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IN-DEPTH: Disney’s LGBTQ Sponsorship Continues to Bolden, Face CriticismThe Happiest Place On Earth is again facing national criticism for its controversial promotion of LGBTQ+ expression around children.On May 31, a viral video revealed a male cast member dressed in woman’s clothing working with little girls at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Disneyland Park.Taking its name and overall inspiration from Walt Disney Animation’s feature film “Cinderella” and the Fairy Godmother’s magic words, which triggers Cinderella’s “rags to riches” transformation, the boutique is a long-established extra-cost service that gives guests under 12 the opportunity to dress up like their favorite princess. Boys also have the opportunity to be transformed into Prince Charming or a knight.Until now, the boutique was operated by an all-woman staff with the title of Fairy Godmother. But this video coming out of Disneyland appears to prove those days are over. And while integrating men into the Disneyfied beauty parlor may not ruffle too many feathers, the video shows that this obviously male Disneyland cast member was dressed like a woman—makeup, dress, and all.The video was posted to TikTok as a mom showed her daughter getting the princess treatment.“So, my name is Nick, I am one of the Fairy Godmother’s apprentices,” said the cast member who greeted her daughter at the door. “I’m here to shop you around and make all your selections for the day.”The mother did not comment against the presence of the man dressed in a woman’s clothing, but many viewers were quick to express their opposition in the comments and across the internet.“This salon, which I have used several times, is for little girls ages 4-10. It is a delight from start to finish, and one of the cutest things to watch. A true ‘Disney magic’ immersive experience – one of the very few left at the park,” wrote writer and mother Peachy Keenan on Twitter about the video.“A man in drag is not only bizarre and inappropriate but it takes guests out of the ‘show’ – the illusion is broken,” she wrote. “Nothing matters but the agenda and your 4 yo is a pawn they are happy to mindflay.”The video is only the latest example of what appears to be Disney’s multi-year trend towards being more “inclusive.”Removing Gender at Disney?According to Disney Parks expert and DisneyDining.com writer Jill Bivins, Disney Parks has instituted a trend over the last two years to become “more inclusive.” Inclusivity became a fifth pillar of being a cast member, and the powers that be made certain changes that signaled a move in a more “gender-fluid” direction.The changes have been small but significant. First, Disney Parks eliminated gender from its announcements. Guests are no longer “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” they are now “dreamers of all ages.”Then, gender assumption was eliminated from cast member scripts, eliminating the tradition of referring to all female guests as “princesses.”Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique remained closed longer than most Disney Park establishments under the guise of COVID-related concerns. But when the powers that be finally reopened the expensive princess-making factory, it was injected with gender neutrality. All of the Fairy Godmothers were demoted to “the Fairy Godmother’s apprentices.”The footage of a grown man—mustache and all—in make-up and a dress, escorting little girls to a parlor chair has onlookers screaming, but this is just the latest manifestation of an ongoing progression happening at The Walt Disney Company.And the sighting precedes the return of “Gay Days” to Disney World and Disneyland’s decision to host its first-ever Pride Nights in Anaheim, California.‘Gay Days’ and Pride Nights at DisneyThe Walt Disney Company has a history of tolerance towards members of the LGBTQ community, and, for decades, one of the most notable examples of that tolerance is an unofficial event called “Gay Days.” Since 1991, community members have descended upon the Walt Disney World Resort in droves, making their presence known by wearing bright red.“Gay Days” is not and has never been officially sponsored by Walt Disney World, but like many other third-party organizations across the political spectrum, have chosen “The Most Magical Place On Earth” as an annual meeting spot.However, unlike other organizations, the “family-friendly” status of their “celebratory” actions in the theme parks and resort hotels—such as dressing in drag and public displays of homosexual affection—continue to be a debate.While Disney World does not officially support or sponsor the event, it has never disclosed the event dates to usual guests nor offered them special exemptions from cancellation and rescheduling fees, forcing many parents with small children into awkward situations with lots of explaining.Bivins explained that any families visiting Disney World around that time are on their own to know when to visit as the mega-resort is not required to provide refunds for any last-minute cancelations.