The Loud House is a show that has become well-known for, as of the writing of this article, its seven confirmed LGBTQIA+ characters, including the primary character Luna Loud, the third eldest sibling of the Loud family, who has been dating another schoolmate Sam Sharp since the season 2 episode "Racing Hearts" and it wasn't until a fifth season episode "Undercover Mom" that she used the word "girlfriend" to describe them.
There was also a scene from a first season episode called "Study Muffin", in which the main character, Lincoln Loud gets a tutor after his mathematics performance has suffered. Hugh is shown to be quite good-looking by all of Lincoln's sisters, including Luna Loud as shown in the image below, where Luna is blushing and sticking her tongue out to symbolize that she finds the male tutor attractive. This whole episode took place before "L is for Love" and "Racing Hearts".
But recently, The Loud House showrunner Kevin Sullivan mentioned in an interview with Insider, that Luna Loud is lesbian instead, despite having the evidence in the "Study Muffin" episode that she is indeed attractive to the male gender.
Likely without any knowledge of it beforehand, certain fans have accused Sullivan of "bisexual erasure" and of accidentally implying that Hugh is so good-looking that he has the ability to turn lesbians heterosexual, therefore implying that homosexuality is a choice, which is the same harmful rhetoric of gay conversion therapy. Whether or not Sullivan knows about this remains to be seen as he has not commented on it, but these implications heavily go against The Loud House's diverse reputation.
Sullivan went on to further comment that he considered in question from "Study Muffin" is non-canonical, even though that statement could be perceived as a lie since it happened on an actual episode that has aired on Nickelodeon hundreds of times, whereas the statement could've had more credence if it was showcased in either the subsequent graphic novels or podcast or other forms of The Loud House media that the show puts out.
In this writer's opinion, while I understand where Sullivan is coming from and applaud his efforts to showcase the normalization of LGBTQIA+ individuals, it is quite baffling as to why Sullivan would outright imply a certain sexual orientation that does not reflect the show's past. In my mind, Luna Loud is bisexual and there is nothing wrong with that and I think Kevin Sullivan should just accept it and be okay with that fact. There is nothing ethically wrong with that. Regardless of this, I do not wish malice or harmful intent on him and I hope he is able to understand how important your words are and your responsibility as a showrunner.
The Loud House is owned by Nickelodeon.
Comments
Post a Comment