As the social distancing restrictions due to COVID-19 continue to confine us to our homes, parents, in their desire (or need) for some breathing space, will probably be tempted to rely heavily on film and television carriers for the entertainment of their children.

But not so fast, warns Johnathon van Maren in an April 17 LifeSiteNews article in which he discusses the steady infiltration of LGBT content into children’s entertainment over the years.

He cautions that gone are the days when parents could rest assured that family movies and children’s cartoons would reflect their own values, and points out that, in general, the mainstream entertainment industry not only promotes non-Christian values, but is vigorously antagonistic towards Christianity.

Disney, for example, long regarded as a Mecca of family entertainment, released in March this year an animated movie with an openly homosexual character, Onward, and is due to release Jungle Cruise, a “family movie” also with an openly homosexual character, in July. Van Maren points out that Disney has been “flirting with the LGBT movement” for years.

Joseph Sciambra, in an April 27, 2018 LifeSiteNews article, provides an insightful trajectory of Disney’s promotion of the LGBT agenda. From the accommodation of ‘Gay Days’ at their theme parks since 1991, and the sale of ‘Pride’ products, Disney has consistently injected explicit homosexuality into their children’s television programming, in such shows as The Fosters, Good Luck Charlie, and Gravity Falls.

Sciambra observed that several former Disney child stars, including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, “have grown up to become ‘gay icons’ and outspoken LGBT advocates.”

In 2015, the Walt Disney Company was one of 349 corporations to urge the US Supreme Court to strike down all state bans on same-sex marriage.

Just last month Doug Mainwaring brought to our attention (LifeSiteNews, April 14) the fact that Disney, in a reboot of its Duck Tales, has introduced a male couple as the parents of two young girls, one of whom is adopted.

He reveals the mindset of co-executive producer and story editor, Frank Angones, who indicated in a Tumblr blog post his regret that gay representation on the show isn’t centre stage because the show is rooted in 1980s characters involved in “heteronormative romances”. Angones indicated that he is “dedicated to … finding new opportunities for three-dimensional representation, on this show and the next and the next.”

Disney is not the only network to promote the LGBT agenda, van Maren points out in his April 17 article. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a prominent provider of educational television programming in the United States, has determined to expose children to LGBT themes through their shows.

So, Arthur, the cartoon series, features a gay wedding, Clifford the Big Red Dog features lesbian moms, and Cinderella features cross-dresser and LGBT activist Billy Porter as the Fairy Godmother.

Porter is also set to make a guest appearance on the popular Sesame Street, another PBS distribution that has promoted the LGBT agenda in the past, according to Calvin Freiburger in a January 30 LifeSiteNews article.

Van Maren advises parents that it is not only so-called “adult entertainment” from which they must shield their children. They must educate themselves about the content and trend towards the sexualisation of all children’s entertainment, educational or otherwise, and they must be very careful about which storytellers they are giving access to their children.

A monthly column by the Emmanuel Community: 46 Rosalino Street, Woodbrook.Tel:628-1064; emmancommtt@gmail.com