‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’, a Worthwhile Watch to Celebrate Pride Month with the Whole Family!

Unlike it’s original 1980s counterpart, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020) is uniquely inclusive to many identities. While it’s initial iteration was but a spin-off of He-Man to sell toys to girls (and therefore all the character designs boiled down to the same base- thin, white women, only separable by different hair and clothing) She-Ra’s revival is delightfully diverse in the character’s body shapes, races, and orientations!

An aspect of She-Ra that I find refreshing is even though a large portion of the cast is on the LGBTQ+ Spectrum, being gay is never mentioned. While this might initially sound like a negative thing, in the show’s land of Etheria being on the gay spectrum is shown to be so common and normalized that straight isn’t the default. As much as there is to appreciate about narratives revolving around the obstacles that may come from being non-heteronormative, it’s nice to get immersed in a world where no one bats an eye at all to any sort of differing identity.

While She-Ra isn’t the first animated series for a younger audience to incorporate gay characters, in my opinion, it’s one of the first to do it so seamlessly. With other family-oriented shows that predate She-Ra, the matter of queerness is present but is danced around or done through loopholes to avoid upsetting overly concerned parents and thus affecting the networks profit. Take for example Adventure Time, whose main lesbian pairing was only teased at throughout the shows run, confirmed in the final episode, and further explored in an episode of a mini-series that takes place after the show’s initial canon. In the series Steven Universe, the gay themes feel more tangible and are highlighted, however the narrative uses a loophole of the alien characters technically being non-binary and therefore the relationships aren’t directly lesbian in nature. Some have speculated this was intentional to avoid upsetting the network and parents. In She-Ra, gay characters and relationships are front and center, no dancing around them. Some prominent examples include Netossa (Krystal Joy Brown) and Spinnerella (voiced by creator Noelle Stevenson) a married princess couple, Bow’s parents George (Chris Jai Alex) and Lance (Regi Davis) and main title character herself, She-Ra (Aimee Carrero) aka Adora! Even outside this list, various other characters are confirmed to be part of the LGBTQ+ community either within the context of the series or confirmed by She-Ra’s creator outside of the shown canon. Perhaps Netflix’s freer range they allow creators is to partially credit as to why so many positive representations are shown off in the series.

She-Ra and the princesses of power gets an Incluvie rating of 5/5 for its stellar portrayal of various gay identities and for the presence it shows of people of color, as well as depicting characters with realistic body types. No matter what sexuality race or gender identity, they’re sure to be at least one character nearly anyone can relate to while watching.
For She-Ra’s overall rating, it scores a 5/5 as well! The over arcing plot sucks you in and is truly binge-worthy! While it is an excellent show to watch with younger members of a family, it’s mature enough that anyone of any age would be able to enjoy it on their own.