- One of the most popular videos on my channel
is one where I talk about the lack of representation
in children's TV and film for LGBT characters
which is why I was so pleasantly surprised
when watching Netflix's show Anne with an E
because it's a show based on a children's book
that is rated suitable for kids
which has multiple queer characters
whose lives don't end in misery.
And it's set in historical period.
I just can't believe that this exists.
There is still something genuinely revolutionary
about having LGBT characters in kids' media.
I still get messages on that video
from people saying that it's inappropriate
to talk about gay people to children
as if children can't be gay themselves
or have gay parents or gay friends or gay uncles.
As if gay marriage isn't legal and, you know,
a thing that exists that they can understand
and know about.
But it's also pretty revolutionary
to have queer representation in historical fiction
in a way that isn't just derived from misery.
Sometimes I think people have the idea
that gay people only sort of popped up
during the AIDS crisis.
Like they didn't exist then, you know,
the AIDS crisis happened and suddenly
they're there to have story lines about being ill or sick
or dead or grieving for straight and cis audiences
to watch and like to win Oscars.
(magical bell tinkling)
I think that the only representation of queer characters
in children's media that's also kind of set historically
that I've ever seen before
one of them dies.
So this is literally something that I feel like
is a first of its kind.
That's the first time that I've seen something
like this on screen.
So let's get into these specific characters.
We have an elderly lesbian character.
Incidentally, she is my life goal
in terms of throwing like amazing queer parties.
Like hella amounts of food and also taking baby gays
under your wing and generally being lovely.
My dream.
Although I will acknowledge the fact
that part of her story
before she comes onto the show does involve
a burial gay's trope, the idea that her partner has died.
This was actually on reading kind of quotes
and stuff from the writers and creators of the show.
This character is in the books herself
and there's not really an explanation as to why
she's kind of appeared and come to stay with her family.
And so they were like well what if the reason
why she's come is because of the death of a partner?
And what if her partner was a woman?
It happens before the show begins off screen.
It's not the kind of like trauma that you're made
to live in real time.
And it was just like this perfect opportunity
to increase the representation on a show
from this original source material
without it really contradicting the source material at all.
There is also a young gay boy as well
which is lovely.
So we have these characters
that are spanning different age ranges.
You have different identities.
We get the idea of a woman who has been
in this very long-term relationship
who's at a very different stage of her life
as well as the story of somebody who's coming to terms
with their sexuality.
I think with representation when you have
multiple characters with the same identity
allows you to tell multiple different stories.
You don't feel like they're stuck into one trope.
This boy is artistic, he's kind, but he also has
this strength to him and he's trying to pursue
his own destiny.
And between them there's
this beautiful intergenerational friendship.
There is this episode in the show
which takes place almost entirely at this woman's house
and she's throwing this very gay party
for a load of queer people basically from her life
that she's gathered together.
(crowd clapping) (gentle music)
- And it essentially revealed that the partner who died
is the one who used to throw the party
and she wants to start this tradition up again
and feel some kind of like remembrance
and love from it.
And there's this scene where the boy tells her
that he feels like he's like her, that he's gay, too.
And she has this reaction that I don't think
I've really ever seen before
in terms of like a coming out scene.
Where a lot of the times when coming out scenes happen,
you're coming out to a straight person
and so it's very like I'm your mum and I love you anyway.
Which is all great and brilliant
but it was just so interesting to see that be a scene
where you come out to someone who's also gay.
(gentle music)
(Jo sighs)
- And I bawled like a baby.
I just wept because that was
just such a beautiful, intergenerational friendship moment
that I don't feel like we see in LGBT representation at all.
Not only will this not stop you from having a good life,
actively the friendship that she's developed,
the relationships she's had because she's gay
have filled her life with such joy
even as she's kind of in mourning and grief
was just stunning.
And we also have a third gay character
who is a closeted gay man who is very,
has a lot of internalised homophobia
that he takes out on another gay character.
And that is a trope that often frustrates me
but again when you have lots of different representations,
I understand the idea of actually this is something
that is realistic within the time period as well.
You know, you're gonna have multiple different characters.
You have multiple different story lines
and react to their identity in different ways.
You can acknowledge the truth of the reality
that he's living without making it be the gay experience.
Also I think this is a positive representation.
It's not limited to how it might be positive
for LGBT people who are watching, right?
And not even positive in the way
of well, straight people can see that gay people
are great, too.
But in having this queer party
in which the idea of, you know, heteronormativity,
of cisnormativity is broken apart,
it allows those straight and cis characters
to understand the limitations that society is presenting
to them and forcing them into.
You know, why should women have to be wives first
and people second?
Why should men and women have to dress a certain way?
Why should love between two women be seen
as anything but beautiful?
It's a way of talking about the queer experiences
bound by something other than by pain.
That if you talk to children about queerness,
that far from being something that damages them,
it allows them to understand their own reality
in a different way even if they're not gay themselves.
- By having multiple characters also interact
with these queer characters, it allows the show
to demonstrate the different reactions to coming out
in different ways.
You have the character of Anne, for example,
who is very much like oh yeah, taking it in my stride,
nothing fazes me.
Which I think is especially poignant because her character
is so in tuned with nature.
It is such a huge part of her character
about how fascinated she is with the natural world
and it just feels like such a subtle statement
to have the character who is so obsessed
with the beauty of nature to see the beauty
and the naturalness of queer relationships
and love in that way.
But it also allowed other characters
to have their own struggles with it
that were shown to be more about them.
It's difficult for me to accept this,
not because it's inherently bad,
but because I feel like I've been deceived
because I know you really well
and you hadn't told me about it
all because you're making me question my own assumptions
about what I should be dressing like
or how I should feel.
It wasn't seen as a this is something that is inherently bad
and people have to, they automatically will think
it's bad and they have to work towards acceptance.
That complexity was displayed which was fantastic to see.
Basically I suppose what I'm saying is
for like a gritty reboot, it sure does have
a lot of happy friendships and lovely endings
and queer representation.
Just saying.
It's been a little while since I've done
one of these videos that focuses specifically
on one piece of media.
If you liked it, please let me know in the comments
if there's any other things like kind of shows
or films or things you want me to talk about,
let me know.
If you want to help support me make these videos,
I'm gonna leave a link to my Patreon
in the description along with all of my social media
so you can find me all over the internet.
And until I see you next time, bye.