Disney’s overall stance on LGBTQ+ people is somewhat inscrutable. But, according to a video clip that leaked onto the internet on Tuesday, Disney+’s forthcoming show Baymax appears to chalk up another point for the quote-unquote “queer agenda.”
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On Tuesday, Chris Rufo, an anti-critical race theory and LGBTQ+ education “activist,” tweeted that he had obtained a leaked video clip from Baymax. In the 27-second video, the beloved robot from Disney’s 2014 film Big Hero 6 asks a woman to recommend menstrual products. After a moment of confusion, she notes the tampons she always uses, which opens the floodgates for everyone in that aisle to give Baymax their recommendations. That includes several other women, a dad who points out his daughter’s favorite tampon brand, and one person who appears to be a trans man, who says, “I always get the ones with wings.” The character is wearing a literal trans flag tank top. Naturally, conservative outrage has ensued.
Despite the fact that this unnamed trans character appears in maybe five seconds of video tops, Rufo claimed that the clip was “part of Disney’s plan to re-engineer the discourse around kids and sexuality,” linking a “report” he wrote about Disney’s supposed radical pro-CRT, pro-queer agenda. Others have said that the clip would make their children up to the age of 15 feel “uncomfortable,” even if the clip was just discussing women’s cycles and didn’t include a trans character. This follows Disney’s other recent decision to include a same-sex kiss in Lightyear, the Buzz Lightyear origin story that hit theatres earlier this month (and also sparked conservative ire).
Of course, keeping track of Disney’s actual stance on trans and queer depictions can be headache-inducing. The House of Mouse routinely faces scrutiny from progressives and conservatives alike for censoring queer content and shoving the gay agenda in children’s faces. As Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill was signed into law in March, the company faced criticism for not speaking out against it, which it claimed was because its job was to tell stories about LGBTQ+ people, not to be advocates (even though that’s something the company has done before). Once Disney did actually start speaking out against the law, the company became conservatives’ new favorite target.
Though the Baymax clip is short, it does represent a refreshing change in dialogue around menstruation itself (which remains somewhat of a taboo) and the reality that trans people get periods. Disney has yet to confirm the clip’s authenticity or publicly comment on the “controversy.” But if the clip is real, we’re all for kids getting the message that people of all genders get their periods, and it’s no big deal.
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