Alex Russo in “Wizards of Waverly”.

As a kid, we all have things we love and are passionate about. For some of us, it’s sports, for others, it’s dinosaurs, for others, it’s princesses. For me, it was Selena Gomez as Alex Russo in “Wizards of Waverly Place”. And Debby Ryan as Bailey Pickett in “The Suite Life on Deck”. And many, many other Disney Channel Stars (I did as a matter of fact have an Alex Russo-themed 7th birthday). From the incredible shows to the memorable original movies and more, Disney Channel played an essential part in my childhood. They gave me numerous shows and characters that still hold an important place in my heart, but one thing they did not provide was LGBTQ+ representation. It is by no means shocking that there was no LGBTQ+ representation considering the age we grew up in, but a lack of direct representation does not mean a lack of queer coded characters who young, unknowing LGBTQ+ children would imprint onto themselves.

There are a great number of queer coded characters found in the Disney Universe, but I want to focus specifically on characters from the Disney Channel shows and original movies. The most iconic instance I can think of for this phenomenon is Hayley Kiyoko, specifically while starring in “Wizards of Waverly Place” alongside Selena Gomez as Stevie, (description here). Now known as kind of a lesbian god, the gay energy radiated through this character even if she was not canonically gay. The same thing can be said for a lot of other characters – Cody AND Zac from Zac and Cody, Maddie from Liv and Maddie, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, and others from High School Musical, the entirety of Gravity Falls, Shego and Kim from Kim Possible, the entirety of Teen Beach Movie (I am still in love with Leila), and infinitely more.

Josie Totah, a Disney Channel Star.

One element of reality that I believe heavily impacts the seeming gayness in these characters is the hidden queerness of the actors themselves. There have been numerous Disney Channel stars who have come out as LGBTQ+ in the past five years or so. Most famously, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Dove Cameron, Josie Totah, and more. These actors now being able to embrace their identities and be their true selves is remarkable to watch as someone who grew up admiring them. There is always such truth and power in people being able to embrace themselves, especially knowing that there had to be a denial of that through Disney Channel and their subtle homophobia and strict contracts.

While representation in Disney Channel is still not as LGBTQ+ as it could, there have certainly been strides specifically in the past three years or so to create more inclusive and representative storylines for people in the LGBTQ+ community. While some instances are small, such as including same-sex parents in one episode of a show, some more major examples are Cyrus Goodman from “Andi Mack”, and Amity and Luz from “The Owl House”.  While the representation we see of LGBTQ+ stories on a major media outlet such as Disney will never be perfect, any progress is celebrated and appreciated.

Amity and Luz from “Owl House”.