Doing Crimes is Gay
I remember as a little kid playing my VHS copy of The Little Mermaid. The famous Cinderella castle and the shooting star signal the start of the movie. Some dainty little redhead willing to give up her voice for some dick? Relatable. But what really tingled my gay spidey-senses was the fabulous purple-skinned sea witch. Ursula. What a name! The way she said “bahdeh language, HA!” during Poor Unfortunate Souls was nothing short of iconic. Swaying her hips side to side while savoring how much power she wields was fucking fabulous. I loved her, I wanted her, I wanted to be her. She will forever be the best part of the whole movie.
The same can be said for almost all movies with a villain. Sure, the collection of Disney princesses can stand the test of time. But we don’t remember these movies for the heroines. We remember these movies for the scene-stealing witches and the elegant garments they donned. It’s high fashion, lots of drama, and so…gay.
Queerness has long been scrutinized since humans started to speak. Gay characters have been around since movies were invented. Jump forward to the 1930s and a mean girl hops on the scene, and she goes by the name of The Hays Code. Basically it’s a set of rules outlining the industry standard of what movies can and can’t show. It said some really shitty stuff like movies can’t show interracial couples, disrespecting policemen, and “perverse” sexual activity; this included homosexuality. Part of this code said that characters who do show traits like these must be shown only through villains, and villains must be punished. See where I’m going with this?
Besides the fact that villains are most often the outcast of the film and are “othered” in some way, filmmakers started using the stereotypes of queer people and incorporated them into villains making them more memorable and kind of more awful. This led to the birth of the new term “queer-coding.” Don’t believe me? Let’s take a quick look at some of the most influential villains of the Disney Renaissance.
Snow White: The Evil Queen. A hardcore femme, holding a powerful position usually by a man, always angry for some reason, dulcet voice, and has a shady friend. The mirror said, “Someone is more fair than thee.” What a read.
Cinderella: Lady Tremaine. Rich and regal clothing, single income mom, raising three kids, a dirty look that could cut glass.
Peter Pan: Captain Hook. Obsessed with his looks, dressed in pink, shares all his secrets with his henchman Smee, obsessed with a boy.
Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent. Strong jawline and cheekbones, “horny”, obsessed with a girl on the brink of adulthood, and upset she didn’t get invited to the party. She just wanted to fit in!
101 Dalmatians: Cruella De Vil. Skinny legend, framed by a hilariously huge fur coat, obsessed with fashion.
The Little Mermaid: Ursula. Deep masculine voice, powerful, wide hips, dresses herself as a petite and pretty girl, also literally designed after famous drag queen Divine.
Beauty and the Beast: Gaston. Bodybuilder, fixated on his looks, needs to get ahead of another man to get laid, most intimate relationship with his closest confidant Lefou.
Aladdin: Jafar. I mean, come through, eyeliner king! And how is he always lifting his pinky everytime he holds his staff? Which is a snake. Which is another word for dick.
The Lion King: Scar. Dramatic line delivery, limp wrist (paw?), consistently berates his friends, luxurious hair, also, Be Prepared is a bop with that poetry.
The Princess and the Frog: Doctor Facilier. Crop top. Need I say more?
Tangled: Mother Gothel.
Honorable mentions:
Shrek: Lord Farquad
Pokemon: James
Batman: The Joker
Futurama and South Park: their depictions of Satan
The Powerpuff Girls: Him. The most powerful entity in the entire universe wears lipstick, a pink boa and tutu combination, and constantly alternates between masculine and feminine voices.
All these characters are not inherently evil because they’re queer. They’re evil because they just are. So evil to the point where they enjoy being the asshole of the story. Being evil isn’t really a great quality to have and not really a quality considered to be queer. Although I have met too many gay men that are assholes. So why is it that the queers love and even celebrate them? The argument that negative representation is better than no representation isn’t enough. The reason lies in camp.
What is camp? Well, how much time do you have? Rather than me defining camp and getting my ass torn in the comments, American writer Susan Sontag says it best.
“Camp sees everything in quotation marks. It's not a lamp, but a "lamp"; not a woman, but a "woman." To perceive Camp in objects and persons is to understand Being-as-Playing-a-Role. It is the farthest extension, in sensibility, of the metaphor of life as theater.”
Camp is so bad that it’s good. Camp is an art form. Defining camp is almost impossible, but you know it when you see it. When you watch the performances of Poor Unfortunate Souls, Be Prepared, Friends on the Other Side, and Mother Knows Best they are so distinctly different from the rest of the movie. They stand out. They command and demand attention. And boy, do they do a good job at it.
We gay men love camp for a number of different reasons, but most importantly camp is an exaggeration. When we exaggerate something, we make fun of it. And one of the things these movies love to make fun of is the ridiculousness of their crimes. As villains revel in their victories they’re laughing and having fun in their freedom to do whatever the fuck they want. And they’re thriving!!! They understand that in a world where everyone is against them, they are not afraid to go after what they want and challenge the status quo. No wonder queers love them! We have been challenging the norm for decades. Igniting the Stonewall Riots is just one of the many ways we have made a difference. Breaking the law is the only way to ensure our survival. When enough of us gather and demand action, we get louder and louder until our demands are met. We shape our world as we see fit. If you don’t like it, get over it.
We love these villains because we see bits of ourselves in them. We hate these villains because they are the product of a corporation that initially aimed to exploit our culture when we had none and created it for ourselves. We hate that we love these villains because even if they’re the bad guy, they’re not necessarily a bad guy. As Wreck-It Ralph’s Zangief famously said. If the villain is the one changing the game while looking good doing it, that’s the definition of a hero.
