Rating LGBT+ Representation in the Top Animations for Kids on Netflix

f you haven't been watching any Netflix originals, then what are you doing? More specifically, Netflix originals aimed at younger audiences are amazing. They have so much diversity, plot, and emotional arcs that will thrill your inner child.

Some of the top Netflix animated series for kids/younger audiences are the recently release Centaurworld, and the older and completed series: She-Ra, Kipo, Carmen Sandiego, and Voltron. These shows vary on their representation of LGBT+, Mental Health, Disabilities, Body Types, and Slice of Life to Plot ratio, but in this article I'm going to go into detail about LGBT+ representation.

Now, the animation styles alone on these shows are top-notch. They could be more experimental, for instance, Carmen Sandiego is the one that sticks out the most for it's sketchy/chalk style whereas the others have the more modern thin outlines, but there's more to art style than outlines alone.

When it comes to writing, these shows delve into very deep and dark emotional contexts that aren't suitable for all children, and at the same time make the shows highly relatable to teens and young adults. For example, Centaurworld, the most recent of these Netflix shows and also the only one with a single season so far, has ads that show it's bright and quirky side. Yet, when you start watching this show, the first ten minutes are dark and devastating, setting the depressing tone for the whole show despite the cheery scenery and characters featured the rest of the season.

Let's get straight to the point, these shows are advertised for kids and have gained some criticism for their representation or lack there of.

Voltron and Shera were probably the most controversial in different ways. Voltron was one of the first where the writers stated outside of official channels that there was a gay couple implied, and when given the opportunity to please fans with a popular gay ship, they leaned into a heavily forced straight relationship that no one asked for. This really blew up the last two seasons of their show and lost them a lot of serious fans. Voltron also early on had a chance to have a trans/gender-fluid/nonbinary character and really skipped on that (Rip trans!Pidge). My rating for LGBT+ friendliness (1/5) because I get the writers tried but it really failed in the end.

She-Ra, however, started out strong by creating a character design that was more intended for children with a less 'womanized' main character. I say 'womanized' because it's not that they made Adora/She-Ra less feminine, they just aged her down from voluptuous 20-something year old to teenager, which caused a lot of fanboys of the original She-Ra character design to become upset. The show also openly shows a queer couple on their Council of Princesses, as the parents of one of the main characters, and the show ends with some open potential for queer relationships that I don't think anyone had an issue with. And all of this goes unquestioned, it's completely normalized for their environment which is so important in representation too. When you're world-building, why not build a world where being queer is normalized? My rating for LGBT+ friendliness (5/5) because they also show a gender-fluid shapeshifting character who uses neutral pronouns, we Stan.

Kipo early on has queer representation and continues to do us right by creating a good outcome for that single queer couple. (Unlike Voltron...) There could be more representation but on the bright side this representation is also normalized and they have Wolf, a nonbinary Monarch. I mean they don't define Wolf as anything, but they do show them being very androgynous and not particularly playing into the femininity or masculinity other characters in the show practice. My rating for LGBT+ friendliness.... (3/5) because it was good but there could always be a more.

On the other hand, there's Carmen Sandiego. This show really lacks in representation of any LGBT+ category. There are some fan headcanons from wistful glances here and there, but ultimately nothing is confirmed one way or another. This is somewhat okay, in my opinion, only because the show makes great efforts in not having any romantic relationships in the series. This is truly a great kids show for parents who are worried LGBT+ characters corrupt kids because they’re “too young” for the relationships. In this show, there’s no relationships at all, straight or queer. However, Carmen Sandiego also doesn’t have a lot of gender diversity so overall I would give it a rating of (1/5) because it isn’t specifically a good representation, but it has no negative aspects either other than a lack there-of.

Similarly, we have Centaurworld. This show has… some interesting takes on gender roles as opposed to any of the other shows here. I really enjoy this diverse character assortment, there is a distinct lack of romantic relationships here as well. (Well, there’s like one time a feminine main character has a crush on a masculine character but he ends up being in a relationship with another feminine character…)

But similarly to Carmen Sandiego, there’s many deep friendship between all kinds of characters with different backgrounds. It seems that this show has vary dramatic and perhaps LGBT+ inspired characters, specifically in the gender-noncomforming department, but nothing is clarified. I would rate it above Carmen Sandiego, most importantly because this show still has room for a lot of growth and representation as it’s the only show still in the making. So far season one has been released as of August and we can hopefully look forward to few more seasons. I rate this show a (2/5) for potential.