Disney has featured its first ever explicitly non-binary character in its children’s animated TV series The Owl House.
The character, Raine Whispers, featured in the latest episode of the series, and is voiced by Avi Roque, a non-binary actor.
The Owl House follows the adventures of a teenage girl named Luz Noceda, who is transported to another world by a magic portal.
Writing on Twitter, Roque said that the role represented a “dream come true”, and specified that Raine uses they/them pronouns.
The Owl House has been praised for its sexual and gender diversity in the past, and is the first Disney Channel programme to feature a bisexual leading character.
The show’s creator, Dana Terrace, claimed that she had initially faced pushback on representation from “certain” members of Disney leadership.
“In [development], I was very open about my intention to put queer kids in the main cast,” she tweeted last August. “When we were greenlit, I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the Channel.”
However, she stipulated: “Now I am VERY supported by current Disney leadership. Representation matters! Always fight to make what YOU want to see!”
In the UK, The Owl House can be streamed on Disney Plus.
