Frozen’s strange queer fandom had two key questions that Frozen 2 posed. Which song from the sequel would correspond to “Let it Go,” the breakout power ballad of the first movie? And would Elsa be exposed as a gay character? The first movie was so strange that homophobic bloggers accused Disney of indoctrinating children with the gay agenda after it was released, and queer fans (including myself though I did not know it at the time) considered Elsa the first weird Disney princess to have the potential. The interest in the queer Elsa was renewed in 2016, when the hashtag campaign #GiveElsaAGirlfriend stood for a moment in the spotlight. So of course the fans wondered if Frozen 2 would give them even more reason to hope that Elsa would step out of the closet.
“Show Yourself”, an emotionally charged Elsa number from Frozen 2, is probably the answer to both questions. There would never be a “Let It Go” again, as director Chris Buck rightly said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Lightning in a Bottle.” But “Show Yourself” is probably “Let It Go”. ‘s spiritual successor: While the main single of the soundtrack “Into the Unknown” was created for the charts and awards shows, “Show Yourself” is Frozen 2’s gay hymn.
At least that’s how the fans announced the song on Twitter that way, after the soundtrack fell before the release of the movie. It’s not hard to fathom why: with lyrics like “I’ve always been a fortress, cold secrets deep inside / They also have secrets, but you do not have to hide” and Elsa strapped in emotionally “I’m found” The song is overflowing with typical weird topics like Funded Community, Repression and Vulnerability.
(Ed. Note: This essay contains spoilers for Frozen 2.)
(embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md7dK5-qvHc (/ embed)
Elsa’s sexuality is still open in Frozen 2. But even more so than in the first film, her bow is strongly identity-based and is not only about her growing powers, but also about the tension she feels as a runaway in her kingdom Arendelle. The ethereal voice she hears during the film lures her to an unknown location where she may find a community she sees as she is. Aside from the superficial level, “Elsa decides to follow a mysterious, compelling female voice” (which is already quite gay), the underlying message and the associated risk make Elsa’s story appear like a coming out bow from the beginning.
“Show Yourself” is at the top of this story arc. The sequence of the song begins with Elsa riding a water horse across the ocean to a mystical river that holds the secret of her existence. It’s a moment of sheer vulnerability, yet electrifying: even though Elsa is worried, she’s finally ready to expose her soul. When she greets the mysterious voice with open arms (“Come, sweetheart”), she is ready to take on a new, transformative role. Ultimately, Elsa – unbound, powerful and full-bodied – is the solution she’s been waiting for in two films. If you are looking for it, “Show Yourself” reads absolutely like a hymn, especially if you consider “Let It Go” as the strange awakening in which it takes its identity, and “Into the Unknown” as Elsa, which weighs the risks and benefits of coming out. It’s all as gay as only subtext can be.
Part of the fandom wanted Elsa to be gay since the premiere of Frozen in 2013. The Twitter hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend was an opportunity for fans to express their grievances about the lack of representation in programming for all ages and to persuade Disney to make one of them most popular (and most profitable) characters explicitly queer. Around the same time, GLAAD released its annual Studio Responsibility Index report, which records the LGBTQ representation in film and assigns the studios a score based on the number of LGBTQ films, among other things. This year, the Walt Disney Studios fell through.
Sparkles! Walt Disney Animation Studios
Three years later it does not look much better. Disney does not yet have a queer character in a major role in his mainstream films, both on the animated side and among his other features. Joe Russo plays Avengers: Endgame a gay member of the Captain America support group. LeFou’s “Exclusive Gay Moment” in “The Beauty and the Beast” 2017 is not. Of course, the problem is not limited to Disney. LGBTQ characters are usually rare in all age groups, but the movie remains clearly behind the television. In 2018, GLAAD did not include any queer-inclusive children’s films throughout the year.
This lack of weird characters in the children’s film shows why people like to read Elsa as weird. Given the prevailing themes of Elsa’s character development – oppression, social exclusion, authenticity, love and acceptance – this is not a significant distance. As the most beloved figure in one of the decade’s most successful animated films, Elsa has become a showcase for a larger entertainment boost in children’s programming that has been severely hampered (as Emily VanDerWerff of Vox points out in her case for a queer) Elsa) by Disney’s Need, Markets to use, which are notoriously restrictive in terms of representations of weirdnesses.
Ultimately, however, the queer viewers of the films only want to feel seen in the mainstream media. Elsa ‘s gay character arc crystallizes in “Show Yourself”, which feels absolutely what the queer anthem fans want it to be. Elsa finally exposing her identity and finding a community that she accepts unconditionally is a strange dream, and one of the fans quickly settled down. Elsa’s sexuality is still in the air, but she has become an icon in her own right, with “Show Yourself” as her next weird anthem.
