We've all done it -- compiled mental lists of cartoon characters we *knew* were queer, but couldn't prove it: Peppermint Patty, Buster Baxter, the Swat Kats...(Bugs Bunny's films speak for themselves.) Well, Insider, a research website, has done the hard work of compiling a database of 259 LGBTQ characters in kids' animated series. What's different about this list is that the characters have been identified as implicitly or explicitly queer in a two-step process. The first step was "informed by interviews with experts in child development, gender, and sexuality who helped detail what kids about 12 and under might recognize about LGBTQ culture and identities."

In the second step, "Characters’ sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and ability were confirmed via the show, or the studio, or the creative team’s social-media posts, or directly with creators in interviews.

"In cases where Insider was unable to get creator or studio confirmation — or for characters whose creators didn’t share certain details — entries were labeled unknown. If a show’s creative team had not clarified an aspect of a character’s identity during the show’s production, that character was labeled undetermined."

The oldest show to make the cut is from 1983: one of the characters was outed 31 years after the fact. Queer representation in kids' TV shows has grown dramatically in the last decade -- Insider finds a 222% increase in the number of queer characters in shows from 2017 to 2019.

What depresses me is that I don't know most of these recent shows! I've hardly watched television at all (broadcast, cable, or streaming) for the last 20 years -- I've been wasting my time with books, movies, art, and music, so I've missed some stuff I would've found really interesting.

The database throws a lot of information at you, so approach it with that in mind. Here's a link to the lists of shows and characters -- you'll recognize a lot more of them than I did. Any surprises?

https://www.insider.com/lgbtq-carto.....plore-database