October 9, 2002
A MR. GREENJEANS FOR THE MILLENNIUM?:
Camp cartoon star 'is not gay' (BBC, 9 October, 2002)The creator of one of the most popular new cartoon characters for years, SpongeBob SquarePants, has rejected claims that his cheerful creation is gay.SpongeBob has become an icon among homosexuals in the United States as well as a huge hit with children, according to the Wall Street Journal.
SpongeBob may be "kind of special", but he was not designed to be a gay character, his creator Stephen Hillenburg has told the Wall Street Journal.
The gay community likes the show because it has a tolerant attitude, Mr Hillenburg said.
"Everybody is different, and the show embraces that. The character SpongeBob is an oddball. He's kind of weird, but he's kind of special," he said.
"I always think of them as being somewhat asexual."
Our kids, particularly our son, love the Wiggles. But the wife and I found them kind of sketchy: four grown men, living together, dancing around, wearing turtlenecks, etc. Then one day we got the video and in the credits at the end it says the show's filmed in Australia and suddenly everything was okay. At least four other parents who we've mentioned this to had identical reactions. Odd how the fact they are Aussies instead of Brits seemed to clear everything up--"of course, they aren't gay, they're just whacky..." Posted by Orrin Judd at October 9, 2002 2:30 PM
That's funny. My first thought was that the Wiggles were stoners. Then I thought they were nerds. I never thought they were gay, though.
Posted by: NKR at October 9, 2002 3:23 PMOz has a macho image: Mel Gibson, Crocodile Dundee, etc. And Monty Python: Bruce, Bruce, "No pooftas!", Bruce, Bruce, ..
Posted by: Gideon at October 9, 2002 9:53 PM