"Arthur" Celebrates Mr. Ratburn's Gay Wedding

alh
Wed, 22 May 2019 23:20:24 +0000

I certainly understand wanting to protect your children from what we perceive as hurtful and potentially harmful media messages.

My adult kids grew up in a very sheltered bubble but it was impossible to shield them from casual homophobia on tv or the tabloid headlines they encountered when we checked out at the grocery. This was incredibly hurtful and harmful to our family, since a son is gay. Now those tabloid headlines “normalize” same sex couples. I’m happy about that. I’m even happier to see a same sex marriage on Arthur.

I’m from the deep south. Gay folks live in the south, including Alabama. Thousands of same sex couples have married in Alabama. So not everyone in the state was supporting the ban on the episode.

I live in a different southern state, in a very rural and mostly conservative, and traditionally homophobic community. The gay “kids” are coming back home after living all over the world. These southern sons are building retirement homes on family land with their husbands. Their families are overjoyed to have them back. This is how the world changes.