“It’s really difficult for people who may want to avoid the event because it’s something you have to know about, and you have to do your research on in advance,” she said.Over at Disneyland, an official sponsorship—and a fair warning to all parents—has been announced for the first time.It is called “Disney After Dark: Pride Nite,” and it will be an after-hours event held on June 13 and June 15. Unlike “Gay Days” at Disney World, it will be a separate event that takes place after the park closes to the public and is accessible only by an extra ticket.According to Disney Parks Blog, the special event will include a “Pride Nite Cavalcade,” which is described as a small-scale parade featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends dressed in rainbow attire and three dance parties across the park.In April, Equality Florida issued a travel advisory for LGBTQ people visiting the Sunshine State. But on June 1, it was confirmed that the tradition would continue, despite those travel advisories. Ten thousand participants will descend onto Magic Kingdom on June 3.“Right now is not the time to run. It’s not the time to go away,” Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc., said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s time to show we are here, we are queer and we aren’t going anywhere.”Disney Fans Divided Over’ Not-So-Secret Gay Agenda’At the entrance to both the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California, there is a plaque that reads, “Here you leave the world of today, and enter a world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” That no longer appears to be the case as “real world issues” are injected into the escapism of Disney parks, as well as its television and movies.“It sort of ruins the illusion that you are in a fantasy world where nothing is ever bad,” she explained. “And that’s not to say that inclusivity is bad because it isn’t. But putting a spotlight on the controversy and hearing the reactions, both positive and negative. It brings back into focus the culture war we find ourselves in.”She elaborated further that the idea of Disney shattering its own illusion can also be seen in the controversial decision to allow cast members to have visible tattoos for the first time in the company’s history.But according to Bivins, die-hard Disney fans remain extremely divided.“You’ll have your people who say that it’s wonderful. It’s great. They should have been doing this all along. And you’ve got people who say ‘go woke, go broke. Boycott Disney,'” she said. “There’s a whole lot of polarization within the Disney community right now.”Bilvins has also noticed a political divide emerging between Disneyland-centric fans and those who frequent Disney World, reflecting, in a way, the current political divide between Florida and California.For the time being, it seems that the company has taken its side of the divide concerning “inclusivity.” Along with hosting “Gay Days” and now openly sponsoring LGBTQ+ events for guests, Disney has also sponsored pride events for its own cast members.Outside of the theme parks, the news of a “not-so-secret gay agenda” in Walt Disney’s Television Animation department was leaked. Lesbian and Gay characters and couples were given prominent roles in its latest feature films, most notably Disney/Pixar’s “Lightyear” and Walt Disney Animation’s “Strange World”. Once again, fans found themselves divided.“There are a lot of parents who did not take their children to see “Lightyear” or “Strange World” because of the LGBT inclusions in it,” she said. “And so that’s just something that many parents have tried to filter their children from.”Cast Member’s PerspectiveDisney’s own employees have also been divided on the issue as well, many of whom joined fans’ protests against the company’s policies in 2022.Nick Caturano has watched this progression evolve during his 18 years as a cast member. He explained that Disney has probably one of the most diverse workforces of any company and that it started as gradual stuff. Cast members accepted each other for who they were and treated each other well.Nobody was worried about what other people thought or what their convictions were, he said, but then the 2016 presidential election came, and with it, the worry and cancel culture.“I think that’s all kind of where it started,” Caturano said. “You’re either on the politically correct side, or you’re on the bad side, and there was a demonization of people.“It’s hard to put a total finger on it, but it’s just been kind of like this whole openness, the whole political correctness… it’s hard to say.“It’s just been evolving, and things might happen so fast now that something yesterday that might have seemed important the next day it’s old news, and that becomes normalized. And you don’t think about it. Just all of a sudden, it’s everywhere.”Disney has offered some explanations for the changes.“We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions reflected in the stories, experiences and products they encounter in their interactions with Disney. And we want our cast members – and future cast members – to feel a sense of belonging at work,” Disney said in a statement in 2021.