Beefcake, gay subtexts, and queer representation in mass media from the 1950s to the present
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Jan 27, 2014
Sanjay and Craig: A Boy and His Snake
I heard that Maulik Pancholy, previously on Weeds and now the voice artist for Nickelodeon's Sanjay and Craig (2013-14), is gay, and recently got engaged to long-time partner Ryan Corvaia. So I watched some episodes to see if there were any gay subtexts.
It's a "my secret" series about an ordinary boy, Sanjay (who is of South Asian ancestry), and his best friend Craig, a talking snake (Chris Hardwick, left, who looks presentable in a speedo). A master of disguise, Craig often masquerades as a human boy.
Other recurring characters include parents, friends, bullies, a girl who has an unrequited crush on Sanjay, and a girl on whom he has an unrequited crush.
Any gay subtexts? A few
They idolize a washed-up action hero named Remington Tufflips.
They try to save their friend Hector from wolves.
They drool with lust over the ginormous calves of an overdeveloped police officer, and even invent a "mirror on the shoe" device to spy on him better:
Sanjay: Those calves are the best!
Craig: Glorious!
And gender ambiguity:
Snake-hating neighbor Mr. Noodman is feminine-coded.
Craig has many feminine mannerisms.
Craig masquerades as a girl to enter a beauty pageant, and loves his new role.
Sanjay believes that he is pregnant.
Nothing spectacular, but Nickelodeon animation has always had a pitiful gay-subtext record, especially when compared to the Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. This is a good start.
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