Gays? Normal?

Nickelodeon has always been known as safe channel for kids to watch their daily cartoons, after all the programs aired have been praised for its appropriateness. In 2002, however, this was challenged when the network announced they were airing a show called "Nick News Special Edition: My Family Is Different". This show was essentially a show that portrays issues related to diversity, tolerance, and respect particularly toward children with same sex parents. While the show was initially meant to raise awareness and essentially stop the violence and harassment kids with same sex parents received, it received criticism from multiple government organizations and parents saying the channel was no longer a “safe haven for children”.

Throughout history, heteronormativity has been a prominent concept expressed through pop culture. From a very early age children are taught that relationships are strictly male and female, and anything thing else is socially unacceptable. Adolescents are targets that often times feel the wrath of this issue as a result of either their own sexual preference or the fact that they have same sex parents. While this wasn’t really an issue several decades ago, society has changed in terms of how families are defined allowing more tolerance for homosexual families than ever before.