very strongly believe that if you need to end generational hatred, it starts in children's programming. That is how you change a generation," she asserted. "That's where we are placing our focus."

Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning blog for LGBTQ+ parents, plus a searchable database of 1,900+ LGBTQ+ family books.