The popular children’s cartoon series “Scooby-Doo” has joined the list of children’s content that overtly features LGBT characters by turning one of the show’s five main protagonists, Velma, into a lesbian.
The new animated film, “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!” launched on digital platforms Tuesday and portrays Velma as being attracted to a new female character named Coco Diablo.
In a clip shared on Twitter, the brainy character is shown approaching her team and then sees Diablo. Velma notes that Diablo has an “amazing turtleneck,” “incredible glasses,” is “obviously brilliant” and “likes animals.”
Velma’s glasses fog up with romantic infatuation, and she blushes and says her famous catchphrase, “Jinkies.”
In another scene, Velma tells her friend Daphne, “Who am I kidding? I’m crushing big-time, Daphne! What do I do? What do I say?”
Daphne encourages her friend to pursue a relationship with Diablo.
“Now’s your chance to talk to her,” Daphne said in an additional clip. Velma begins to get flirty with Diablo.
In the previous version of “Scooby-Doo,” Velma was attracted to the opposite sex. In “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” the character had a crush on a boy.
In 2019, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation pushed for 20% of all characters on TV to have same-sex relations by the year 2025.
In 2021 Disney announced that it was rebooting “The Proud Family” animated series with new characters, including same-sex parents.
The Disney animation studio Pixar produced their feature film “Onward” in 2020, featuring a lesbian character and their first openly gay short film, “Out.” UnmuteAdvanced SettingsFullscreenPauseUp Next
In 2017, the Disney Channel series “Andi Mack” featured a same-sex teen romance.
Including a “gay moment” in the 2017 live-action rendition of “Beauty and the Beast” led to calls for a boycott from Christian leaders. In the same year, “Star vs. the Forces of Evil” introduced the company’s first male princess on the same show that previously drew controversy for featuring the first same-sex kisses.
Other entertainment outlets, once known for producing family-friendly children’s programming, such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, also include LGBT characters.
In 2019, the series “Arthur,” which airs on PBS, a station that receives government funding, depicted a same-sex wedding.
Christian conservative groups, such as the American Family Association, have argued that LGBT content in children’s programming promotes sinful behaviors.
AFA President Tim Wildmon said in a recent statement that “the LGBT social-political agenda is out there. We all see it every day, but it is targeting our children and teenagers, and the agenda is being promoted in the mainstream popular culture.”
“Many adults may not change their minds on the issue, so the agenda is being pushed through previously unconventional means, such as kids’ television programming, clothing, shoes, teen magazines, blockbuster movies and even public libraries,” he stated.
“Leaders and advocates of this agenda have been thinking ahead for many years, ultimately working toward the end game of having young people eventually vote for pro-LGBT policies at the ballot box.”