One Million Moms objects to ‘Toy Story 4’ for showing a child with two moms
Anti-LGBTQ organization complains that the scene is an attempt to "desensitize" children to the LGBTQ lifestyle
One Million Moms, the parental group known for boycotting companies, movies, books, and anything else seen as promoting LGBTQ acceptance, is circulating a petition blasting The Walt Disney Company for two scenes in Toy Story 4 showing a child with two mothers.
The scenes, which last only a few seconds, show two mothers dropping off and picking up their child from school and hugging their child.
But One Million Moms has objected to the inclusion of a same-sex couple — however brief — out of fear that the scene is included in order to proselytize to children.
“The scene is subtle in order to desensitize children,” Monica Cole, a spokeswoman for One Million Moms writes in a petition addressed to Disney. “But it is obvious that the child has two mothers, and they are parenting together.”
The petition, which has gathered over 12,000 signatures, reads: “I do not appreciate Disney including LGBTQ content in the children’s movie Toy Story 4. There has been a deliberate lack of mentioning this content. Therefore, families are blindsided intentionally by your company. Actions such as this make me continue to distrust Disney.”
Cole acknowledges that “it was a noticeably small scene,” but claims it had “the sole purpose of attempting to normalize this lifestyle.”
“Some in the gay blogging community have agreed that the moment ‘was not groundbreaking by any standard’ but continued to praise it as a ‘small moment of normalization,’ which is exactly why 1MM finds this to be so dangerous,” Cole writes. “It has not been mentioned much in mainstream media, which could appear as acceptance when really it was because it happened so fast. But the scene was included and intentionally not announced prior to the movie release in hopes it would be kept quiet to expose as many children as possible.”
Cole also criticizes a joke about “not hiding in a closet,” which she says some children won’t understand, but was unnecessary, as was the inclusion of the scenes with the two mothers.
She seeks to warn parents about the inclusion of LGBTQ references, with the implication being that parents who object to such inclusion can boycott the film or refuse to allow their children to see it.
“Toy Story 4 is the last place parents would expect their children to be confronted with content regarding sexual orientation. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon,” she complains. “It is extremely common yet unnecessary. Disney has decided once again to be politically correct versus providing family-friendly entertainment. Disney should stick to entertaining instead of pushing an agenda and exposing children to controversial topics.”
One Million Moms has a long history of protesting LGBTQ inclusion, including when it called for boycotts of JC Penney over the company’s decision to hire lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson.
The group has objected to showing a pair of same-sex parents on a children’s TV show, called for a boycott of Walgreens pharmacy over the company’s policy allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify, and eviscerating Chobani for showing a lesbian couple eating yogurt in bed in one of its commercials.
Unfortunately, for One Million Moms, their suggestion that parents boycott the film may fall flat, as Toy Story 4 appears to be one of the more popular movies of the year, grossing $118 million during its opening weekend.
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