“Our new approach provides greater flexibility with respect to forms of personal expression surrounding gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles, and costume choices; and allowing appropriate visible tattoos. We’re updating them to not only remain relevant in today’s workplace, but also enable our cast members to better express their cultures and individuality at work.”Caturano told The Epoch Times that while cast members have indulged in offerings like pride events and the liberalization of cast member appearances, the push for a more pro-LGBTQ Disney is coming from the top executives rather than a push from bottom-rung theme park workers. And Disney’s push runs parallel to the one happening across corporate America.Inclusion vs Sexual IndoctrinationSince backing and signing the Parental Rights in Education Law in 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis has continued to be outspokenly against the idea of forcing topics of sexuality and gender identity onto young children in the state, as well as protecting Floridians of all ages from being forced to accept and adhere to certain sexual ideologies.On the cast member side of things, Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E” act looks to protect people from being forced to conform to certain concepts based on race, color, sex, and national origin. However, that legislation has faced challenges in federal court.On the theme park guest side, recent legislation included Senate Bill 1438, nicknamed the “Drag Show Ban bill” by members of the media, which prohibits children from attending an “adult live performance.”What constitutes an “adult live performance” appears to be a matter up for debate as Disney parents debate definitions of “family-friendly” behavior.“The law is that you cannot have sexualized performances in front of children. And I don’t think there’s an easy way to ‘skirt’ that law,” Jeremy Redfern, spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, told The Epoch Times. “I don’t think it’s a problem at Disney World. If it was, we would have a comment.”Redfern was asked whether appearing in drag constituted a sexualized experience.“It would be on a case-by-case basis. We don’t have a blanket definition,” said Redfern. “It’s not necessarily the drag, but the intent or action behind it.”“Gay Days” often features events such as drag shows and pool parties at Disney resort hotels that are not closed off to the public, leaving blindsided vacationers exposed to a full range of non-heterosexual public displays of affection and sexuality.“They said they had nothing to do with it. But yet, families weren’t warned, and they were uncomfortable,” said Caturano.“Then, it seems like strategically there’s been a lot of things to help desensitize, normalize things … it’s been little by little you’ve seen where they push the envelope, and then there’s outrage and people step back, and then they quiet for a little bit, and then they push even harder,” he said.Bivins added further on the dilemma some unwitting visitors face on such days.“It becomes difficult at events like Gay Days, where you can’t tell—if you’ve planned a trip, there’s no shelter from it,” Bivins said, explaining the lingering issue expressed by many of her readers. “And … there’s the flip side where there are plenty of people who openly are supportive of it and celebrating it and are just really, really excited about it.“It is extremely divided, and the entire country right now is just divided into either a red or a blue, and there’s no purple anymore.”Hope for Disney’s Future?As the debates wage on, the question of Disney’s future remains unanswered.Disney’s stock price continues to deteriorate, and its most “woke” movies yet have been box office bombs, with several countries refusing to screen the films entirely, although there is no official confirmation that there is an official correlation between the decrease in stock price and the increase in pro-LGBTQ practices.Meanwhile, Caturano is unsure that protective legislation and financial hardships will help change things around, as not just Disney but seemingly all of corporate America are pushing “woke” ideologies.“I commend the governor for all the battles he’s waged on the wokeness and on the ESG, at least, bringing awareness to it. And he’s trying to throw solutions at it and hold the line. But I just don’t know … because Disney has sent the signal—these things are okay. And there’s so many cultural pressures now on young people that I don’t know what that’s going to look like. And I don’t know their financial pullback is what’s going to do it.”Still, he remains hopeful.“I think we love Disney. I certainly have loved it. I love spending time with my family. They’re nothing like it. You know, I talked to so many people that are so disturbed … but they always talk about the memories they’ve made with their families. And it’s hard to hard to give up,” Caturano said.He spoke of possible measures to influence Disney to return to what it once offered, such as pushback from activist investors and those with financial clout.“There’s a lot of people on the inside,” he added. “I know plenty of people that talk to me. If all their voices start to speak up from the inside and the outside.”Disney did not respond to a request for comment.https://www.theepochtimes.com/in-depth-disneys-lgbtq-sponsorship-continues-to-bolden-face-criticism_5302771.html