Keep Politics Out of Disney!

You go to Disney because it’s magic and fantasy!  Built out of swamp land, children and relatives come in droves (58 million tourists this year) to see animals and humans unite.  It’s akin to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s masterpiece by Edward Hicks “The Peaceable Kingdom.”

The children don’t care if Mickey and Minnie are bisexual, that Goofy is gay or Tiger is roaring because he’s frustrated at being an ACE (asexual).  It wouldn’t even cross their minds. So, why inject a woke problem that doesn’t need to exist?

State Lawmakers Are Angry At Disney

The executive producer of Disney, Latoya Raveneau worked on a ground-breaking show, featuring gay Dads and a gay friend of Penny Proud. Author and Director of Disney Television Animation, she is working as director on the upcoming Disney+ series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.  She was trying to reflect the modern family that can be formed by adoption of a different race, same-sex marriage, etc. and would be seen at Disney World.

Latoya was criticized for trying to inject her views although Disney employs 77,000 Floridians, many of whom are LGBTQ+.   Conservative gay activist Christopher Rufo, after seeing clips of Ravaneau’s Disney meetings, accused Latoya of trying to sexualize children.  Fox News host Laura Ingraham calls her actions “propaganda for ‘grooming’ pedophiles.”

Why Disney Criticized DeSantis

At first, Governor DeSantis was worried about critical race theory being taught in the classrooms, but now he has gone further and includes what teachers can and cannot say.  The “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, H.B. 1557 recently passed, and signed by Gov. DeSantis, bans what teachers can say about LGBT issues.  There is no classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3 or any instruction that is not “age-appropriate” or developmentally appropriate for older kids.  Parents can sue school districts over alleged violations.

Disney responded that they “should never have passed and should never have signed into law,” commented DeSantis. “The state is governed by the interest of the people in Florida, not by corporate executives in California.”

Angry that Disney didn’t do more to defend DeSantis’s viewpoints, the Bill’s sponsor Joe Harding is returning $3,000 to Disney in campaign contributions.  State Rep. Spencer Roach, Republican North Myers, is considering dismantling the quasi-governmental district that surrounds the Florida entertainment complex.  It sounds like a form of gerrymandering.

What’s next?  “A better mousetrap” for Mickey?

When Your Child is Gay

When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know

For more detailed advice, see book, co-authored with a mother of a gay son and a psychiatrist, Jonathan L. Tobkes, M.D.

Wesley Cullen Davidson

Wesley Cullen Davidson is an award-winning freelance writer and journalist specializing in parenting as well as gay and lesbian content. For the past two years, Wesley has concentrated almost exclusively on the lesbian and gay community, specifically on advising straight parents of gay children on how to be better parents and raise happy, well-adjusted adults

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