Oh Bwunhilda, you're so wovewy...
January 24, 2005 6:18 PM   Subscribe

Gay cartoon characters, you say? Spongebob ain't got nothin' on Bugs.
posted by May Kasahara (50 comments total)
 
FWIW, I always thought Fred from Scooby-Doo was gay. I mean the coiffed blond hair, the fashionable clothes, and that bandanna. And take a look at Alan, Josie's so-called squeeze from Josie & The Pussycats. You know what they say about couples starting to resemble eachother after awhile.

This of course leaves the question of who was satisfying Daphne & Velma's needs in the back of the ol' Mystery Machine.

Well, they don't call him "Shaggy," for nothin', yo.

Roo Ro, Raggy!
posted by jonmc at 6:34 PM on January 24, 2005


Bugs bunny is a total hottie.

But most transvestites are straight, sorry. Though, he sure makes out with Elmer a lot.
posted by loquacious at 6:36 PM on January 24, 2005


You mean male rabbits don't normally wear makeup?
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:43 PM on January 24, 2005


Oh, you MiFi posters live such innnnteresting lives!
posted by johnj at 6:45 PM on January 24, 2005


"Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played a girl bunny?"

"No... no."

"Neither did I. I was just asking."
posted by mmcg at 6:51 PM on January 24, 2005


"i think an interesting monster should have an interesting permanananent, don't you?"

i always thought velma was more into girls ...
posted by pyramid termite at 6:52 PM on January 24, 2005


i always thought velma was more into girls ...

the more the merrier, sez shaggy.
posted by jonmc at 6:54 PM on January 24, 2005


Ummm...
THE TEN SEXIEST GAY CARTOON CHARACTERS
posted by toftflin at 6:54 PM on January 24, 2005


I wonder if Focus on the Family knows about furrys yet?

There's the real threat to the moral fabric of this great country.
posted by loquacious at 6:56 PM on January 24, 2005


I'd go furry for Bugs. Raow. Plus the post-coital repartee would be hilarious.
posted by digaman at 6:58 PM on January 24, 2005


Oh my... I've just been MeFi'd... thanks for the link, May Kasahara!
posted by Robot Johnny at 6:59 PM on January 24, 2005


Popeye. This guy's kinda borderline. Not the "gay" part: he's datin' a cross-dressin' pipe cleaner...

This always troubled me, too. Olive Oyl looks like a hockey stick with hair, yet Bluto and Popeye are kicking ass over her. I can't figure out why, except for the fact that the only other female in town was the Seahag.
posted by jonmc at 7:00 PM on January 24, 2005


check this: (it's not just joking, but actual scholarly stuff nowadays) Kevin Sandler's chapter "Gendered Evasion: Bugs Bunny in Drag" confronts the cross-dressing antics of Bugs Bunny and suggests that, rather than transgressing or blurring gender boundaries, such narrative themes reinforce the binary "ideals" of male and female gender roles. ...
posted by amberglow at 7:00 PM on January 24, 2005


Jeez, amberglow, way to spoil the fun..;)

I read the review. It seems to take the whole thing waaaay too seriously.
posted by jonmc at 7:06 PM on January 24, 2005


Andy Lippincott came out in 1977. Mystique and Destiny have been a couple since about 1981. Hell, Milt friggin' Caniff had a lesbian character named Sanjak in Terry and the Pirates in 1939 (Sanjak is the Greek Island next to Lesbos, in case you think I'm reading too much into things.) And these days we've got Big Gay Al, Northstar, and plenty of other out-and-proud cartoon characters.

These closeted losers y'all are talking about are wusses.
posted by kyrademon at 7:09 PM on January 24, 2005


FWIW, I always thought Fred from Scooby-Doo was gay.

Having seen Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders in my late teens, I remain convinced that there is are running "Ambiguously Gay Duo"-style jokes surrounding Freddy in that particular movie, particuarly an extended scene in which he flirts with a similarly strapping lad who is helping them with the Mystery Machine. I mean, slightly more subtle, but only very slightly. Can anyone confirm?
posted by rafter at 7:12 PM on January 24, 2005


sorry--but lots of people have analyzed it all. google for "cultural studies" and "bugs bunny" : >

(I love this name for a presentation: Wabbit Twouble: Bugs Bunny, Drag and the Gender-Bendable Body, Joanna Bouldin, UCI)

As for gay cartoon characters, don't forget Ren and Stimpy. (and all the ascot-wearing boys in hanna-barbera cartoons were always gay--Alan, Fred, that speed buggy guy...)
posted by amberglow at 7:13 PM on January 24, 2005


(As an aside, a reviewer on the Amazon review of "Alien Invaders" says, "For instance, there's a very subtle visual indication at the beginning of the movie that Fred and Daphne are actually sleeping together, but it's so mild no kid could possibly realize it." So maybe I was wrong about Fred after all.)
posted by rafter at 7:17 PM on January 24, 2005


sure, kyrademon, but with the obvious exception of Big Gay Al, are any of 'em funny?

on preview:rafter, did you look at that picture of Alan? Peas in a pod, dude. And Mr. Clean was the original Butch Daddy. And that "Yapple Zapple," genie in the animated "I Dream On Jeannie." I mean come on, that green mother swishes like a slalom skier.
posted by jonmc at 7:18 PM on January 24, 2005


Velma is hot. I go for freckled, nearsighted dimpled-kneed girls in baggy sweaters and pleated skirts!
posted by alumshubby at 7:19 PM on January 24, 2005


Oh, hells yeah, alumshubby. But then again I though Peppermint Patty was hot, too. And I always developed crushes on the tomboy girl type heroes in all those Disney Nature adventure type movies.

