Happy little SpongeBob too gay for US conservatives
January 21, 2005
On the heels of electoral victories to bar same-sex marriage, some influential conservative Christian groups are turning their attention to a new target: the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Does anybody here know SpongeBob?" Dr James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, asked guests on Tuesday at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies.
In many circles, SpongeBob needs no introduction. He is popular among children as well as adults who watch him cavorting under the sea on the Nickelodeon cartoon program that bears his name. In addition, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
Now, Dr Dobson said, SpongeBob's creators had enlisted him in a "pro-homosexual video", in which he appeared alongside other children's television characters. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of schools this northern spring to promote a "tolerance pledge" that includes tolerance for differences of "sexual identity".
The video's creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit We Are Family and led the group Chic, says Dr Dobson's objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the September 11 attacks to create a music video featuring 100 well-known cartoon characters dancing to his song to teach children about multiculturalism.
Nothing in the video or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity.
Rodgers suggested that Dr Dobson might have been confused because of an unrelated website belonging to another group called We Are Family. That site is owned by a South Carolina group aimed at supporting gay youth.
The New York Times
It's just a cartoon character people - grow up and get over it
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