Five popular queer cartoon characters

To celebrate Pride month, Anusha Hegde brings you cartoon characters representing the LGBTQIA+ community in kids’ shows

Ruby & Sapphire - 'Steven Universe'

Odee Eliott from ‘Madagascar’.

June is celebrated as Pride Month in several countries to show solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community and for their rights to be accepted equally. Many animated series for kids now feature queer characters to inculcate the importance of inclusivity in the young.

Osana Najimi

Netflix

One of the three main characters in the ‘Komi Can’t Communicate’ Manga series, Najimi is a gender-fluid person. Najimi is a popular student in the school. Najimi is confident and fun-loving, and he encourages his schoolmate Komi to improve his social skills. Everyone accepts his gender fluidity.

Howard and Harold McBride

Nickelodeon

‘Loud House’ follows the chaotic family of the protagonist Lincoln Loud. He is the middle child and the only boy in the family of 10 daughters. Howard and Harold McBride are a recurring married gay couple in the series. They are adoptive fathers of Clyde McBride who is one of the main characters and best friend of Lincoln Loud.

Ruby and Sapphire

YouTube

They are a queer couple on the show ‘Steven Universe’, coming in as the protagonist’s aunts. Ruby and Sapphire belong to a genderless alien race, called the Gems, wherein members take the form of women. However, they belong to two different factions within the Gems and their love is forbidden. Still, they love each other dearly, have been together for over 5,000 years.

Zadie

Amazon Prime

‘Danger and Eggs’ follows the quirky adventures of DD Danger, a girl who wants to be a stunt person like her father. Her best friend is Philip, a giant talking egg. They befriend a trans teen named Zadie, who explains to them what ‘chosen families’ mean.

Zadie participates in the Pride Day celebration at their school and shares her story about being accepted. She is joined in the show by a pair of gay dads and a lesbian couple.

Princess Bubblegum and Queen Marceline

Cartoon Network

Princess Bubblegum and Vampire Queen Marceline share a tense relationship on the show ‘Adventure Time’. Bubblegum is the ruler of Candy Kingdom and Marceline is a vampire queen. Although they constantly bicker, they are close and enjoy each other’s company. Finn, the hero of the show, tries to patch them up.