Fans defend Disney+'s Baymax episode depicting Trans character buying menstrual pads

A new episode of the Disney+ series 'Baymax!' showed a Trans character giving advice to the main hero on what menstrual products to buy.

Top News . Written by Beatrice Fanucci.

A scene from series Baymax!, where a Trans character gives advice on menstrual pads.
Image: Via Twitter - @Frankytheshorty

An episode of the new Disney+ series Baymax! sparked controversy on the internet for showing a Trans character buying menstrual pads and giving advice to the hero who was going to purchase some.

While some have taken this opportunity to call Disney “evil” and denounce a supposed “plan to re-engineer the discourse around kids and sexuality”, fans defended this display of inclusivity and diversity in the series.

Based on the big soft robot from the animated feature film Big Hero 6, Baymax! is a new series for kids released on Disney+ which follows the inflatable healthcare hero’s adventures. The third episode of the series shows Sofia, one of the young protagonists, dealing with her first period and the kind robot is thus sent on an errand to buy menstrual pads.

While at the store, the protagonist of Baymax! asks for advice and one of the people that joins in with a suggestion is a transmasculine character wearing a T-shirt in the colours of the Trans flag. It is such an important moment of inclusivity and education, as not only does the scene provide relevant information on sexual health topics like periods and puberty, but it also clearly displays that cisgender women are not the only ones who menstruate.

Unsurprisingly, some didn’t take it with the same spirit. The scene sparked controversy online even before the episode was released, when conservative writer Christopher Rufo shared leaked footage of the episode on Twitter, describing it with the following words: “I’ve obtained leaked video from Disney’s upcoming show “Baymax,” which promotes the transgender flag and the idea that men can have periods to children as young as two years old”.

He then also added: “It’s all part of Disney’s plan to re-engineer the discourse around kids and sexuality”. Others also criticised the episode, calling it “straight up demonic” and giving out warnings about Disney going from “being family-friendly to being outright evil”.

Despite this pushback, many fans of Baymax! defended this display of much-needed representation, pointing out how it makes complete sense to include a Trans character buying pads in an episode about the realities of menstruation, since many Trans individuals experience periods.

This wasn’t the first instance in which the show demonstrated its commitment to inclusivity and the portrayal of diversity, as in another episode the white soft robot convinces two young men to go out together by analysing their physical response to the attraction they feel for each other.

As a matter of fact, in the past year, Disney has taken baby steps towards more inclusive representation in their series and movies with the releases of Turning Red, about having periods, and Lightyear, which showed a kiss between two married women that prompted 14 countries to ban the film altogether. Since all of these examples have infuriated various conservative viewers, they might be on the right track.

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