Penny the Polar Bear
| Penny the Polar Bear | |
|---|---|
| Peppa Pig character | |
 Penny the Polar Bear | |
First appearance | Undersea Party |
| Created by | Astley Baker Davies |
| Voiced by | Mabel Green |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Polar bear |
| Family | Mummy Polar Bear, Doctor Polar Bear |
| Relatives | Grandpa Polar Bear |
| Home | Peppatown |
Penny the Polar Bear is a character on British preschool animated children's television series Peppa Pig. She has two mothers, who are a lesbian couple.
Production
[edit source]
In 2019,[1][2] Beth G and Lacey K[3] set up a Care2 petition calling for a same-sex parent family on Peppa Pig.[2] The petition almost gained 24,000 signatures.[a][4]
Penny and her family[b] were introduced in the episode Undersea Party, but her mothers' relationship status was first clarified in Families, which first aired on Channel 5 on 6 September 2022.[5][6] In the episode, Peppa Pig and her friends draw their families, and the characters learn about eachother's families. In the episode, Penny draws her family eating spaghetti and says "I live with my mommy and my other mommy. One mommy is a doctor and one mommy cooks spaghetti" [sic].[4] Her parents are called Mummy Polar Bear and Doctor Polar Bear. They are a lesbian couple.[5]
After Families, Peppa Pig began trending on X (formerly Twitter).[5]
Reception
[edit source]The BBC, The Washington Post, PinkNews, and The Standard compared Peppa Pig's depiction of a same-sex relationship to the 2019 Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone".[5][7][8][6] The Washington Post also compared the two mothers to lesbian couples in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Doc McStuffins, and compared the couple's reception to the reactions to Lightyear's lesbian kiss.[5] The BBC noted that Adventure Time and Steven Universe were other cartoons that depicted same sex relationships.[6] Director of Communications and External Affairs at Stonewall, Robbie de Santos, praised the episode, saying that people with same-sex parents would feel meaningfully represented, and called the episode fantastic.[7][6] In their article about Penny, The Guardian noted Peppa Pig's previous criticisms over featuring a nuclear family that perpetuates gender stereotypes[c], and criticism from the London Fire Brigade over using the term "fireman" instead of "firefighter".[9]
PinkNews mentioned that before the petition, Norman Lamb also called for queer characters in shows like Peppa Pig. PinkNews also noted that Peppa Pig had included LGBTQ themes before on the song "Rainbow, Rainbow" from Peppa Pig's My First Album.[8] Heather Hogan of Autostraddle noted that the addition of lesbian characters late into the show's run was surprising, as cartoons without a queer character in the first few seasons rarely debut a queer character. She also noted that Peppa Pig opted to explicitly confirm the character's queerness in the show instead of confirming it on social media or in an interview.[10]
Italian politician and culture spokesperson for the Brothers of Italy, Federico Mollicone, called for the Italian broadcaster RAI[d] to not broadcast Families for its depiction of an LGBTQ relationship. Mollicone called the episode gender indoctrination and political correct, saying "Can't children just be children?" [sic]. Mollicane also called for the traditional family to be protected.[12][13][14] During a speech decrying LGBTQ media, member of the Federal Assembly, Alexander Khinshtein, cited Families' depiction of Penny and her family as an example of LGBT propaganda.[15][16] The American Family Association's One Million Moms circulated a petition calling for Hasbro[e] to "stick to entertaining and providing family-friendly programming instead of pushing an agenda", considering the family to be "boldly glorifying gay marriage".[17]
Notes
[edit source]- ↑ The petition did not reach it's goal of 25,000 signatures, but is marked as successful on Care2.[3]
- ↑ Doctor Polar Bear first appeared in Health Check.[5]
- ↑ Mummy Pig staying at home while Daddy Pig goes to work.
- ↑ RAI owns the rights to Peppa Pig in Italy.[11]
- ↑ Hasbro owns the rights to Peppa Pig[17]
References
[edit source]- ↑ Stechyson, Natalie (30 May 2019). "Petition For 'Peppa Pig' To Add A Same-Sex Parent Family Takes Off". Huffpost. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 Owoseje, Toyin (7 September 2022). "'Peppa Pig' gets its first same-sex couple – two polar bear mommies". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- 1 2 G, Beth; K, Lacey. "Demand a same-sex parent family on Peppa Pig!". Care2.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - 1 2 Marie Holland, Danielle (13 December 2022). "'Peppa Pig' Introduces Penny Polar Bear, a Classmate Who Has Two Moms". Parents (magazine). Archived from the original on 22 November 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Two polar bear moms become first LGBTQ characters in 'Peppa Pig'". The Washington Post. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Hancock, Sam (7 September 2022). "Peppa Pig: First same-sex couple for children's show". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
- 1 2 Campbell, Tina (7 September 2022). "Peppa Pig gets new friend as children's show introduces its first same-sex couple". The Standard. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 Iftikhar, Asyia (7 September 2022). "Peppa Pig praised for introducing same-sex polar bear couple: 'Giving me such happiness'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 18 April 2026. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Duggins, Alexi (8 September 2022). "Peppa Pig introduces its first same-sex couple". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Hogan, Heather (14 September 2022). "Peppa Pig's Lesbian Polar Bear Moms are a Pretty Big Deal Actually". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 11 June 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ Giuffrida, Angela (9 September 2022). "Italian politician demands ban on Peppa Pig episode showing lesbian couple". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ Sprayregen, Molly (12 September 2022). "Politicians in Italy are freaking out over lesbian polar bears in a British cartoon". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ "Fratelli d'Italia contro Peppa Pig: "Inaccettabile un personaggio con due mamme"" [Brothers of Italy against Peppa Pig: "A character with two moms is unacceptable"]. tusciaweb.eu (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 September 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ Tullio, Marco (9 September 2022). "Il nuovo personaggio di Peppa Pig sconvolge Mollicone: a FdI fa più paura l'orsetta con due mamme Penny Polar Bear o l'orso "nucleare" Putin?" [New Peppa Pig character rattles Mollicone: does FdI fear Penny Polar Bear—the little bear with two moms—more than the "nuclear" bear Putin?]. vipiu.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ "Russia cites Peppa Pig episode as LGBT advocacy to become a criminal offence". Irish Legal News. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- ↑ Sprayregen, Molly (19 October 2022). "Russian lawmaker calls Peppa Pig's lesbian bear moms a "tool of war"". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
- 1 2 Sprayregen, Molly (19 November 2022). "Christian conservatives campaign against lesbian polar bears in "Peppa Pig"". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 22 August 2026.