The Volokh Conspiracy - Cartoon Characters and Homosexuality:

James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family is complaining about SpongeBob SquarePants:

In addition to [SpongeBob's] popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."

Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity."

The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site.

Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called "We Are Family," which supports gay youth. . . .

On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its accusation.

"We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids," he said. "It is a classic bait and switch."

This reminds me of a great T-shirt from 1999, when Jerry Falwell complained about Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies: "He is purple — the gay-pride color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle — the gay-pride symbol." (I should say that this wasn't Falwell's invention; apparently Tinky Winky had become something of a gay icon over a year before Falwell made his claim, see for instance this quote from an English academic.) I saw the shirt in the window of a West Hollywood T-shirt store that catered to a gay clientele, and it said:

Tinky Winky Made Me Do It.

	[Eugene Volokh, January 20, 2005 at 6:41pm] Trackbacks Cartoon Characters and Homosexuality: James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family is complaining about SpongeBob SquarePants: In addition to [SpongeBob's] popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy." Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video," in which he appeared alongside children's television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity." The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit "We Are Family," said Mr. Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group's Web site. Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called "We Are Family," which supports gay youth. . . . On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its accusation. "We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids," he said. "It is a classic bait and switch." This reminds me of a great T-shirt from 1999, when Jerry Falwell complained about Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies: "He is purple — the gay-pride color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle — the gay-pride symbol." (I should say that this wasn't Falwell's invention; apparently Tinky Winky had become something of a gay icon over a year before Falwell made his claim, see for instance this quote from an English academic.) I saw the shirt in the window of a West Hollywood T-shirt store that catered to a gay clientele, and it said: Tinky Winky Made Me Do It.