It's a cliche, but maybe I am a lesbian trapped in a straight slobs body.
posted by jonmc at 7:21 PM on January 24, 2005


It's a cliche, but maybe I am a lesbian trapped in a straight slobs body.

No wonder you post so much in the "women only" ask metafilter threads.
posted by interrobang at 7:48 PM on January 24, 2005


Google has failed me! (Or perhaps I have failed Google...) In the mid-nineties I saw a collection of Bugs Bunny cross-dressing cartoons at the Castro Theater in San Francisco - the evening was titled Toontown is Burning. As a Looney Tunes fan from way back, it was glorious to see that on the big screen, with such a congenial crowd. I want to say it was presented by Andrea Weiss, but I may be confusing it with the lesbian vampire movie collection that I saw there around the same time.
posted by expialidocious at 7:48 PM on January 24, 2005


Hot damn, I forgot about Mystique and Destiny. There was something about that polymorphic blue skin that made the mind boggle with the possibilities.

Plus, didn't Destiny give Mystique a hand raising Rogue? Until the unpleasantries at Muir Island? So they even had an adopted daughter...rock on, gay parenting rights!

Time to go over some old issues with a magnifying glass.
posted by cosmonik at 7:52 PM on January 24, 2005


Okay, I think all you guys have missed the point. Bugs Bunny *was* portraying effeminate gay cross-dressers. The result? Look at all the gay men now who grew up watching Bugs! Apparently it's not 100% effective, but the Spongebob fellow is recruiting the next generation! If we could only rid the airwaves of this scourge there would be no teh ghey. Zero.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 7:57 PM on January 24, 2005


Apparently it's not 100% effective,

Minerva Mink wins too many of 'em back for it be effective.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:01 PM on January 24, 2005


Minerva Mink alone might not be enough... time to call in the big guns -- Minerva Mink and Hello Nurse in tight softball uniforms!

Pinky and The Brain were clearly a couple. A perverted couple, who wondered where they could get a duck and a hose at this hour.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:14 PM on January 24, 2005


We picked this guy to be gay when we were young. He was always embarrassed and stuff...

"Oh Father, how can I face my friends..." etc

/looks at Marvin suspiciously
posted by bdave at 8:26 PM on January 24, 2005


So what sexual act do lesbian rabbits enjoy most?

Bunnylingus.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:14 PM on January 24, 2005


"Pinky, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Well, sure, but where are we going to find rubber pants at this hour?"
posted by loquacious at 9:31 PM on January 24, 2005


Yes I know it... Iiiii can't help it...

Stephen Hillenburg has already stated in many sources that he doesn't know what the big deal is about as Spongebob is clearly Asexual. Well okay, sponges can be hermaphrodites and participate in sexual reproduction as well...

But no sponge, hermaphrodite or not, can be a fetching Southern Belle braining some riverboat gambler with an umbrella.

http://www.jenn98.com/bugs/1949-2.html

Southern Gentleman (after throwing Colonel Shuffle into the river): "Are you hurt my sweet Magnolia Blossom"

Bugs en Femme with coquettish affect: "I was just terribly terribly frightened"

Classic!

posted by somnambulist at 10:08 PM on January 24, 2005


The humour in bugs is ALL in a reversal from what is expected. I guess it doesn't surprise me, nor did it ever. Maybe I'm so used to "gender and sexual diversity" that I really don't see it as surprising.
posted by taursir at 10:21 PM on January 24, 2005


Has anyone read comments dude David's comments at the bottom?

eg.

"What FOTF is objecting to is the video going to 61,000 schools with the message of the foundation that is sending it (not SpongeBob) "instructing" children to "respect differences in others" including their "sexual identity" and since this is going to elementary school children, Dobson is saying that this "crosses moral lines" since it is a sensitive subject that ought to be left intirely in the hands of parents, not schools. Thsi video, being presented by schools is equal to the schools "preaching" the same message. And the content of the message is the issue, not Spongebob, or anything any of the cartoon characters say or do. It's the message of the promotors of the video, not the characters or their creators, that is taken to task."

