Peppa Pig Introduced Its First Same-Sex Couple After Petition to Feature LGBTQ Characters

By
Lin Jiawen
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With an increasingly diverse society, there’s no doubt that the need for different groups in society to be represented in media has increased over the years as well.

And it seems like it’s the case even for cartoons nowadays, with the well-known British cartoon show Peppa Pig taking a step forth to feature its very first same-sex couple in the show.

First Pair of Mothers on Peppa Pig

The pair made their debut just this Tuesday (6 September) when the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Channel 5 (no, not Mediacorp lah) broadcasted an episode where a Polar Bear named Penny told her friend Peppa Pig that she has “two mummies”.

In the episode titled “Families”, Penny also draws a drawing of herself and her mummies holding hands and tells Peppa that one of her mothers is a doctor.

“I live with my mummy and my other mummy,” she adds in the episode.

Peppa Pig‘s Fame and Criticism

As many of us may know, Peppa Pig is about, well, a pig. (Duh.)

But jokes aside, the popular cartoon show, which captures the life of Peppa, who is four years old, as well as her family, has clearly been an absolute hit across the entire world.

Since the programme began almost twenty years ago, Entertainment One, its production company, has shared that Peppa Pig has been translated into 40 languages and has been shown in more than 180 different countries and territories.

However, Peppa Pig has also faced its fair share of scrutiny despite its fame.

In particular, viewers have expressed their displeasure regarding how the show has “reinforced gender stereotypes” since it features a nuclear family that has a father who acts as the sole breadwinner, as well as a stay-at-home mother.

As for the debut of the first same-sex couple on Peppa Pig, this issue was first brought to the public’s attention after a petition regarding how the show should include same-sex parents was created in 2019.

Since then, over 25,000 people have signed the petition.

According to the petition, “Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal.

“Peppa Pig is not just for entertainment, children are inevitably learning from it too.”

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Backlash Faced by Other Programmes With LGBTQ Representation

However, despite this seeming like a step forward for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, the community has still faced many other hurdles in its pursuit of representation.

Earlier this year, multiple countries whose residents are mostly Muslims implemented a ban on Lightyear, a spinoff of the beloved Toy Story films by Pixar.

This was due to the fact that the movie captured a kiss that two lesbian characters shared.

In Oklahoma, a state in the United States, a cinema put up a warning sign in June this year saying that its employees would do “all [they] can” to skip over the same scene in Lightyear.

And just this Tuesday, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is formed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, requested Netflix to remove all “offensive content” from the platform.

Apparently, shows with LGBTQ characters were also included as part of “offensive content”.

However, here in Singapore, Section 377A is going to be repealed, a move seen by many as a victory for the LGBTQ community. You can watch this video to know more:

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Featured Image: Channel 5 (UK)

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Lin Jiawen
Email: [email protected]