'Frozen 2': Should Elsa really be gay for more inclusivity and LGBTQ representation among Disney princesses?
"Elsa is gay. I will fight you on this." You may stumble upon many such tweets by Disney fans as they eagerly wait to see the Snow Queen in 'Frozen II'. Blame it on the rumor that led fans into believing that the new movie might introduce Elsa's girlfriend, opening doors for Disney's first LGBTQ princess. "Can’t wait to see if Elsa will get a girlfriend, chances are 50:50 at this point really," another fan tweeted. The protest became strong with the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend.
Word only grew louder when MTV contributor Alexis Isabel Moncada wrote an open letter in the hopes that Elsa would come out of the closet in the second movie. "I want young girls to understand that a princess can love another princess," Moncada wrote. "The entertainment industry has given us girls who have fallen in love with beasts, ogres who fall for humans and even grown women who love bees. But we’ve never been able to see the purity in a queer relationship."
The call for proper onscreen diversity and inclusion has been a debate for many years now and the move might even have a profound effect, but there is a bigger question of the hour. Must every single woman be slotted into the gay category, just because she doesn't have any interest in men?
Idina Menzel, who voices Elsa in the film, dashed hopes when she subtly denied a gay storyline. "Elsa’s never been focused on romantic love in her life," she told Hollywood Life. "She’s just always on this search for who she is as a person and her finding this love for herself. The whole movie, in fact, we concentrate on this unconditional love between sisters and family and that’s what we’re so proud of that it’s not based on that (romantic love). So to go to that place…it’s not to say they won’t or that it will never happen or that you’re not seeing some undercurrent of something…she’s just really not in that place right now."
Kristen Bell, who voices Anna, also opened up and said, "Perhaps a more important message is to this broader audience is ‘Oh you don’t need to worry about who Elsa’s going to choose, cause that’s up to her." There’s also another guy character so Elsa can choose whatever she wants to choose. The better, broader message is that’s not our concern, that Elsa’s choice and she’ll make it when she’s ready. But it’s not going to affect us."
Several other fans joined in as they posted why being gay or straight doesn't matter. "Seeing so many 20+-year-old people pissed that Elsa isn't gay. 1) sexuality doesn't make a good story and 2) it's for kids, ya know the little people who like a talking sponge, they don't care about sexuality and genders as long as there is music and color," one fan penned down, and another wrote, "All these people who want Elsa to be gay and have a love interest, it’s quite annoying not going to lie. The poor girl is still suffering from her past, struggling with her powers and has really bad shyness and all people can think about is giving her a relationship."
Quashing all rumors, co-directed Jennifer Lee revealed in a roundtable discussion at Walt Disney Animation Studio in Burbank that there is no gay storyline in 'Frozen 2' and the journey of their characters had been planned when the first installment was being made. "One thing that came out clear was that she wasn’t ready for a relationship at all. She was still getting used to the fact that people were accepting her and she still had so many questions about her powers. The big thing with this film is that this woman is carrying the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders and is wrestling with this extraordinary power. It was this feeling on which she is focusing on and that is a lot."
Whether or not Elsa turns out to be gay, she will remain a powerful single woman taking on the world alone, with the magic of her icy powers. Isn't that enough? Giving Elsa a girlfriend doesn't put homosexuality on a pedestal. Accepting her sexual preference, no matter what it turns out to be, is the only answer to the representation of more inclusivity and freedom on celluloid in the future.