Come on Disney, let go of Elsa’s heterosexuality. After all, love is an open door.
Fans of Disney’s Frozen are calling for the blockbuster’s heroine Elsa to be given a girlfriend in the film’s highly-anticipated sequel.
The 2013 animated film, which tells the story of Princess Elsa’s struggle to master her magical powers, was the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
It has been hailed for its progressiveness for eschewing the traditional romantic trope of the prince saving the princess in favour of sisterly devotion.
Now, fans of the musical have a request for Frozen 2 – #GiveElsaAGirlfriend.
It began when teenager Alexis Isabel Moncada tweeted on Sunday, ”I hope Disney makes Elsa a lesbian princess imagine how iconic that would be.”
She followed with “Dear @Disney, #GiveElsaAGirlfriend.”
Her tweets have since been retweeted over 2,000 times with #GiveElsaAGirlfriend trending globally and sparking discussion about the inclusiveness of Disney films.
GLAAD recently criticised Disney for flunking their annual Studio Responsibility Index that measures LGBT representation in television and film. Walt Disney studios, which owns the Star Wars and Marvel franchise, released 11 movies in 2015, none of which contained any LGBT characters.
Many LGBT supporters have interpreted Elsa’s struggle of accepting her ice powers as a metaphor for accepting her sexuality, and rank the film’s Academy Award-winning showstopper Let It Go at the same level of Diana Ross’s I’m Coming Out for coming out anthems.
According to some fans, Elsa’s lack of a heterosexual romantic partner in the film is proof of her sexuality. The film’s romantic subplot instead focused on Elsa’s sister, Princess Anna, and Kristoff.
At the time of its release, Frozen was viewed by some conservatives as a vehicle for the “gay agenda,” with a pastor denouncing it as “very evil” on a Christian radio show in Colorado.
However this criticism wasn’t due to the subtext of Elsa’s sexuality, but because of a brief cutaway to a father and children in a sauna. In case you blinked and missed that scene, it takes place when Anna visits Wandering Oaken Trading Post and Sauna. Many viewers feel it’s implied the father in the sauna is Oaken’s same-sex partner, as Oaken calls, “Hello, family!” and waves at them.
While Moncada welcomed that brief moment of inclusiveness, she feels Disney can do more.
“Growing up, I never saw a princess fall in love with another princess – and neither have girls growing up right now,” she wrote at MTV.
“That is why Elsa is so much more than a poster image… Giving young girls the chance to understand that a princess can love another princess the same way Cinderella loved her Prince Charming is vital to the development. No one deserves to feel isolated and confused about who they are.”
Time will tell whether Disney will listen to fans and make Elsa its first openly queer heroine.
Frozen 2 is slated for release before 2018.