Conservatives on social media engaged in their favorite June activity: losing their minds over a “Sesame Street” Pride Month post that celebrated the LGBTQ+ community. However, many users were quick to rebuke the hateful rhetoric plastered all over X.
“Happy #PrideMonth from Sesame Street! Join us in celebrating and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ members of our community,” the official “Sesame Street” X account posted on Monday. It didn’t take long for MAGA-adjacent and conservative figures to sound off in the comments of the PBS show’s post, accusing the program of grooming and sexualizing children.
Turning Point USA commented, “This is literally a show meant for young children.” Josh Howerton added, “Guys, there is no universe in which it makes sense to message to children about sexual desires, regardless of worldview. Stop and think about what you’re doing.” Brilyn Hollyhand wrote, “There’s no scenario where Elmo telling kids to follow their sexual desires isn’t strategic grooming from activist cosplaying as educators. Gross.”
These kinds of accusations are nothing new; in fact, they have been used to demonize members of the LGBTQ+ community for decades. A 2022 report from the Human Rights Campaign found that the anti-LGBTQ+ grooming narrative had soared across all social media platforms following the passage of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The report revealed that the average number of tweets per day using slurs such as ‘groomer’ and ‘pedophile’ in relation to LGBTQ+ people surged by 406% in the month after the Florida bill was passed, resulting in a sharp spike in online homophobia and transphobia that social media platforms not only failed to crack down on, but also profited from.
These critics were clearly ignorant of the fact that there are millions of LGBTQ+ children, and there was nothing inherently sexual about making them feel seen in a world that’s becoming increasingly hostile towards them. That said, many users rebuked the hateful posts, with some pointing out that conservatives had zero issue with religious institutions pushing their views on children. Others noted that conservatives never seemed to speak up when moderately sexual themes in children’s media featured heterosexual couples.
One user commented, “Y’all literally go to schools and indoctrinate students on behalf of the Republican Party and Bible. You’ve had speakers tell young girls they should be having babies and submit to husbands they don’t have. Not to mention you shill for an administration covering up child abuse.” Another user posted images of Disney movies with romantic scenes, asking, “These are literally movies meant for young children.”
A supporter wrote, “Sesame street teaches kids to love your neighbor no matter race, gender, sexuality, job, or background. If anyone teaches kids to be good people it's sesame street and they will stay doing that.” Another user stated, “The question hateful people keep asking: Why is a children’s show celebrating Pride!? Because LGBTQ+ people include children too. And they also include families with children. Is that really so hard to understand!?”
One person noted, “U are all vile. That show supports community so that children of gay and lesbian parents feel supported. You all know that but you’d rather divide than unite.” However, not all responses were supportive; Geoff the Chef wrote, “Your pedo party are the threat we must protect children from. By any means necessary.”
A gay man shared his personal experience: “Because children can be gay. I was in 1st grade when I had my first crush on boy. It would have been lovely to see my favorite shows showing acceptance… but sadly in the 90s the opposite was true… whenever gays were on tv they were made fun of or discriminated against. Sad.” Another user pointed out, “They literally posted the same image from 2 years ago...and you're still crashing out on it. Hilarious.”
Finally, one comment summed up the sentiment: “Conservatives still dumb enough to not believe that gay people were all children once and that representation and acceptance fucking mattered to them.”
