Two mummies: 'Peppa Pig' introduces first same-sex couple in show's history
Love wins on popular kid's show Peppa Pig as the series featured a same-sex couple—two lesbian polar bears—for the first time in the show's history.
The LGBTQ+ couple was introduced in an episode titled "Families." Penny the Polar Bear put up a picture of her family on the classroom wall as the other students did.
When it was her time to describe her parents, Penny told the class about her two mothers: "One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti." After class, her mothers come to pick Penny up.
In 2019, a petition, with nearly 25,000 signatures, made the rounds as fans called on the show to feature same-sex parents.
"Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal," the petition read.
"This means that children of same-sex parents may feel alienated by Peppa Pig, and that other children may be more likely to bully them, simply through ignorance."
On Twitter, Peppa Pig received praise for its including an LGBTQ+ family in the show.
PEPPA PIG HAS DONE MORE FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY THAN DREAM WILL EVER https://t.co/Cu2pxoGCFM
— stella (@girldumbass420) September 8, 2022
not to be a peppa pig acc but THEY LOOK SO CUTE 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ec5jtqV6s7
— cindy 💗 (@seungjinseason) September 8, 2022
So wonderful to see Penny Polar Bear arrive in Peppa Pig with her two mummies. This is heartwarming and sweet and it’s making those hate mongers just steam so welcome Penny and other children with two mummies or two daddies or a mummy and daddy or whatever #BeProud pic.twitter.com/J46ChebdpL
— Mark D He/Him/They (@MarkDaleBas) September 7, 2022
Peppa Pig started airing in 2004 and has since become a cultural phenomenon broadcasted in over 180 countries.
LGBTQ+ characters have had a hard time finding their way on shows and films created for children. Recently, Lightyear was banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and more countries because it featured a same-sex kiss.