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Wanda Sykes brings same-sex parenting to Disney Jr.’s ‘Doc McStuffins’

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Black Women in Entertainment

Wanda Sykes brings same-sex parenting to Disney Jr.’s ‘Doc McStuffins’

Since its debut in 2012, the Disney Jr. show “Doc McStuffins”has been widely praised for featuring an empowered African American girl as its main character. In a recent episode the show went another step towards inclusion by featuring a family with same-sex parents.

The episode, which, notably isn’t about the family having two moms, is about the importance of having an emergency plan. The actresses Wanda Sykes and Portia de Rossi voice the mother characters.

Since its airing earlier this month, a conservative organization called One Million Moms complained about the show’s including a same-sex family.

Meanwhile, others supported the show with the #StandWithDoc hashtag on Twitter.

 

“Doc McStuffins” creator Chris Nee is in a same-sex marriage and is a mom herself. When she visited The Frame with Wanda Sykes, she explained why she wanted to include a same-sex couple in her show now.

We think it’s really important to see yourself onscreen. For us, we’re 120 episodes into this particular series and we have one episode of all of them that features a same-sex family. We just want to represent the world as it is.

Sykes, who is also in a same-sex marriage and is a mother, says her decision to join this particular episode was for personal reasons.

I love the show. My kids watch the show. My daughter went as Doc McStuffins for a couple halloweens. [The episode] was not about them being a same-sex couple. They just happened to be. It’s so funny because that’s the way my kids watched that episode. They didn’t say, “Hey, it’s two moms. They said, “Hey, do we have an emergency plan?”4

 

The positive reaction to the recent episode in the media and on Twitter, along with Disney’s willingness to air the show, to Nee, indicated a shift toward…

 

Please read original article-  Wanda Sykes brings same-sex parenting to Disney Jr.’s ‘Doc McStuffins’

I am a future butterfly at the stage of growth when I am turning into an adult. I am enclosed in a hard case shell formed by love, family, and friends. It is the hardest stage of becoming a black butterfly. You will encounter many hardships only to come out stronger and better than what you went in. At this stage, you are finding out who you truly are and how to love yourself.

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