Transformers, the children’s TV show, has introduced a non-binary character, who has described being neither male nor female as “a wonderful experience”.
Transformer: Earthspark, a spin-off show based on Hasbro’s popular action figures, introduced the gender neutral character in one of its latest episodes.
In a clip from the episode, the robot named Nightshade declares that her pronouns are “they/them”, while the human they are talking to responds that she likes to be referred to as “she/they”.
When the human says she feels safe around non-binary people, the robot asks what non-binary means and the human responds that means people who do not identify as male or female.
Nightshade then says: “I always knew my pronouns felt right, but what a wonderful word for a wonderful experience.”
The storyline has caused controversy in the US, where it was criticised by a number of commentators.
Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham discussed the clip on her show, The Ingraham Angle, and accused Transformers: Earthspark of shoving the pronouns down the throats of seven-year-olds.
Former Fox News presenter Megyn Kelly tweeted that the clip was “disgusting”.
All 18 episodes of the Transformers: Earthspark spin-off were online at the end of last year, but the storyline attracted notoriety in recent days after a clip was posted by the Libs of Tik Tok Twitter feed, which has more than two million followers.
Despite the uproar, some parents have backed the storyline.
Twitter user Timothy Jacobsen said: “What’s the issue? Great message for kids about inclusion and acceptance.”
The controversy follows a boycott of Bud Light in the US, including from celebrities such as Kid Rock, after the company sponsored transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
According to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ, reported by the New York Post, Bud Light’s sales in the US fell by 21.4 per cent in April.
* Article From: The Telegraph