Name: SpongeBob SquarePants.
Age: 21.
Appearance: Absorbent, yellow and porous.
Habitat: Lives in a pineapple under the sea.
Unusual. Everything about life in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom is unusual.
Clearly, most people will know about SpongeBob, but do you think you should give a bit of basic info for the odd reader who has, say, been living in a pineapple under the sea for the past 21 years? Excellent idea. SpongeBob SquarePants is an award-winning cartoon series on the TV channel Nickelodeon. It was created by the late Steve Hillenburg, a marine biologist turned animator. The lovable, wildly optimistic SpongeBob, who works as a cook in the Krusty Krab restaurant, is the central character in a fully realised aquatic world.
Why SquarePants? Because he is square, so are his trousers.
Of course. But why is he in the news? Are marine pollution and the climate crisis affecting Bikini Bottom? Nothing so straightforward. There is intense discussion about SpongeBob’s sexuality after Nickelodeon put out a rainbow-embellished tweet voicing his support for Pride month in the US.
How intense? Well, as intense as any discussion about the sexuality of a cartoon sea sponge can get. Many have taken the tweet, which describes him as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, as confirmation that SpongeBob is gay.
What is the evidence, apart from his support for Pride? He is pictured alongside Korra, from The Legend of Korra series, who is bisexual, and Michael D Cohen, who plays Schwoz Schwartz in the series Henry Danger. Cohen announced last year that he is transgender.
And the evidence against? The campness of the series and SpongeBob’s close relationship with his friend Patrick Star – a pink starfish who favours floral shorts – has led to speculation about his sexuality over the years, but Hillenburg sought to quash it in 2005. “We never intended them to be gay,” he insisted. “I consider them to be almost asexual.”
Deep waters. Too right. Nickelodeon turned off replies to the tweet, suggesting it wanted to dampen speculation, but it is too late.
And if I want to read an academic take on this theory? Jeffery Dennis, in an article entitled Queertoons, argues that the series “frequently portrays same-sex desire as valid and important … SpongeBob and his next-door neighbour Patrick are paired with arguably erotic intensity.”
Have there been any negative reactions to SpongeBob’s alleged sexuality? In Ukraine, he was investigated by the National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality in response to claims by a Catholic “pro-family” group that he was “perverting” Ukrainian children.
Not to be confused with: Bart Simpson.
Do say: “I’m ready.”
Don’t say: “Has President Trump tweeted about SpongeBob yet?”
