In response to Disney’s efforts to indoctrinate young children with radical LGBTQ ideology, Republicans are calling for updates to America’s TV ratings systems to protect children from potentially harmful content expected to be infused into children’s entertainment.
Republican senators Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) asked Charles Rivkin, chairman of the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, to update TV Parental Guidelines because “topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children’s programming” in a letter dated May 4, The Epoch Times reported.
The letter continues,
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 enabled greater parental choice in television programming. In establishing this law, Congress found that “studies indicate that children are affected by the pervasiveness and casual treatment of sexual material on television, eroding the ability of parents to develop responsible attitudes and behavior in their children.” The law requires TV manufacturers to establish a technology that would allow blocking of programs based on category ratings in its set receivers. In order for the technology, known as the V-Chip, to fulfill its purpose, Congress also incentivized the creation of TV parental guidelines as well as the creation of the Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board. The law was fully implemented allowing parents to easily block violent, sexual, or other programming that they believe may irrevocably interfere with their child’s emotional and psychological development…. As parents, we found this tool can be valuable in assisting us in identifying a healthy exposure of content for our children. The need for TV Parental Guidelines continues to this day.
The senators cite a leaked video of Karey Burke, president of Disney’s general entertainment content, admitting at a Disney “all-hands” meeting that she wants to inject “many, many, many LGBTQIA+ characters in our stories.”
Other videos taken from the same meeting and posted by journalist Christopher F. Rufo include Disney executive producer Latoya Raveneau openly talking about her “not-so-secret gay agenda” and Disney production coordinator Allen March asserting his team was committed to “exploring queer stories” and created a “tracker” to confirm that they are creating enough “gender nonconforming characters,” “canonical trans characters,” and “canonical bisexual characters.” In yet another video, Disney’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager Vivian Ware announced that the theme parks would be eliminating the words “ladies,” “gentlemen,” “boys,” and “girls” from use to avoid alienating transgender children.
In the letter to Rivkin, the senators draw attention to the media’s sensationalization of gender dysphoria, which is both harmful to children and “destabilizes and damages parental rights.”
Also noting The Walt Disney Company’s clear opposition to parental rights underscored by the company’s stance on Florida’s new education law, the senators ask the Motion Picture Board to help preserve parental abilities to protect their children and “be informed about mature content before it is displayed to their children.”
The letter goes on to cite the harmful effects sexually related content has on children audiences, as well as the young actors who portray the content.
“A former creator of Disney children’s content recently published an article acknowledging that every children’s TV writer knows to be careful about ‘modeling behavior’ as children will often imitate what is projected through the TV scripts, especially preschoolers,” the letter states. “Sexually-related content not only negatively influences and exploits its young audiences, but also harms child actors. Time and again, child actors from major children’s TV channels, including Disney, have revealed trauma from being sexualized at an early age. Considering that the cognitive markers of sexual desire emerge during puberty when adolescents undergo natural hormonal and physiological changes, it is wholly inappropriate to display this content in a TV-Y7 category and for other young audiences.”
The letter asks the Board to review the request and reply by May 18. The senators also requested a briefing with members of the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board.
The Kansas City Star reports the board is currently reviewing the letter.
