Arthur and PBS

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Arthur and PBS
13
Fri, 01-28-2005 - 1:39pm

Well as many of you may have heard on last nights news. The PBS station has an episode of Arthur ready to go that has Buster visting a lesiban family with children. Buster apparently is trying to teach children tollerance of people who are diffrent and introducing diffrent families to our children via a cartoon. From what I understand it depicts a cartoon character and real persons.

Apparently the media got a hold of the subject and PBS decided not to air the show.
I was wondering how you felt about this subject. Would you want your young children watching this type of programming.

PBS is not in the habbit of advertising what the next show will be about. So how was PBS going to inform parents that this was going to be showen to your young children? They don't have an answer to that question.

Now I know that some people feel Burt and Erine are gay. And the purple teletubbie is gay and goodness who knows what political person or religous leader will come out and say that this cartoon character is gay as well...But come on. SS never came out and said Burt and Ernie are gay. I don't think SS has ever addressed this issue. But this is not the issue I want to debate. Just want to know how you feel about this. And if it had aired with out your knowledge and your child saw it what would you do? HOw would you handle the questions about this that a 3 yr old might ask you or your 7 yr old.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-05-2004
Sun, 01-30-2005 - 8:45pm

They are not airing the show....


Is there a debate? lol!!


From a Conservative Catholic in the Midwest!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2004
Sun, 01-30-2005 - 9:59pm

("hey mom, look, there's a homo-in-sexual!!") LMAO


LOL your dd is a hoot!


While I agree with most of what you are saying, I just feel that children's programming is an inappropriate forum for pushing the edges of television. I feel the use of public funds to sponsor programming threatens public funded media on the whole. I just wish they would let kids be kids and leave the agendas at home.


Now that a few days have passed I have been reading more about the episode and understand that it would not have been very blatant...just the two moms in the background. But I know my son would have questioned me as to why two moms and no dads lived at the house. I think he would have understood that they were "together". Because of our religious beliefs I would have had to tell him that I believe homosexuality is not Gods way.


This is a very tricky subject!!! lol I also need to state that in no way would I tell my child he could not be around someone because of their homosexuality. I have had many, many conversations with a very good friend of mine who is gay about homosexuality. I have known him since I was sixteen when I lived at a group home for teens. He is still a good friend today and is always welcome in my home. He goes shopping with my children and I, and we go to the movies together when we can. He is a pre-k teacher who is one of the few people that I would actually trust to take my children anywhere. We both know eachothers painful history and tell each other everything.....BUT he also agrees with me that it would not be right for him to introduce my children to this subject. This is a subject we have both found very painful to us. We just both agree that it would confuse my seven year old. I have not had a chance to talk to him about the episode that was pulled but I have no doubt we would both disagree on it! lol


There are many people though in my family who do things that I consider not right, but I still love them. And this is what I will teach my children.


My whole issue with this now is that I feel I have to monitor a program now that I used to trust.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2003
Mon, 01-31-2005 - 2:19am

I don't know ladies. I haven't heard of this show or any debate around it. BUT.. I don't think I would have an issue with it. I'm assuming because it's PBS, that they are just showing different lifestyles, and will not be showing 2 mommies in the buff!

I am Catholic, and and don't think that lifesyle is Gods will, but I DO think that we ALL are Gods people. Therefore should not be judged. I would rather my dd learn about homosexuality from me, or at least, a PBS show, rather than some crude description from a playmate at school (who I have NO control over what they have been told)

It is a scary thing to talk to kids about sex...straight or gay. There is no perfect time, or nice way of doing it. But I would rather my kids heard the facts in an informed way....whether I believe or not. It is a fact of life that there are others who are "different" than us. I hope my kids can accept all kinds of people and show respect to all human kind. Maybe because my dd is a biracial child, I hope that she has more compasion, I don't know.

All I know is that there are so many things in this world I wish to protect her from, (like drugs, alchol, abuse, a broken heart, jail time, ect) I just think that protecting her seeing a PBS show about 2 loving gay moomies is almost the last on my list.

jmo!!!!

Lesley

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