June is Pride Month and I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some cute characters and cartoons that you might not have thought of to find positive pride and LGBTQ+ representation.
One of my all-time-favorite cartoons is Adventure Time. It has great character development. I love how it shows females as strong, independent, smart, and talented in and of themselves and not just as an extension of a hero. In addition, Adventure Time highlights many different types of relationships from traditional marriage to the complicated history between Marceline the Vampire Queen and Princess Bubblegum. See their powerful scene from the finale on Youtube (spoilers, obviously).
This Bubbline enamel pin by Moon River Co. (Singapore) is so cute and on theme for Pride.
I am a huge fan of Molang (pronounced “moo-long”). Not only do these extremely short episodes have a wide appeal to people of any age or language (they speak their own language called Molanguese) but the show has chosen to keep Molang and their best friend Piu Piu genderless because the focus of the show is friendship. In keeping with this ideal, all of the Molang clothing is gender-neutral (not to mention vegan, organic, and made in France).
You can show your pride all year long with an adorable Big Rainbow Always Wins t-shirt, hat or sticker. The Molang website also has a lot of free videos, backgrounds, and printables in the Playground.
I could do a whole post on Molang but then I wouldn’t have time to give proper respect to She-Ra. The reboot of the 80s cartoon (and my elementary school obsession) She-Ra Princess of Power is on Netflix and puts Adora in a new version of Etheria where not only are queer relationships on the show, but they’re the norm. It’s fascinating to watch an entire series arc about princesses and sparkles and unicorns and still have it be action-packed and forward-thinking with strong women.
Show your love for what this show stands for with this pink, chibi version of Catra and Adora from Hot Topic (US).
Heading up the adorable gender-neutral charge is Noodoll (UK). This London-based design brand does away with the outdated notion that there are toys for boys and different toys for girls. Playing is good for everyone and people should get to play with what they like. Building on that theme, Noodoll even offers kits where you can design and decorate your own sweet Ricemonster; see what Marceline came up with recently.
As a teacher, I adore the Self Love sticker pack. What kawaii reminders to take care of yourself and those you love!
For other characters, Boxlunch (US) has a rainbow-colored item for almost any fandom, from SpongeBob Squarepants to Legend of Korra to Mickey Mouse. In addition, for the month of June Boxlunch will donate a portion of items from the Pride Collection to support GLSEN. I particularly like this Baby Yoda t-shirt with a rainbow message.
Let us know your favourite inclusive characters, and look out for more Pride Month posts.
Nova is a contributing writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest in America with her husband, young daughter, and 3 cats – Evey, Ophelia, and Adora. She is an introvert and a traveler who has been to over 20 countries. Her first years as a teacher were teaching English in Japan, so Japan and all things kawaii will always have a special place in her heart. Nova’s favorite color is grey, character is Rilakkuma, and cartoon is Adventure Time
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