In 1930, the
Hays Code was established in the United States, which regulated the content of films and prohibited the portrayal of homosexuality. In animation, cartoon artists were able to portray the gender of characters in androgynous, asexual, and gender-fluid ways. Paul Wells and Patrick Brion argue that Jerry from the
Tom & Jerry cartoons to have an androgynous and even feminine design. The 1966 short "
Jerry-Go-Round" has been interpreted by Jo Johnson as containing a coded
lesbian relationship between Jerry and a female elephant, even though Jerry is male. Cade M. Olmstead, a philosopher, has argued that
Tom and Jerry "subverts normalized gender and sexuality structures" through theatrical play and performance, transgressing the normal construction of gender. "Queer coding" has also been observed in the
Bugs Bunny cartoons. In the late 1980s, villains in Disney films which were "queer coded" began to appear. Commentary on the treatment of LGBT+ characters in film is made in the 1995 documentary
The Celluloid Closet, and is one of the first instances in which the idea of queer coding is presented to the public. Until the 1970s, gay characters generally did not appear on American television. Because of the Hays Code, positive portrayals of homosexual characters were barred, and the only characters in fiction that could be perceived as homosexuals had evil roles and were punished throughout the work. Thus,
villains became noted in particular to have
effeminate characteristics, behaviors or gestures that could be perceived as
LGBTQ. Disney characters have attracted attention because their films are popular among children. Examples include: •
Governor Ratcliffe in
Pocahontas, who is the only male character with makeup, braided hair and bows, and wears pink •
Ursula in
The Little Mermaid was inspired by the
drag queen Divine •
Captain Hook in
Peter Pan •
King Candy in
Wreck-It Ralph •
Hades in
Hercules •
Shere Khan and
Kaa in
The Jungle Book •
Gaston and
LeFou in
Beauty and the Beast •
Scar in
The Lion King •
Dr. Facilier in
The Princess and the Frog •
Jafar in
Aladdin •
Hector Barbossa in the
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise • The
Cheshire Cat in
Alice in Wonderland, as an
anti-hero While many examples can be pulled from Disney, the trend of queer coding villains in prominent media and film extends beyond the corporation. Some examples include: • The devil character
HIM in
The Powerpuff Girls, who dresses in a
tutu and heels. • Comic-relief
Team Rocket grunts Jessie and James of the
Pokémon franchise, who frequently crossdress as a disguise. • The lethal duo of Billy Loomis and Stu Macher in
Scream, who are based on murderers
Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb according to the screenwriter of Scream,
Kevin Williamson. • The androgynous
Overwatch hero
Moira, who is an agent of the terrorist organisation Talon. • Larry 3000 in the Cartoon Network program
Time Squad, who has been interpreted to be gay. • The
Scream movies, which screenwriter
Kevin Williamson has described as being "coded in gay survival". •
King Xerxes of
Persia in
300 was intentionally depicted as effeminate to "scare" young heterosexual men in the audience. ==Impact==