To Read, To Think

Velma Was Gay?

No, she was a cartoon

I find Twitter awkward to use, but I do have accounts. I have some friends on Twitter so I try to keep up with it. Not very good at it. In their infinite wisdom, Twitter likes to send me random updates from people I don’t know. I guess they feel I might enjoy that person or page because it fits (however loosely)into the interests I chose when I set up my account. Recently one of those was from an account that decided to tell us that Velma from Scooby Doo cartoon tv show was gay and if “you didn’t know that wait until you find out why Shaggy and Scooby ate so many Scooby Snacks.” There were a lot of likes, retweets, and comments. I did not comment because really it was meant to be a trigger for those who are anti-gay and an affirmation for those who were pro. Yet I did have some thoughts.

My first thought was to wonder if he knew that no one of the characters on Scooby-Doo was real. Adding personality traits to an animated cartoon that fits your narrative is relatively easy. I mean, Casper the Friendly ghost had Angelman Syndrome and it is probably why he is a ghost. Angelman Syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes delayed development, problems with speech and balance, intellectual disability, and, sometimes, seizures. People with Angelman syndrome often smile and laugh frequently, and have happy, excitable personalities. Right? Or not. Casper is a made-up character that was for the entertainment of children, a platform for advertising to children, and a money maker for the network.

The second thought was the poor guy probably did no research and assumed Velma was gay because of the way she talked and dressed. He would be so wrong though. Just a quick search would tell him that Scooby Doo characters were not just based but duplicates of characters from a very popular show in the 50’s called The Many Loves of Dobie Gillies. On both shows, there is a blond all-American athletic boy, a brainy, petite brunette, a beautiful, popular girl, and a lazy, goatee’d beatnik who says “like” and “man” a lot.

Worrying about the sexuality of any of the characters in either show wasn’t really a thing. As matter of fact, looking for the sexuality of made-up characters might not be healthy and a weird way to justify your own issues. I mean cartoons can’t really debate you now can they? Made-up people don’t get to have an opinion. So super easy to say whatever you want with impunity. Well, maybe not impunity, but without having an actual discussion that doesn’t end up sounding quite silly. The people you speak of, after all, are not real.