The Teletubbies
William Michael Sponheimer
SYP 3630
Writing Assignment One
Are the Teletubbies Gay In Diguise? The PBS television show, “The Teletubbies” has forever been a favorite of millions of young children all over the world for many years. The four main characters, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po, have amused and warmed the hearts of everyone who watches. When it comes to the playful manner of these characters, is there more to it than meets the eye? The answer to that will probably surprise most. According to Reverend Jerry Falwell, “the purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky, was promoting a gay lifestyle to children (Teletubbies article).” With the rising tension in the United States of America and across the globe about the growth of homosexual culture merging with the cultural norms that we are accustomed to as a society, something like this would spread like wildfire across media outlets and that’s exactly what happened. Most people think that pop culture has a firm control on society and that things like this need to be stopped before our culture is completely destroyed but this issue simply reflects the values and meanings of an active and democratic culture. Revered Jerry Falwell claims, “Further evidence that the creators of the series intend for Tinky Winky to be a gay role model have surfaced. He is purple – the gay pride color and his antenna is shaped like a triangle- the gay pride symbol (Teletubbies article).” A lot of people will see these comments and automatically assume that this man is insane because it is simply just a children’s show but due to the country we live in where there is freedom of belief, speech, and religion, situations like these become ever more increasing in our society. Jerry Falwell is a proud member of the Baptist religion and being gay is condemned upon. In their beliefs against homosexuality and the “hints” he has concluded about Tinky Winky of representing as a gay role model in the show, Mr.Falwell is simply
SYP 3630
Writing Assignment One
Are the Teletubbies Gay In Diguise? The PBS television show, “The Teletubbies” has forever been a favorite of millions of young children all over the world for many years. The four main characters, Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po, have amused and warmed the hearts of everyone who watches. When it comes to the playful manner of these characters, is there more to it than meets the eye? The answer to that will probably surprise most. According to Reverend Jerry Falwell, “the purple Teletubby, Tinky Winky, was promoting a gay lifestyle to children (Teletubbies article).” With the rising tension in the United States of America and across the globe about the growth of homosexual culture merging with the cultural norms that we are accustomed to as a society, something like this would spread like wildfire across media outlets and that’s exactly what happened. Most people think that pop culture has a firm control on society and that things like this need to be stopped before our culture is completely destroyed but this issue simply reflects the values and meanings of an active and democratic culture. Revered Jerry Falwell claims, “Further evidence that the creators of the series intend for Tinky Winky to be a gay role model have surfaced. He is purple – the gay pride color and his antenna is shaped like a triangle- the gay pride symbol (Teletubbies article).” A lot of people will see these comments and automatically assume that this man is insane because it is simply just a children’s show but due to the country we live in where there is freedom of belief, speech, and religion, situations like these become ever more increasing in our society. Jerry Falwell is a proud member of the Baptist religion and being gay is condemned upon. In their beliefs against homosexuality and the “hints” he has concluded about Tinky Winky of representing as a gay role model in the show, Mr.Falwell is simply