Parents who feel that children's programming has been increasingly saturated with LGBTQ themes aren't imagining it.
According to a new report, Netflix is playing a leading role in the shift.
Concerned Women for America has released a comprehensive analysis of kids' content on the streaming giant, concluding that LGBTQ messaging appears in one-third of all Netflix shows rated for children, with that figure rising to 41% among TV-G and TV-Y7 programs — categories traditionally considered safe for young audiences.
The numbers reveal a dramatic cultural shift in material aimed at children. Even TV-Y programs, which are intended for preschoolers, include LGBTQ elements in 21% of available titles.
According to CWA, titles such as "The Magic School Bus Rides Again" and "Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City" feature characters coded as transgender, nonbinary, or otherwise representative of gender-identity themes rarely seen in children's programming a decade ago.
Many parents first noticed the trend last year when a clip from the animated series "Dead End: Paranormal Park" — featuring a main character as transgender — went viral, sparking national debate about children's entertainment.
CWA's study reviewed 326 Netflix series rated TV-G, TV-Y, or TV-Y7.
Researchers categorized representation as explicit, implied, or meta (such as LGBTQ families in reality programming). Their findings suggest the "Dead End" show was not an anomaly but part of a broader push within children's media.
Penny Nance, CWA's CEO, told The Daily Wire that she was taken aback by how far the trend has extended, particularly into content aimed at the youngest viewers.
"I was most surprised that they had even targeted preschool children," Nance said. "Over 20% of the programming aimed at the smallest viewers had LGBTQ themes included."
The conclusions serve as a warning to parents who assume age ratings shield their children from sensitive or adult-oriented topics, Nance said.
"The bottom line is the rating systems do not work," she said. "You have the networks and the companies rating themselves."
Netflix has openly touted its push for diversity. In a report published in May, the company noted that more than half of its episodic programs in 2023 featured LGBTQ characters.
CWA's researchers say that emphasis is reflected even more strongly in children's content, where 60% of Netflix's new kids' shows in 2023 included LGBTQ themes — a rate Nance argues vastly exceeds real-world demographic representation.
"You've got a very small percentage of the population, and yet the overall content being developed for little children is much larger than those numbers," she said.
The report also highlights a parallel rise in LGBTQ identification among young people, pointing to Gallup data showing Gen Z LGBTQ self-identification doubling from 11% in 2017 to over 20% in 2023.
Researchers note that the surge in representation in children's entertainment appeared to spike around 2021, during the COVID-19 lockdown period when children spent increased time streaming digital content.
Nance argued that parents who raise questions about the direction of children's media are frequently dismissed or labeled intolerant.
"Parents are being gaslit," she said. "Just basic common sense tells you that people are impressionable, and children are even more impressionable."
The study points out that numerous classic franchises, including "The Magic School Bus," "She-Ra," "Power Rangers," and "The Baby-Sitters Club," have been rebooted with new LGBTQ-centered themes or characters for the first time.
"It is sad that these incredible franchises have been rewritten to have a bias toward left-wing ideology and gender ideology," Nance said.
Nance advised parents to be far more vigilant about what their children watch and not rely on rating labels.
"The days of just checking the rating and feeling OK about it are over," she warned.
She encourages families to seek out alternative children's media aligned with their values and to treat streaming services that mix children's content with more adult material with extreme caution.
"Parents are right to be on their guard," she said. "Unfortunately, Netflix has let them down, as has much of the industry."
Newsmax reached out to Netflix for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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