His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge was trending over the weekend after an adorable photo of the young royal standing on a helicopter went viral.
In the photo, Prince George, who turned four last week, is dressed in a chic red checkered shirt and navy shorts with a slight bend in his knees and his hands on his face. It is perhaps one of the cutest things we’ve ever seen.
But leave it to some internet trolls to ruin it. Shortly after the picture went viral, people began speculating about the child’s sexuality, even cracking jokes about it:
Prince George is definitely going to be gay ??
— Mark (@MrMarkJolley) July 22, 2017
i'm so happy prince george is a fag
— lindsaylosam (@lindsaylosam) July 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/nathansbeard/status/888544835493179392
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
https://twitter.com/JMN/status/888579188092846080
https://twitter.com/spacezoots/status/888707017447264256
https://twitter.com/jasonptoups/status/888762559758839809
i think Prince George is gay and he doesn't even know it yet
— pedro (@christmasgay) July 22, 2017
Many were to quick to point out that it’s really not appropriate to joke about the potential sexuality of an innocent 4-year-old:
https://twitter.com/KevYga/status/889240036230692866
#PrinceGeorge Is a Preschooler, Not Anyone’s “Gay Icon” or Receptacle for Your Gender Norms https://t.co/lii1V8le6B #LGBTQA pic.twitter.com/NtH8dmAcNx
— The Mary Sue (@TheMarySue) July 25, 2017
I'm EXTREMELY uncomfortable
seeing the sea of gay men
making a meme of that
Prince George photo
We should be better than that
He is a CHILD— Mr Adam R (@MrAdamR) July 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/alexjxmes/status/888867893789765633
not to get discoursey on this fine evening but this thing of making gay jokes abt prince george cos hes limp wristed in a pic is a bit ?
— just morto (@DylanTeeBH) July 22, 2017
Others didn’t seem to get what all the fuss was about:
https://twitter.com/MJRgrs/status/889235832967745536
https://twitter.com/mothballsoup/status/889287015782547456
What do you think? Did people go too far by joking about Prince George’s potential sexuality? Is it ever OK to speculate about a child’s potential sexual orientation? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments below…
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bobnla
I’m pleased the pic is generating a lot of comment. I don’t find the discussion distasteful. The boy is 4 yo, but most researchers tell us sexuality already has been defined. If he turns out gay, wonderful! What a spectacular event that would be, a future King of England who is gay. Just when we thought we had a prince, it turns out George might be a princess in short pants (sorry for that last comment; couldn’t resist ).
Rock Star
Gosh oh golly, he is 4 years old. Please, Mary’s. Let that sink into your brain wave patterns before you expound on his sexuality. My oh my, Let us wait a little longer to say naughty nasty things about a boy that doesn’t have a clue thankfully about how some folk are just vicious comment queens and think they are all that. Now if we could just get Tosh to comment on this then we can get down the road on the incivility train and be done with it. Fair game when he hits his mid teens though. Yea for the gays! Proud to have once been a queer teen who just knew prejudice was evil even if all my friends and relatives had the opinion that being gay was worse than murder. Thanks Dad. Fin.
Curtispsf
What? NO comments? Well let me be the first to say that giving a 4 year old a label such as gay OR straight is absolutely ridiculous. Those among us wanting to “claim” him as a member of our “tribe”, whether that tribe be straight OR gay are doing an incredible disservice to a young boy who’s only concern right now should be “where’s my puppy” and “when’s lunch” OR “do mummy and daddy love me enough”? Let the child BE a child. There will be PLENTY of time for grown up decisions at a later point. Leave him be, people.
Brian
It’s not a “decision” for him to make. It’s not a choice.
It’s interesting how this upsets people, but we assume kids are straight all the time. My niece and nephew were only 1 when everyone started to make comments about their sexual orientation. That’s what happens all the time. Infant males are a “ladies’ man” before they can talk, and infant girls are “princesses” who “flirt.” No one really bats an eye at that kind of culture. You say it’s “ridiculous,” but you’ve almost certainly done it yourself.
Donston
Whether you live a life reflective of your sexual orientation or primary sexual attractions is a choice. Actual orientation is not. So many people still don’t get that.
And yes, the outrage is far more absurd than the initial semi taste-less comments and is based purely on people claiming the photo is “gay”. Someone saying that they see themselves as a child in that photo should not spark so much outcry. Also, a few remarks by a few people on the internet does not represent the lot. That’s also something people still don’t get.
Kieran
Hopefully by the time George becomes King, his sexual orientation (whatever it may be) won’t be an issue and homophobia will be an ugly remnant of the past.
whatsaywhat
Let the pearl clutching & humor-shaming commence.
Billy Budd
I did not know I was gay when I was four, but looking back at my photos, now I can see that there was a pattern. I see it in little George.
KaiserVonScheiss
Ridiculous. HRH is just a kid. How can anyone know if he’s gay or not? Stop it.
Also, he’s not the future King of England. The Kingdom of England ceased to exist in 1707 with the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. The last English monarch was Queen Anne, who became the first Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Today we know the realm as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Heywood Jablowme
But it seems likely that Scotland would “dis-unite” the United Kingdom long before George becomes king. They might still want the same monarch (I think that’s called a “personal union” in the monarchy business?) but the U.K. would be no more. Even Northern Ireland is talking about breaking away from the U.K., because they’re so annoyed about Brexit.