[his bolds]
posted by uncanny hengeman at 10:51 PM on January 24, 2005


Although it seems he got fairly well depantsed later on in the thread. Just thought it was interesting. FWIW, I reckon Spongebob is a dumbed-down version of Ren and Stimpy. Seen bits of episodes on the teev. Not into it at all. Certainly will not see the movie

(Not horrible, mind you. Just that there's lots more carton comedy quality out there where I could invest my time.)

This debate I'd like to ignore… but like a lot of internet memes, it seems to be showing up in every second site I visit lately!!! Sorry for butting in.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 11:10 PM on January 24, 2005


This brings whole new meaning to the term "Fucks like a bunny"
posted by ElvisJesus at 3:17 AM on January 25, 2005


and then there's pepe le pew and his efforts to brainwash children into accepting interspecies sex ...
posted by pyramid termite at 5:14 AM on January 25, 2005


Ahem.

Can I sue Warner Brothers? I watched Bugs Bunny as a kid, and now I'm transgendered. Clearly, it must be related. And TO THINK that Bugs and Elmer got along sometimes!

Who needs SpongeBob? Patrick is "teh r0x0r", as the kids say these days.
posted by andreaazure at 5:26 AM on January 25, 2005


Can I also sue Warner Brothers? I watched Bugs Bunny as a kid, and now I'm a wiseass with an incredible collection of cartoon quotes stuck in my brain.

"Ain't I a stinker?"
posted by tommasz at 6:56 AM on January 25, 2005


How about the cyborg Major Kusanagi from Ghost In The Shell? In the original Japanese release she is joining some young ladies on a yacht for some "VR R'n'R".

Not quite sure how the whole cyborg sexuality thing works exactly in the physical realm - surely an electronic mind could simulate orgasm if programmed to do so...

/me goes off to think about things that shouldn't be thunk.
posted by longbaugh at 7:20 AM on January 25, 2005 [1 favorite]


Even Davey & Goliath promoted Mountain Dew. Is there such a thing as a wholesome cartoon?
posted by hypersloth at 8:07 AM on January 25, 2005


Is there such a thing as a wholesome cartoon?

beats me ... but i wish they'd do some 7 minute itchy and scratchy cartoons ... "fight, fight, fight ..."
posted by pyramid termite at 9:36 AM on January 25, 2005


pepe le pew and his efforts to brainwash children into accepting interspecies sex ...

Ah-ha! So that's what did it.
posted by Wolfdog at 10:30 AM on January 25, 2005


Well, if we're gonna talk about anime, longbaugh, I could make you a list that goes off the page. I mean, shows like Sailor Moon aren't particularly shy about it, and it goes up from there.
posted by kyrademon at 10:46 AM on January 25, 2005


It's not a peculiarly Japanese fetish though - there are the old tijuana bibles (unable to check link at work - may be crap) which featured popular film and cartoon characters in lewd activities. I used to live with a half-Scottish/half-Italian dude who collected some of the stranger ones.

Sexualised cartoon characters have been about since the very first animated cartoons - Betty Boop was a popular target for this back in the 30's and 40's. It went back even further than that with gentlemen's books in Victorian England illustrated with adult imagery (sorry - can't access any links of that nature from work will try and get some tonight...)
posted by longbaugh at 11:59 AM on January 25, 2005


Re: pepe le pew, I always loved Dave Chappelle talking about watching it with his nephew in Killing 'em Softly.

Dave: I never noticed this before, but that dude is a fucking rapist!

Nephew: See? Sometimes you gotta just take the pussy....

Dave: No no no!!

/paraphrase
posted by deafmute at 12:07 PM on January 25, 2005


I was specifically referring to GLBTQ cartoon characters, longbaugh, not just sexually active ones.
posted by kyrademon at 12:12 PM on January 25, 2005


KevinSkomsvold: I'm still groaning from that. Laughing ruefully, but groaning nonetheless. :)

Somehow I suspect sex with Bugs Bunny would eventually result in a stick of dynamite up your orifice, with him holding a big "screw ball" rebus sign as you are oblivious in your pleasure. And you would end up all carbonized black like Elmer or Yosemite Sam... *ahem* with a bang, as it were.

I'm down wit dat robot girl bunny tho. rrOWr rrOWr.

"That Earth creature is making me VERY angry!"

Mmm, do tell!

(ain't I a stinkah?)
posted by zoogleplex at 8:26 PM on January 25, 2005


Yabba-dabba-do, here we go again ...

Flintstones Are ‘Way Too Gay’
"Fred and Barney should be banned because they are virtually inseparable, are never seen wearing pants and live together in the suggestively-named town of Bedrock, complains a conservative activist" [Newsweek | February 8, 2005]
posted by ericb at 7:26 PM on February 8, 2005


Fewer discussions could be dumber than the sexual orientation of children's cartoon characters, which have been proven scientifically to have no genitalia.
posted by nanojath at 8:45 PM on February 23, 2005


I can think of a few dumber discussions, and anyway, is genitalia necessary for sexual drive?
posted by cell divide at 8:48 PM on February 23, 2005


« Older Art History   |   Carlos Cortez was the real deal. Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments