An exploration of the real reason Disney's reinterpretation of Beauty and the Beast as LGBTQ inclusive should be acknowledged, not pushed aside...
Last week, Disney announced their
first openly gay character in the form of LeFou, the villainous side-kick to
Gaston in their upcoming Beauty and the
Beast re-interpretation starring Emma Watson, Ian McKellen and Emma
Thompson. While Disney is no stranger to the ‘coded-gay’ character, a phrase
which refers to a character presenting overt characteristics associated with an
LGBTQ stereotype without actually acknowledging their sexual orientation (see The Lion King’s Scar, Hercules’ Hades or High School Musical’s Ryan, for example), LeFou will be the first
character in Disney’s history to not only be LGBTQ, but openly and clearly
acknowledge so in the film.
