‘Peppa Pig’ Debuts First Same-Sex Couple, A Pair Of Lesbian Polar Bears
Peppa Pig, a beloved children’s animated series about family shenanigans, is expanding its definition of a family by introducing its first queer couple.
On Tuesday, the UK’s Channel 5 aired the episode Families, where Peppa and friends are seen creating drawings of their families. Penny Polar Bear sketches herself with two grownup polar bears with long eyelashes, and describes: “I’m Penny Polar Bear. I live with my mummy and my other mummy.”
Penny continues to share more about her same-sex parents, explaining, “One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti.”
1. Peppa Pig has introduced its first same-sex couple for the first time in its 18-year history.
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) September 8, 2022
During an episode titled Families, which aired in the UK on Tuesday, Peppa's classmate Penny Polar Bear shares that she has two mothers. pic.twitter.com/4iX9i2QVQH
It’s a large step for this exemplary show, which has even influenced kids around the world to speak in British accents—just imagine its impact in imparting family values during those pivotal years.
It’s been a long time coming, though. Peppa Pig has been on screen since 2004. The move seems to be in direct response to a petition that was launched three years ago encouraging the network to include a same-sex couple. The campaign has since amassed close to 24,000 signatures.
“Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal,” explain the petition’s creators Beth G and Lacey K. “Peppa Pig is not just for entertainment, children are inevitably learning from it too.”
PEPPA PIG has introduced its first LGBTQ+ couple on its latest episode.
— Cartoon Crave (@thecartooncrave) September 7, 2022
“I live with my mummy and my other mummy.” pic.twitter.com/JtaAQQscKb
[via Them and AV Club, images via various sources]
