How Bob’s Burgers Furthers Acceptance of Gender Nonconformity

A few blogs have marveled at the positives of Bob’s Burgers fresh look at gender. Nevertheless, in July of 2018, the show was scolded like a misbehaving child for having too many men in the main cast. In the 2018 climate, not employing women is going to be something that stirs chaos.

However, I immediately took offense at this accusation. It isn't necessarily invalid, but it changes something beautiful into something ugly for a petty reason.

Bob’s Burgers should be praised for its acceptance of varied gender identities. When we think of non-binary, gender nonconformity, and LGBT+ positive examples, this should be one of the first shows that enters our minds. Here are five reasons why.

1. The Cast Gender Swaps

Some people are irritated that Dan Mintz voices a teenage girl and John Roberts voices a middle-aged woman, a different teenage girl, and a few minor female characters. However, there are good reasons for both. Dan Mintz had already been cast to play a teenage boy and didn’t back out when they changed the role. John Roberts, an openly gay man, won the role thanks to his comedy on YouTube and somewhat transfers that comedy specifically to Linda Belcher. It wasn’t that the producers actively sought to exclude women; they picked the best actor for the job.

Additionally, H. Jon Benjamin voices a handful of women, most notably Ms. LaBonz. However, considering his range of characters, it may be that the show gives him voices to demonstrate his talents (like Jimmy Junior) and also save money from hiring people for minor parts (like nearly every character with only one line).

Don’t forget about the women. Sarah and Laura Silverman play the hilarious, lovable twins Ollie and Andy Pesto. These recurring male characters are awesomely voiced by two hilarious women. It works both ways and it’s wonderful.

2. Gene is a feminist.

There’s been talk about Gene being genderqueer. I’d call him non-binary, but we’ll wait to debate labels until he hits puberty. He often expresses he’s for a woman having control over her body and claims that he has feminine hips—and even a vagina. He dresses as a female in a singing group and gabs with his mother like they're gal pals.

The character is portrayed as wanting to have an honest understanding of women and to relate to his sisters. He certainly looks male and does plenty of traditionally masculine things, but the character is atypical and he’s better for it.

3. Louise. Everything About Louise

When Louise is with Tina and Linda, it’s a “girl’s night out.” When she’s with Gene and Bob, it’s “just us guys.” She’s arguably the most feminine looking main character with her dress and very pink hat, yet she fights any attempt to look “girly.”

Although she will gladly mock either parent, she and Bob have a special bond that is refreshing in modern television. She feels threatened when Gene encroaches on her one-on-one time with Bob and desperately searches for something to reconnect them. Additionally, watching an adult father-daughter relationship disintegrate makes her question if she can maintain that bond as an adult. It’s a fear many children experience and that panic feels very real from an often sarcastic, manipulative 9-year-old.

Does her infatuation with Boo-Boo mean that she’s straight? One infatuation at the age of 9 certainly doesn’t determine one’s gender or sexuality, so we’ll have to see.

4. Bob is probably bisexual.

We first get a look at the open-minded Bob when he meets three individuals, who are probably transgender. The show doesn’t really specify, but we’re almost certain Marshmallow is transfeminine. Bob uses “her” as the pronoun, calls her beautiful, and will go out of his way to greet her when he sees her.

Additionally, he tells a gay guy selling him a turkey that he’s “mostly straight” and even doubts whether he’s in the same league as the guy who is hitting on him. He’s completely fine with his father having gay friends and we suspect he’d be very accepting of any of his kids being part of the LGBT+ community. Speaking of which...

5. There are LGBT+ characters.

I’ve already mentioned Marshmallow, the most notable character from this community, but she’s not the only one. Todrick Hall, an openly gay drag queen makes a fabulous appearance as the singing drag queen, Miss Triple X-Mas. Dalton Crespie (AKA Dame Judi Brunch) is an openly gay character voiced by John Early, also gay. Bob’s father dances with gay men.

There are plenty of characters who don’t reveal their gender or sexuality. Still, we can assume many of the dancers at the Christmas rave are LGBT, Marshmallow’s friends are LGBT, and that some of the teenagers will fall into that group eventually. The show demonstrates that it isn’t scared to have people of different genders and sexualities.

Conclusion

There are so many shows and movies which deserve the outrage they receive. In the midst of the 2018 political climate and the #MeToo movement, we should be critical and we should demand better.

Bob’s Burgers isn't perfect, but let's give it credit for what it is. Many movies and television shows—even those we loved a decade ago—cannot live up to our current standards. In retrospect, some of the shows we believed to be progressive about sexuality and pivotal in the gay community, were still full of bigotry against trans people. We cringe as our heroes fall.

Slowly, society is becoming more accepting of a person being something other than “man or woman” and “gay or straight.” We should search for that open-mindedness in our media. Sometimes that acceptance comes from shows that haven’t been pegged for that category.

Bob’s Burgers is one of those shows. Nearly a decade later, it still meets our expectations of being accepting and progressive. Let’s support that and help it continue.