Pokemon Controversy...my Opinions on the Big Issues

By Strife

Homosexuality

Okay, let's start with the big issue here. Who is gay in Pokemon? (And you thought it was an innocent kid's show, didn't ya?) There are many pressing sexuality issues in Pokemon...I mean, what sex is Pikachu? Does James really mean to be acting gay, or is he in denial and hence has Jessie around to make it look like they're having some sort of secret relationship...and where the hell does Meowth fit into that? Is Tracey as gay as he acts, and what is with the headband? Is the rivalry between Ash and Gary really rivalry or a big cover up for sexual tension? How do Pokemon *do it*? I think I'm getting ahead of myself here...let's open with James.

James: I know what you're thinking. "Strife, just look at James! His hair is pastel! He carries a rose! He wears a frock and he talks like he just came off Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." That's the gay supporter. Then you've got "Strife, James can't possibly be gay, look at him and Jessie, they're in love, tee hee!" At that point I give a nipple twister to that person. Don't go giving that shippy crap to me! But coming back to the real world, I don't think James is gay. The crossdressing is a little strange, I'll give it that, but it really doesn't mean anything. My mother's ex boyfriend used to wear a dress and he was pretty straight...he did lie about having cancer to gain sympathy and look like Jesus, but he was straight. Why am I telling you this? Ah, for the sake of James!

I think the real reason that the writers are always have sex reversal in Jessie and James' disguises is the fact it makes them even more fool proof disguises. Let's face it, Ash is dumb, very dumb. Seeming most of the time he's expecting a red haired girl and a lavender haired guy, he couldn't possibly be expecting a lavender haired girl and a red headed guy, now could he? That my reasoning behind Jessie and James' reasoning. Or maybe it's because James' looks better in dresses than Jessie...

Next thing, the rose. Now that's an easy one to explain. In Anime, a rose is often used to show sensitivity in a guy, look at Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, now if I recall, didn't he spend alot of his time chasing Sarina? Come to think about it, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Luna are kinda like good guy versions or Jessie, James and Meowth. Heh heh, I'd like to see THEM get into the wrestling ring...although I think it's safe to say Jessie and Sarina would degenerate into all out hair tug of war, Tuxedo would kick the crap out of James...and Meowth would probably start hitting on Luna. Okay, drifting from the point. Rose not gay. Rose shows James is sensitive new age guy. NEXT!

The fact James enjoys wearing a dress? Well, who wouldn't!

Also, he got kinda sort of jealous when Jessie started hitting on that doctor in...the episode I can't remember the name of. Now I know this is throwing a big frikkin bone to the shippers out there, but it sorta proves that if he was jealous of the attention another man was lavishing on Jessie, he likes her, hence he likes girls. Or...he was jealous of Jessie hitting on the doctor coz HE wanted the doctor...nope, I like my first theory better...he had every chance to hit on the doctor and he didn't so there! And let's not forget, gay Japanese characters are usually pretty obvious about it. If James WAS gay, he'd probably be going out for lunch dates with Tracey and dropping hints all over the place about it.

There's just one tiny doubt in my mind that I'm going to share with you right now, which, in the Pokemon drinking game (See Fan fic), would earn you the chug of a lifetime. Roll your minds back to Pokemon 2000: The Power of One. If you have it on video (as I have, and rewound and watched this bit over and over again), check this out.

Jessie: Look kid, when you get involved with the opposite sex you're just asking for trouble.

James: And that's the kind of trouble...I stay out of.

And there you have it. Meowth finished it up with:

Meowth: You two don't need the opposite sex since you got each other.

Jessie: What is that supposed to mean?!

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think James just made a blatently homosexual comment. Perhaps it made sense in Japanese, or perhaps in Japanese this was James coming out of the closet and the censors have you just smoothed over the dub. I don't know. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw it though. The other issue here also is that Jessie could also be pointing out subtly that she's a lesbian. I'm still saying James isn't gay, but I thought that was something important the needed to be pointed out. Although...Meowth's comment just works on so many different levels. Is he actually trying to hint that he thinks Jessie and James are gonna get together after two gay comments? Are the censors trying to save their asses after they realised what they had done? Is Meowth a fuckwit all round? Strange things are afoot!

