Why Ellen can be gay but Elsa can’t.
CELESTINE TAN examines the latest debate around Frozen and why LGBTQ representation in animated films is still taboo.
There has been some debate recently about whether Disney should reveal Princess Elsa as gay or straight in the upcoming Frozen sequel. In case you missed it, Elsa is the female protagonist of Disney’s Frozen, currently the number one animated film of all time. The movie is about how Elsa had to hide her magical powers for fear of being different and learns self-acceptance finally through life’s tribulations.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) fans interpret Elsa’s magical powers as a metaphor for homosexuality and the movie’s anthem, “Let It Go” celebrates the character’s coming out — thus the speculation around Elsa’s sexuality. Furthermore unlike other Disney princesses, Elsa had no male love interest whatsoever, in contrast her sister, Princess Anna had two.
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care
what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on.
The cold never bothered me anyway
— “Let It Go”, Idina Menzel.
Before I continue further, I would like to take a moment to clarify that the intent of this post is not to prove or disprove why Elsa is gay, straight or otherwise. Nor is the intent to call out Disney on Elsa’s sexual ambiguity.
Now I was rather disturbed to read the following comment from someone who claimed to be a “huge supporter” of the LGBT community. It was posted as a response to an article of the same topic which was shared on the Gay Star News Facebook page:
Nope.. I’m a huge supporter of LGBT but my niece and nephew don’t know what that is yet and like me I want them to make up their own opinion based on the kind of people they will become and not based on the fact it was shoved down their throats. if we want a gay princess or gay super hero if we want the LGBT community represented then we need to create one their needs to be a new story made. Do not take what is already relevant and know and try to change it to fill a small since of importance. Create an idea not steal one
It seems that the commenter believes that children might be influenced and turn gay if they learn that their favourite Disney character is homosexual. Also although Elsa’s sexuality has yet to have been established, the commenter seems to assert that by portraying Elsa as homosexual robs the character of its heterosexual relevance.
Sadly the commenter’s sentiments were shared by others on the thread — including some in the LGBT community.
Ellen DeGeneres was at the peak of her popularity during the late 90s, thanks to her then hit sitcom, Ellen. She played a sexually ambiguous character who was clearly lesbian to those who understood the clues, but to those who chose denial they apparently never saw it coming when the comedian (and her character) came out as lesbian in 1997. Backlash ensued — she lost fans and advertisers, religious groups campaigned to shut her down, and eventually her broadcasting company caved in and cancelled the show one year later.
Unfortunately the same dynamic seems to be at play for Elsa — an assumption was built on something that was never there, i.e. heterosexual Elsa. Why should it be a given that Elsa is straight but anything else would be shocking? This was also the very assumption that led to many disappointments and the eventual demise of Ellen. Perhaps this is the same assumption the commenter held.
This assumption has a name, it’s called heteronormativity. It is based on a world where heterosexuality is the only normal and everything else deviant. It sees people as distinctly male or female, masculine or feminine, and makes no room for anyone in-between. This is a world where archaic gender roles thrive, for instance a man’s role is to provide for his family, while a woman’s is to nurture hers. God forbid that men take after their nurturing mums and be perceived as feminine, and women become career-driven and appear more masculine than men. A world where sexists, chauvinists and bigots belong.
Granted our world today is much better for the LGBT community than how it was in 1997 — as a matter of fact, today Ellen DeGeneres came out as one of the top two most influential celebrities in the United States for three years in a row. But the debate around Elsa’s sexuality expose how heteronormatively entrenched our world still is.
It is somewhat hypocritical that the world celebrates LGBT gay characters on TV — think Modern Family, Game of Thrones, Pretty Little Liars— but hardly… (dare I say never) in animation or cartoons?
If gay is okay, why hasn’t Pixar, Dreamworks or Disney starred any gay protagonists in movies?
If gay is okay, why is it propaganda when a lead character is gay, but no one bats an eyelid when Belle falls in love with Beast?
If gay is okay, why can’t Elsa be gay?
