meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Imaginary Worlds

Cartoonish Gender

Imaginary Worlds

Eric Molinsky

Arts, Science Fiction, Fiction, Society & Culture

4.82.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Queer representation in children’s cartoons has never been better, but the road to get here has been fraught. I talk with podcaster Dawn H and journalist Sara Century about how the first type of queer representation they saw in cartoons came from Sailor Moon – or at least a highly edited and strangely dubbed English-language version that tried to scrub away all the queer content, somewhat unsuccessfully. And I talk with podcaster Thomas J. West and YouTube essayist Rowan Ellis about the history of queer-coded villains in Disney cartoons, and how the biggest entertainment company in the world still has a lot of catching up to do. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Tab for a cause is a browser extension that lets you raise money for charity will do

0:04.8

in your thing online.

0:06.6

Whenever you open a new tab, you'll see a beautiful background photo and a small ad.

0:11.6

And part of that ad money goes towards a charity of your choice.

0:15.6

It's free and incredibly easy.

0:18.1

Transform your tabs into a force for good in just 30 seconds.

0:22.4

Sign up at tabforacaws.org slash imaginary worlds.

0:29.3

We're listening to imaginary worlds.

0:30.9

Let's show how we create them and why we suspend our disbelief.

0:34.2

I'm Eric Mullinsky.

0:37.4

I recently did a call out on social media asking people to give suggestions for topics

0:41.8

of future episodes.

0:43.0

And a few people mentioned Sailor Moon, the classic anime series from the 90s, because

0:48.6

there's a new two-part Sailor Moon movie on Netflix.

0:52.0

And a lot of people suggested that I look into the queer content of Sailor Moon and

0:56.1

why it was so groundbreaking and controversial.

0:59.6

And I said, wait, what?

1:02.4

I remember in the late 90s when Sailor Moon first came on Cartoon Network.

1:06.8

I was studying animation at Cal Arts and his women in my program were painting murals

1:10.9

of Sailor Moon all over the walls of the dorms.

1:14.2

And it was the first time I'd seen the characters with their big eyes, long hair, long legs,

1:19.0

and short skirts.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Eric Molinsky, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Eric Molinsky and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.