Is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? Here's what character creator Stephen Hillenburg had to say
SpongeBob SquarePants, the animated sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, has been part of television for years now entertaining many with his shenanigans. The long-running animated comedy tv series was created by Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon and follows the sponge and his other aquatic friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. With the character now infused in almost every kid's vocabulary growing up, adults watching the show began to wonder if the character was part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Even experts had thoughts on the matter.
Jeffery P. Dennis, a Queer theorist and the author of the journal article 'Queertoons' said that while SpongeBob and Sandy are not in love, he did believe that SpongeBob and Patrick were "paired with arguably erotic intensity." In fact, a Ukrainian website called Family Under the Protection of the Holy Virgin said the spongy character promotes homosexuality. So what's really true? Read on the find out what is known about the comedic character's sexuality.
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Is Spongebob gay?
While rumors and theories on SpongeBob's sexuality swirled, there was no actual hint of confirmation until the year 2020, when Nickelodeon's official Twitter ended up posting an image of the Sponge in rainbow colors, adding a text that at the time celebrated the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month. Of course, this didn't prove anything as the network or the creator of the character didn't come forward and say anything about SpongeBob's sexual orientation, but many took to social media asserting that their suspicions that SpongeBob was gay. The absorbent, yellow and porous character is obviously aimed at children, and for a long time, the sexuality of SpongeBob didn't take center stage. But, did Nickelodeon hint at something when they posted the picture?
Turns out that it doesn't matter what the network intended because many saw the character being an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community as a confirmation that he is gay – they took the tweet by Nickelodeon as SpongeBob coming out.
The network's tweet read, "Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month," which promptly saw the hashtag #SpongeBobIsGay trending.
Celebrating #Pride with the LGBTQ+ community and their allies this month and every month 🌈
— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) June 13, 2020
(🎨: by @ramzymasri) pic.twitter.com/pENmTaQB0h
What did Hillenburg have to say?
Interestingly enough back in 2005, Hillenburg spoke about SpongeBob saying that he didn't intend for Patrick and SpongeBob to be gay. "I consider them to be almost asexual. We’re just trying to be funny and this has got nothing to do with the show.” So if we're going by his statement, then well, the sponge isn't gay, he's asexual. Even though Hillenburg had died in 2018 after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), people still continue to debate on his iconic character's sexuality.
Either way, 'SpongeBob SquarePants' is loved by many and continues to be part of tv's most celebrated TV shows.
There are two SpongeBob releases this month on Paramount+, catch 'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run' on March 4, 2021, on Paramount+ and catch 'Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years' on March 4, 2021. The first six episodes of the animated comedy will be available on Paramount+ on Thursday, March 4. The remaining seven episodes of the series will arrive later, the date is yet to be revealed.