Maleficent
For a long sentence , Hollywood could not explicitly depict LGBTQ+ characters , and so odd characters were portrayed as a complex of various stereotypes , which is a practice roll in the hay as queer - coding . Unfortunately , almost all of these pansy - tantalise characters were villain since dominant American culture of the other 20th Century was unwilling to swallow queer multitude in heroic role .
With that in mind , Disney villains are notorious for being queer - taunt . In fact , an ongoing dialog within LGBTQ+ communities is the influenceDisney villainshad on enabling young the great unwashed to work their own sexuality . Now that rum people can in the end delight right agency , it is worth looking back and noting some of the major Disney villains who were queer - bait .
Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
The sea witch Ursula is a classic example of a queer - fool role . While all of the merfolk in the film have their human bod below the shank supercede with fishy parts , Ursula ’s lower half is a mass of writhe priapic tentacle . Interestingly , Ursula is found on the recent corking drag poof Divine ofPink Flamingosfame , who was once account by People magazine as “ The Drag Queen of the Century . ”
Many of Ursula ’s fashion sensibilities were lift directly from Divine , such as her eyelash , love life of excessive jewelry , and even her figure . alas , Divine passed before even getting to buzz petty Mermaid , though those tight to him say that he ’d have loved Ursula . As her birdsong enjoin , “ Darling it ’s good down where it ’s wetter take it for me ! ”
Ratcliffe (Pocahontas)
Ratcliffe is a great instance of a swell : an effeminate man from the Early Modern period who was way - obsessed and prone to traditionally feminine affectations . Dressed in flamboyant shades of fuchsia with pink accents and ribbon in his hair , Ratcliffe is not so much coded as he is sashay proudly across his ship ’s deck surrounded by English seamen .
It does n’t assist that the naval aliveness is often mocked as being inherently homosexual due to the fact that only until recently , pre - dominantly manful naval crews did n’t get to interact with women for a long stretchiness of time . Ratcliffe would be a loveable rogue if he was n’t such agenocidal colossus .
Jafar (Aladdin)
The Kingdom of Agrabah was never a real place , but it looks like loosely base on the Abbasid Caliphate during the Golden Age of Islam , where queer high society flourished in such places as the phone metropolis of Baghdad , Iraq . As such , it should be no surprise that Jafar is queer - coded .
Beyond the not - so - subtle symbolism of all his power being situate in a witching member ( i.e. his staff ) and his fixation with the immature handsome Aladdin , Jafar is sound by Jonathan Freeman in a way that drips with stereotypical back talk . Jafar ’s fixation with Aladdin can be read as problematic today , though , since it inadvertently meld homosexuality to pederasty .
Scar (The Lion King)
Scar may be a Leo , but the way he tittup with persuade hip and show off a well - dress head of hair proves that the King of the Animals can very well be a queen . in earnest , Scar does n’t even have proper manus , yet those paws of his have limp wrists , which is a plebeian gay stereotype .
The cattyantagonism that take a leak Scarsuch a compelling scoundrel in the originalLion Kingwas regrettably stripped aside in the late self - seriouslive - action remakein favor of a generic schemer with a grievance . This denied the Modern Scar of his splashy bearing and power , despite now being voiced by the incredibly gifted Chiwetel Ejiofor .
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty & Maleficent)
Maleficent is not quite obvious an example of queer - steganography as others on this list , but she is one of the original queer - coded villains . Disney’sSleeping Beautywas released in 1959 and inherit the film traditions of the prison term . The ways ' L Hollywood depicted queer characters influence Maleficent ’s characterizations , and she in turn of events influenced Disney villains ever after .
Her firmly - lined masculine build , phallic motor horn , and grievous personality are meant to be un - feminine and thus evil , contrasting the heroine ’s maiden - like whiteness . In short , Maleficent is a fallen woman . In the live - actionMaleficentfilms , Angelina Jolie takes this to new extreme point with a femme esthetical right out of a Gothic fairy story , though it ’s now frame in a sympathetic anti - hero ’s light rather than an overtly villainous one .
Captain Hook (Peter Pan)
There are few characters quite so foppish as Captain Hook , a military personnel whose effeminate wig , feather cap , and impudent swaying elan of body oral communication all are rooted in gay stereotypes . He also lives withhis same - sex activity life - mate , Mr. Smee . And like Ratcliffe , Captain Hook is also a man of the ocean .
From the curls of his waxed moustache to his iconic crotchet , nothing about the Captain is straight . He is also obsessed with capturing a young boy , Peter Pan , once more correlating being gay ( or at the very least being effeminate ) with paederasty in an insensitive manner highly similar to the problem that Jafar present .
Hades (Hercules)
TheGreek Lord of the Underworldpractically expedition through his land , his wilted radiocarpal joint moving in histrionic gesticulations . He wears lipstick , and bites or curl his brim throughout the motion-picture show .
In a not - even - remotely - elusive bit of symbolism , his hair is literally fucking . For those unfamiliar , " flaming " often used to key nance masses who are especially flamboyant . Still , this take on Hades is more culturally sensitive and respectable than the other pouf - coded characters on this list .
Doctor Facilier (The Princess & The Frog)
Truth be told , The Princess and the Frogwas always going to be transgressive , given the zoophilic narrative of the original fairy tale . The nefarious Doctor Facilier , though , is controversial for a bit of reason , not least of all because his innovation appropriate imagery consort with the Haitian Voodoo Ioa ( read : immortal ) Baron Samedi .
However , the fancily apparel Facilier quite literally leans into gay stereotypes by arching his back and fag skin - tight shirts to accentuate his figure . Also , like other villains on this tilt ( specifically Jafar and Ratigan ) , Facilier ca n’t avail but grapple his powerful cane / priapic source of big businessman melodramatically .
Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective)
The criminal overlord Ratigan plot of ground to overthrow the Queen and make himself the ruler of Mousedom . To put it another mode , Ratigan aim to put himself “ on top ” by becoming the next “ pansy . " Beyond his introductory nefarious scheme , Ratigan ’s style and mannerisms are so queer - coded and over - the - top that they demand their own musical solo .
Oh , he has one ? And it begins with him fixing his hair and flipping his wrists ? Of course , it does ! Ratigan is not the only queer - cypher character inThe Great Mouse Detective , as his nemesis Basil is infuse with some notably queer subtext . The two emphatically seem to have some alchemy together , which lead to a mass of fanart and merchant marine from the fandom .
Shego (Kim Possible)
Some masses forget thatKim Possiblewas a Disney show , but no one can draw a blank such an astonishing scoundrel as Shego . Admittedly , lover have fence whether or not Shego was originally intended to be queer - coded , but it is not hard to see how she turn out that elbow room . This is especially obvious in her sharply masculine mental attitude and the way she dropsaffectionate pet names like “ Kimmie ” and “ princess ” when speak to Kim .
The wrinkle between burlesque and flirtation can be difficult to define , but ambiguously braw villains like Shego have no interest group in being confined by the narrow straight and heteronormative lines of mainstream society . As far asKim Possiblefans are concerned , Shego really had her eyes on Kim , and not just because of her villainous obligations .
NEXT:10 Disney Villains With The Most Sympathetic Backstories , Ranked
