They’ve hidden it now, but if you poke around long enough you can still find the full text of Jerry Falwell’s National Liberty Journal article on Tinky Winky, entitled “PARENTS ALERT . . . PARENTS ALERT: Tinky Winky Comes Out of the Closet”:
The sexual preference of Tinky Winky, the largest of the four Teletubbies characters on the series that airs in America on PBS stations, has been the subject of debate since the series premiered in England in 1997. The character, whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse in many episodes and has become a favorite character among gay groups worldwide.
Now, further evidence that the creators of the series intend for Tinky Winky to be a gay role model have surfaced. He is purple — the gay-pride color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle — the gay-pride symbol.
Furthering Tinky’s “outing†was a recent Washington Post editorial that cast the character’s photo opposite that of Ellen DeGeneres in an “In/Out†column. This implies that Ellen is “out†as the chief national gay representative, while Tinky Winky is the trendy “in†celebrity.
These subtle depictions are no doubt intentional and parents are warned to be alert to these elements of the series. However, many families are allowing the series to entertain their children. In the January 10 Blockbuster “Hit List†of the top-ten selling videos, two Teletubbies titles appeared on the list. The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company will release interactive Teletubbies dolls in March.
Jerry Falwell is freshly dead, and the Teletubbies are long out of production, so you might think the fundamentalist Christians would have moved on from this bizarre contention.
You’d be wrong.
Jim Brown and Jody Brown of OneNewsNow, the wire service arm of the American Family Association, have written an article released today in which they cite the opinion of Allan Carlson of the international fundamentalist organization World Congress of Families:
An American pro-family leader says the Polish government’s decision to look into whether the children’s show Teletubbies contains homosexual propaganda is a “legitimate inquiry.” Dr. Allan Carlson says it’s just the latest attempt by the conservative government in Warsaw to stamp out what it views as homosexual propaganda….
Media reaction notwithstanding, family advocate Dr. Allan Carlson says the Polish government is legitimately trying to protect children — what any good government should be doing. Carlson is secretary of the World Congress of Families, a large international pro-family gathering that was held earlier this month in Warsaw, Poland.
“One treads very carefully here because … the late Jerry Falwell got himself in great trouble [when he] was ridiculed for suggesting that ‘Tinky Winky’ might have been a homosexual Teletubby,” Carlson notes. “Even with that said though, I don’t think anyone doubts that the creators of Tinky Winky intentionally were using stereotypes regarding homosexuality in creating this character. That’s not only a surmise, I think they’ve essentially admitted it.”
Carlson believes Poland is asking the right questions, and “erring on the side of protecting children from harmful propaganda generated by the sexual revolution.” As the family advocate points out, propaganda can take many forms.
“Propaganda aimed at children works to reinforce some stereotypes [while] at the same time breaking down legitimate concerns that parents might have, by kind of sneaking the propaganda in under their nose,” he explains.
The producers of Teletubbies have actually very specifically denied that Tinky Winky is gay:
A spokesman for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., who licenses the characters in the United States, said it was just a magic bag. “The fact that he carries a magic bag doesn’t make him a homosexual. It’s a children’s show, folks. To think we would be putting sexual innuendo in a children’s show is kind of outlandish,” he added.
“To out a Teletubby in a pre-school show is kind of sad on his part. I really find it absurd and kind of offensive.”
A BBC spokeswoman said: “This is not the first time that people have read symbolism into a children’s TV programme and it probably won’t be the last.
“As far as we are concerned Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag.”
Plus, there’s the whole lack of genitalia thingy. How can a sexless creature possibly be gay?
Someone should gently explain to Carlson, OneNewsNow, and the American Family Association that there are affinity groups out there for people who find themselves obsessively thinking about the sexual behavior of fuzzy fictional costumed characters. Who’d have thought that so many fundamentalists would turn out to be Furries?
How can it contain homosexual propaganda when they don’t engage in remotely sexual conduct, don’t have apparent gender, and don’t speak?
Come on, John. They do speak, playing with “balls” and then saying “Uh-oh!” Add the rabbits all around the set and you’d have to be some kind of normally adjusted person or something to think it was perfectly OK.
Has anyone ever alerted the American Family Association to the dangerous drug propaganda found in Scooby Doo?
I found Teletubbies extremeley entertaining while in an altered state, to my chagrin. Lol!
And of course, the free love going on in the back of that very colorful van?
Well Barney’s purple, maybe we should alert the World Congress of Families. And they should certainly be concerned about Pee Wee, he’s flaming.
Barney is on the other team too?!! OH NO…