Disney Confirms Its First Bisexual Character

Disney's taking more steps towards diversity and LGBTQ representation after confirming its first bisexual character who is also multi-cultural.

The show creator of Disney's animated series, The Owl House, confirmed on a Twitter post that its teenage Dominican-American lead, Luz, is indeed bisexual.

The Owl House follows the story of Luz Noceda, a teenage girl who finds a portal to another world and becomes determined to pursue her dreams of becoming a witch, despite not having any magical ability at all. 

The show premiered on Disney Channel on January 10, 2020.

In the beginning, Luz showed romantic interest in boys, but as the series moves along, she became closer to her rival-turned-friend Amity.

Fans began to wonder if there's going to be an LGBTQ storyline for the animated series following the recent story development showing Amity preparing to ask Luz to be her prom date. 

Showrunner Dana Terrace confirmed Luz is indeed bisexual and revealed she's 'supported by current Disney leadership' when it comes to her' intention to put queer kids in the main cast.'

However, things did not come easy for Terrace as she had to fight for Luz against 'certain Disney leadership' who forbade her from representing any form of a bisexual or gay relationship on Disney Plus. 

In a Twitter post, Terrace said: "In dev, I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast. I'm a horrible liar, so sneaking it in would've been hard, haha. When we were greenlit, I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the Channel."

The artist and director, who identifies as bisexual herself, continued: "I'm bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit! Luckily my stubbornness paid off, and now I am VERY supported by current Disney leadership. (Thank you @NashRiskin and team!) Not to mention the amazingness of this crew."

As expected, Disney received both positive and negative feedback for the strong move.

Some of those who expressed their support and appreciation for Disney is Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch, who revealed she was forbidden by Disney for 'any explicit LGBTQ+ rep' in the past.

Hirsch thanked and congratulated Terrace and her team for an 'explicitly queer animated main characters on Disney TV.'

Hirsch also Tweeted an appreciation post for Disney saying: "In 2012 the Disney censor note on this image would have been: "inappropriate for channel, please revise, call to discuss" (to avoid a paper trail) Now in 2020- there's no note at all. Props where props are due! This time, Disney- you did good."

Luz is not Disney's first LGBTQ+ character. In May 2020, Disney-Pixar released the short film "Out" on Disney Plus, which features a closeted gay character who's afraid his parents will find out about his boyfriend.

In February 2020, another Disney-Pixar film titled "Onward" featured an explicit lesbian animated character, Officer Specter. Officer Specter appeared briefly in the film and discussed her girlfriend.

Although Disney's move towards inclusivity still receives backlash from conservative communities, there are a lot of viewers who still expressed their gratefulness for Disney's actions.

Following Terrace's confirmation about Luz's identity, one fan said: "THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. I would have loved to have this sort of representation when I was younger, but I'm so happy that kids are going to grow up with such amazing characters and an amazing world."