Disney Removes Trans Dialogue from New Kids Show. That’s Not Enough

Without ongoing efforts by conservatives to challenge and counter these forces, today’s retreat will inevitably become tomorrow’s resurgence.

Conservatives seemingly got another sign that the woke wave might be receding as 2024 draws to a close. Disney’s “Win or Lose,” a children’s show slated for release next year, was initially set to include a transgender storyline; something the House of Mouse has reportedly decided to cut.

The Hollywood Reporter initially wrote that a story arc featuring a transgender character had been removed and a few lines of dialogue had been altered to remove references to gender identity.

As one Disney spokesperson explained, “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

Sounds great! LGBT ideology has no place in children’s entertainment, so Disney made the objectively correct choice to cut the storyline. This marks at least the second time this year that Disney has actively removed LGBT content from kids’ programming, fueling conservative optimism that the ideological tide is shifting.

Earlier this year, IGN reported that Pixar staff working on Inside Out 2 were repeatedly told by higher-ups to make protagonist Riley “less gay.” According to the outlet, “some leadership [was] ‘uncomfortable’ with queer themes at large, and the insistence on keeping those themes out of Inside Out 2 was ‘a big thing throughout’ development.’”

While these developments offer conservatives reasons to be optimistic, they also risk fostering a sense of complacency on the right. As The Hollywood Reporter noted about “Win or Lose,” the transgender character remains in the show; only a line or two of dialogue was changed.

While we rest on our laurels, happy that an infinitesimally small reference to harmful anti-child propaganda has been snipped away, the left has entirely codified their perverse vision of sexuality and gender into children’s entertainment.

Indeed, many leftists have argued that Disney hasn’t gone far enough in portraying LGBT characters. Alex Hirsch, creator of Disney’s Gravity Falls, accused the company of cynically exploiting rainbow propaganda in the U.S. to boost customer engagement while cutting LGBT content in markets like China and Russia, where such themes would hurt profits.

What Hirsch seemingly overlooks is forcing LGBT ideology into everything is costing Disney money domestically, too. The only reason it persists in Disney content is because employees revolt whenever the company tries to remove it.

Take Lightyear, Strange World, Agatha All Along, and The Acolyte: all recent Disney projects that flopped—each featuring conspicuous LGBT themes. Consumers don’t want this, yet Disney keeps forcing it into their content.

In the case of Lightyear, Disney executives actively attempted to remove the same sex kiss and storyline that was attracting so much controversy. They were eventually forced to put it back following embarrassing public demonstrations by enraged employees.

Can conservatives really claim victory when the new status quo is merely “less” LGBT content in kids’ entertainment? Transgender characters and drag queens will still appear in cartoons, just in fewer scenes than before. At the end of the day, children will still be exposed to LGBT propaganda.

That’s not victory, it's simply a brief reprieve. When LGBT cultists regain the political and social momentum, they’ll have a foothold to launch from. It’s far easier to dominate entertainment when it’s already 40% woke than when it’s 0%.

The late, great Andrew Breitbart famously said, “Politics is downstream from culture.” The left understands this and fights fiercely to maintain its vice grip on cultural power. If conservatives allow them one iota of influence over the next generation’s media, the battle is lost before a shot is fired.

Cultural battles aren’t won by trimming around the edges; they’re won by killing the roots right where they lie. If conservative seek to protect children and shield them from propaganda in their programming, “less wokeness” isn’t enough. Total destruction must be the end goal.

Without ongoing efforts by conservatives to challenge and counter these forces, today’s retreat will inevitably become tomorrow’s resurgence.

Take the victories where we can, but use them to press on. It’s not mission accomplished yet.