Tracey: On to Tracey! Well the arguments here are basically...his name is Tracey, his voice is gay, and that headband is beyond awful. That and the fact he replaced the lord of horny, Brock, and after a season of all these raging hormones when someone more conservative steps in, he actually looks gay because we're so used to Brock. Okay, it's a dumb theory. To tell the truth, I don't mind Tracey all that much. Him sketching more women than Pokemon also points that he may not be gay...or he's a pervert. In Pokemon 2000 (The little gold mine of issues) after Misty said "He's a boy and he's a friend, but he's not my boyfriend!" Tracey runs up and says "You talking about me?" I'm actually not sure what that proves.

He seems strangely obsessed with Professor Oak though. Has he got a crush on Oakie? Well I'd rather not think of such things. The issue that bothers me more is why the hell was his hair green in Pokemon 2000 and brown/black in the series? Did he have a serious run in with some chlorine or what?!

Tracey could quite possibly be gay. But I'm not at a position to be making any wild accusations, as the evidence is limited.

Gary and Ash: Let's start with the fact they are both ten years old, and most ten year olds don't get a major case of lust driven sexual tension over their worst enemy who happens to be the same sex. Have we got that concept in our heads yet? Then we'll move onto the fact Ash hates Gary's guts, and Gary is probably too distracted by himself, or to a lesser extent, his cheerleaders to even notice Ash most of the time. The third is...the theory being Professor Oak is Ash's father, making Gary and Ash, say it with me now...related! Hence the death of the Gary/Ash idea. So sad, too bad, bye bye!

Okay, maybe I went a bit off my head there. I haven't presented any evidence for the other side of the issue yet.

Okay, one, Gary wears pink hawian shirts. That means tiddly squat to me, but to some people out there it just screams 'I'm gay, take me Ash!"

He doesn't lust after his cheerleaders. Well that's just because he's obsessed with himself. (I can't help it, I'm rebutting as I go along.)

Him and Gary are obviously in love. Yes, this is some of the evidence I found on a Pallet-shippers site. Wow...evidence without actual evidence!

And here we go, evidence for Ash being gay, actual evidence presented by actual Pallet-Shippers on an actual website.

Again with Pokemon 2000, but supposingly, or so these Pallet-Shippers claim, Misty and Melody were both hitting on Ash and he wasn't paying any attention to it. Ahem, bullshit! Misty spent half the movie trying to make the point clear Ash was not her boyfriend. Melody did kiss him, and Ash seemed pretty damn receptive to me. I mean, he blushed and went off in the middle of the night on some some quest to impress the girl. Which part of that screams gay?

Er...Ash could not be more gay if his name was Gay Gayerson. Yes, this was also reprsented as evidence. Sheesh, I'd hate to see these people defending in a court hearing.

Card Captor Sukura is gay...I think it is appropriate for a WTF?! at this point.

Okay, okay, I'm gonna be fair now. Although the evidence has been pretty crappy up to this point, I'm gonna send you all here for some more intellible stuff.

http://pallet.nyasu.net/aagl/anime.html

Then you can make up your own mind about Gary and Ash.

Pokemon sexes: We know Meowth is a guy, and it's quite probable to assume Jiggly Puff and the Clefairy are either female or gay. But really, do they even bother giving other Pokemon sexes? Most of the time they don't even give them idividual names. I have this gut feeling Pikachu is a guy Pikachu, but how can one be sure? Which brings me to my second point...how do sexless Pokemon have sex?! Well, we can imagine that Meowth's would do it the normal way since they've been defined by sexes, although they do have the distinct lack of genatalia. But Pikachu...well, first it would have to work out if it was a guy or a girl, and then probably call up Pooka or Sparky and ask whether they've decided what sexes they are, and just his luck they would have decided they were the same sex as him/her, hence...well, we get gay shippiness from half the population, and the other half demanding a sex change.

Maybe it would be better if Pikachu stayed an 'it', for the sake of it's emotional stability.

Are there any Ash/Pikachu shippers out there yet? There will be! There will be! Shippiness works in weird and mysterious ways, ya dig?

Anyway, I'm blasting off again. Catch you all next time on the page of rants!

-Strife