Hey y’all, it’s me Peppermint 💋 and welcome back to Queer 101! This episode is one of those “once you see it, you can’t unsee it” conversations—because we’re talking all about queer coding in pop culture. And yes… it’s been happening forever.

This week Hugh Ryan, and I break down how queerness has been sneaking into movies, books, and TV for decades—especially back when being openly queer was a hard no thanks to censorship, moral panics, and a whole lot of pearl‑clutching. So what did creators do? Oh, they got creative.

We get into Hollywood history and how queerness was often hidden in plain sight through gestures, voices, fashion, and vibes. Then we jump straight into Disney, because let’s be honest—the villains were serving. From Scar’s theatrical drama in The Lion King to Ursula’s larger‑than‑life fabulousness in The Little Mermaid, we talk about why so many of us clocked those characters immediately—even as kids.

But it’s not just about being queer-coded; we also unpack how queerness and racial coding often overlapped, reinforcing stereotypes and shaping how audiences understood “otherness.” It’s layered, it’s complicated, and yes—it had real cultural consequences.

We also look beyond film into literature, where queerness has long lived between the lines, and we ask the big question: now that we can be more open, why are we still relying on subtext?

By the end, Hugh and I share our hopes for a future where queer characters don’t have to hide in villains, metaphors, or side‑eyes—and where authenticity doesn’t require decoding. And of course, we want to hear from you, so I invite you to share your thoughts, your favorite coded characters, and what you want us to tackle next on Queer 101.

Because if the subtext was loud back then? Baby, the text deserves a microphone now.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Welcome back to Queer 101
• 01:09 How Hollywood Learned to Code Queerness
• 03:38 Disney Villains: The Real Gay Icons
• 07:11 How Queer Coding Shaped Culture
• 10:19 Race, Queerness & “Otherness”
• 17:44 Queer Stories Between the Lines
• 29:06 Imagining a Future Without Coding
• 29:46 Final Thoughts & Call to Action

Follow us at:

• @peppermint247
• @hughoryan
• @pridehousemedia

Write to us at:

• questions@queer101podcast.comScar, Ursula, and the Queer History of Disney, Hollywood & Pop Culture