WSJ -- Something About 'SpongeBob' Whispers 'Gay' to Many Men.
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October 8, 2002
Something About 'SpongeBob' Whispers 'Gay' to Many Men
By SALLY BEATTY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
He lives in a pineapple under the sea, in a town called
Bikini Bottom. His best friend is an exuberant pink
starfish named Patrick. His name is SpongeBob
SquarePants, the absorbent yellow star of the most
highly rated kids show on TV.
SpongeBob, which first appeared in July 1999 and
currently runs several times daily on Viacom Inc.'s
Nickelodeon cable TV channel, is also the biggest
childrens' phenomenon to capture the imagination of
gay men since the purple Teletubby named Tinky
Winky started carrying a purse.
At Roger & Dave, a novelty shop frequented by gay
customers in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood,
SpongeBob plush toys, lunch boxes and key chains are
stacked next to X-rated dolls, vintage Wonder Woman
figures and Wizard of Oz coffee mugs. Co-owner
Roger Roth says SpongeBob is the single most popular
property he carries. Pointing to a chunky SpongeBob
toy that says "Go SpongeBob, go SpongeBob, go self!"
when you squeeze its hand, Mr. Roth says, "I've had to
reorder this more times than I can count." In Atlanta,
gay men are big buyers of SpongeBob key chains and
bobblehead dolls at vintage clothing and gift store
Junkyard Daughter, says saleswoman Lael Pastori.
Early in September on NBC's "Late Night With Conan
O'Brien," Mr. O'Brien asked Tom Kenny, the comic
who is the voice of SpongeBob, to address the
"controversy" about one of SpongeBob's pals, a grumpy
squid named Squidward who speaks in a voice some
find reminiscent of Paul Lynde, the late comic actor
who specialized in gay double-entendre on "Hollywood Squares."
"Whether he's intended to be a gay character or not, that's the question people are asking," responded Mr.
Kenny. Describing Squidward as a fussbudget who likes bubble bath and classical music, Mr. Kenny ultimately
dodged the question. "It's never been addressed by us on the show," he said, adding with a wink that besides,
"all the main characters are hiding horrible secrets of their own."
Nickelodeon says SpongeBob is aimed at kids two to 11 years old, and isn't intended to appeal to homosexuals.
But it says the show attracts more adults than any other show on its lineup. It has shown episodes as late as
11:30 at night, and Viacom's MTV has run it as late as 11:00 p.m., specifically to reach older viewers.
According to Nielsen Media Research, about 22% of "SpongeBob's" regular audience is 18 to 49 years old.
The show is creating a merchandising bonanza, with SpongeBob paper towels, macaroni-and-cheese dinners
and more.
Gay fans of SpongeBob say they're hooked on SpongeBob's sunny optimism, weird psychedelic world and
peculiar humor. "There is this innocence," says Alex Fung, a 37-year-old clothing designer living in New York.
"He's not very masculine for a male character. And he's soft."
SpongeBob and his pals are part of a long tradition of children's cartoon
characters with camp resonance. Scooby Doo's Thelma, the Powerpuff
Girls, Peppermint Patty, and even Betty Boop -- all have that certain
something. For some gay men, these over-the-top characters are
innocent in-jokes borrowed from the mainstream media from right
under the noses of clueless straight people.
In January, "Ernest and Bertram," an eight-minute movie about a gay
couple based on the "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie, was a
hit at the Sundance Film Festival. That prompted Sesame Workshop to
send the L.A. filmmaker, Peter Spears, a lawyer's letter asking him to
cease and desist showing the film. He complied. In a statement, Ellen
Lewis, a spokeswoman for Sesame Street, adds that Bert and Ernie "do
not a portray a gay couple, and there are no plans for them to do so in
the future. They are puppets, not humans."
Mr. Fung, the clothing designer, says speculation about the nature of Bert and Ernie's relationship is natural --
just as the talk about SpongeBob and Patrick is. "They're symbolic," says Mr. Fung. "You have two male
characters bonding as friends." Growing up gay, he says, "you identify with that."
The show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, who makes a point of saying at the start of an interview that he isn't
gay, says there is no intent to portray SpongeBob or his pals as homosexuals. But Mr. Hillenburg says he
understands why many gay people relate to the show. "I do think that the attitude of the show is about
tolerance," says Mr. Hillenburg. "Everybody is different, and the show embraces that. The character
SpongeBob is an oddball. He's kind of weird, but he's kind of special." Although SpongeBob and his pals are all
very different from one another, "they get along," says Mr. Hillenburg. "No one is shut out." Says Mr.
Hillenburg: "I always think of them as being somewhat asexual."
SpongeBob and Patrick don't live together, but it's not uncommon to see them holding hands. The two hope
someday to grow up to be superheroes, and their favorite show is an imaginary TV program called "The
Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy."
Ryan Breneman, 36, a fan who works in a clothing store on Christopher Street in New York's Greenwich
Village, says gay men have good reason to read into mainstream cultural symbols whatever they like. "When
you grow up without your own culture, you have to take things from the culture and make them your own,"
he says.
Mr. Fung says the penchant for reading gay themes into children's cartoons has something to do with growing
up gay. "Your family wouldn't let you play with a Barbie doll, and now that you have the means, you go out
and buy it for yourself," he says.
Other men say they can relate to the way SpongeBob's sunny attitude often sparks resentment from his fellow
underwater creatures. Jot McCloud, a 28-year-old retail consultant, says a good example is the sometimes
hostile attitude of Mr. Krabs, the proprietor of the local hangout, the Krusty Krab, toward SpongeBob, who
works there as a fry cook. Mr. Krabs "doesn't like to be around SpongeBob because SpongeBob's so
flamboyant and outgoing," says Mr. McCloud. The interaction is "like a straight person who for whatever
reason is thrown into a situation where they are around a gay person and they don't have that comfort level."
Write to Sally Beatty at sally.beatty@wsj.com
Updated October 8, 2002
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