A monarch like yourself should have thought of all that. Hey, aren’t you related to them? 🙂
KaiserVonScheiss
I doubt that will actually happen any time soon. It might, but I don’t think so. But as it stands, he is not the future King of England.
And yes, Wilhelm II was a grandson of Queen Victoria. And the current claimant to the Imperial German throne, Georg Friedrich of Prussia, is in the British line of succession (though he was removed because he married a Roman Catholic, but he was restored when Parliament amended the British laws of succession in 2013).
Oddly, there are some Jacobites who recognise Franz, Duke of Bavaria as the rightful King of England and King of Scotland. But they are few in number, and even the Duke of Bavaria thinks they’re nuts.
DCguy
Oh The HORROR that the Trump Trolls experience at the SUGGESTION that a kid may be gay. I guess that’s because the GOP standard line is still, that lgbt people CHOOSE it aren’t BORN it.
KaiserVonScheiss
@DCGuy
???
You have the reading comprehension of a wombat. You can’t know if he’s gay. He’s a KID! Only a lunatic could interpret what I wrote as a homophobic diatribe.
DCguy
Oh give it a rest. The fact is, if this was a little girl talking about her prince everybody thinks it’s adorable. The suggestion that the kid might be gay has you clut hing your pearls and hyperventilating.
JaredMacBride
Twitter – where people with WAAAY too much time on their hands go to prove their ignorance.
Donston
Oh, Twitter, if it’s not one thing it’s 500 things.
The uproar is absurd. Most of these tweets are good-natured jokes. And ultimately, whatever he develops into will not be determined by some silly Twitter comments. But yes, having effeminate traits at that age is a stereotypical sign of being homo/homo-dominant. More so than it is a sense of gender. Of course, the connection isn’t always there even half the time. The comments are indeed tacky. But only homophobia and gay-shame would ignite such a backlash.
Paco
A split second snapshot can tell any story you wish to make up.
That said… even if I had no idea what my sexual orientation was at 4 years old, my parents claim they knew.
Kangol
Whatever his sexual orientation, I say lay off commenting about small children and adolescents, famous or not. Just leave them alone, please.
DCguy
It’s odd that this article seemed to take offense with the tweets saying he might be gay and support the tweets that were homophobic and attacking that idea.
If the kid is gay he’s lucky he was born into this generation with these parents and his uncle. If he was the Queens son his father would have sent him to some abusive camp to “Toughen Him up”.
As for not commenting on “Children”, I’m sorry but the royal family is the worlds biggest tourist sideshow, if they’re parading him out there for the cameras you can’t act shocked that somebody makes a comment.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Creepy own goal. What’s up with these freaks projecting sexualities and even worse sexual stereotypes onto prepubescent children
Lvng1Tor
If he was shown with a little girl holding hands they would be sexualizing him by saying that the future king had found his princess or making them bf/gf…all this is just stupid.
Truth-is-Truthy
My concern isn’t with whether or not he’s gay, but why people are making a judgment based on one photograph. Not enough photos or videos of the boy have been released to the public to provide any real basis to concluding his sexuality. Wondering about a child’s sexuality is not the same thing as sexualizing them. Baby boys and baby girls are always treated like they are definitely hetero. “That boy’s going to be a heart breaker”, or “she’s going to have to swat the boys off like a fly” are said all the time about babies, toddlers, and young children so there isn’t anything wrong about . Now, it’s not true to say that at age 4 a child can’t know if they’re gay. Although they may not make the association between that word and their feelings, it is most certainly true that a 4 year old can know if they are attracted to boys or girls, not sexually but by looks and appearance. I was 5 years old when I started thinking about how cute certain boys were, and never thought the same thing about girls. Anyhow, Prince George is certainly adorable and the picture very cute. However, let’s be cautious about forming a judgment based on one photo.
DCguy
Frankly the one thing that shocks me is that the little kid looks happy and is smiling. Over all the royals have been a miserable bunch. Glad to see that his parents seem to be raising a happy child.
He BGB
All little boys act gay. I’ve seen it over and over, my nephews included. My sister so hoping they would be gay because of a pose like the above but alas, all turned out straight straight straight pu**y lovers.
Captain Obvious
I don’t think it’s ok to sexualize or assume the sexual identity of a child. No one should really be wondering what his orientation will be anyway as he’s a little kid. Who cares? I’ve posted this before and I’ll keep on posting it. I don’t get why this subject pops up about children. Children aren’t gay or straight. They aren’t yet sexual beings and shouldn’t be made into one.
GayEGO
I don’t know why some people are publicly making claims about a child’s gender attraction or identity as it is inappropriate and hateful to the child. Are these people homophobes?
darkanser
It disturbs me that people are publicly speculating on the future sexual orientation of a child — whether if it manifests at that age or not. It reminds me of a “mother” who I witnessed while waiting in line at Western Union totally sully/soil/contaminate the whole childhood myth of Santa Claus by telling the little boy she was with “Any man coming down a chimney is a pedophile”. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!! What on earth would this little boy know about pedophilia?