The Teletubbies return in full force - the characters are back in a rainbow collection to support LGBT people and one of them is coming out
Nostalgia is becoming very popular nowadays, which, by the way, is also evidenced by the growing interest in various retro trends. However, nostalgia is far from being confined to the older generation, as one might assume. Today's thirty-somethings (or even people a year younger) often smile wistfully at the various toys, trends and TV shows and stars that accompanied them through their childhood and adolescence. And so it's not surprising that this is what the market and pop culture also lends itself to, which, especially in recent years, tends to take imaginary trips into the past by reviving products and projects that reached their glory at the turn of the nineties and the millennium...
The Teletubbies are back and prouder than ever...
If we disregard retro weeks in a certain unnamed chain store and focus only on the "retro trend" in television production, it would be possible to compile quite a long list of shows that have been either directly continued or rebooted (i.e. re-released with a new cast) in the last few years. And now the Teletubbies, the iconic foursome of colourful friends featured in the children's show, could be added to that list of comebacks. Although the show itself isn't directly heading to television, the famous four are releasing their first clothing collection for young adults whose childhoods were just associated with Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po. What's more, it's a collection in support of LGBT people (probably because Tinky Winky wasn't exactly clear about his sexual orientation...), and it's heading to market in conjunction with Pride Month, which is June worldwide.
The Teletubbies - notwithstanding the many off-color jokes made about them - have made an indelible mark on television history, and their show, broadcast on British television between 1997 and 2001, has become absolutely iconic. Since the last flap, however, it's as if the ground (and the proverbial green hills) has fallen away from Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po (and of course the sun...). Of course, it's also clear from when the show was a hit what age its then child viewers are today - and it's to them that the current clothing collection is aimed, with its theme of "Big Hugs, Big Love" and also "Teletubbies Love Pride". The range of products is quite wide, you can buy socks, hats or even kidneys...
Fashion by Teletubbies
"Teletubbies have always represented their own quirkiness and had a sense of style," summarised Michael Riley, the commercial director of the company behind Teletubbies. "This year's Pride Month will celebrate the core idea - that everyone should love who they are - through our fashion collection, which Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po are very proud of. We've chosen the most iconic elements that Teletubbies fans know and love, and designed a playful collection that we hope fans will love too," he added. Although it's even possible to get a two-piece and custom-made Teletubbies suit (we mean an actual suit, not a character costume, that would be a pretty big deal even for Teletubbies), this piece requires a really big commitment to the show and especially a significant income, as the price tag reaches towards five thousand dollars. There are, however, a number of more affordable models on offer, ranging from tank tops to t-shirts to other accessories. Prices then range from $11 to $35. Additionally, proceeds from the sale of the collection will be donated to GLAAD, an organization that focuses on LGBT representation in the media.
Gay icon Tinky Winky
The various debates about which fairy tale characters might be gay usually arouse great passions in mainstream society - after all, "dragging sexuality" into children's fairy tales still doesn't really fly. However, in the specific case of Tinky Winky (according to the creators, Tinky Winky is male), it has to be said that the suggestion that this particular character could be perceived as gay came from the American preacher Jerry Fallwell. In 1999, he expressed considerable indignation at the fact that the character wears a purse, is purple (which is a gay colour) and her antenna is triangular (which is a symbol of gay pride). Utterly ridiculous? Absolutely not yet, we're afraid.
Zdroj: Giphy
In fact, the crown of the whole case was put on in Poland, where the sexuality of Tinky Winky(ho) was regularly dealt with by the Office for the Protection of Children's Rights in 2007. Here, moreover, the investigation did not even go so far as to interpret the shape of the antenna. It was enough to suspect the purple character of homosexuality when she appeared with a red handbag in her hand. The purse was too ladylike, they said. And that's already completely absurd, no doubt.
So while a significant portion of the population in Poland and religious bigots in the U.S. were potentially of a different sexual orientation - which no one in the LGBT community pointed out - the purple "dummy" (Tinky Winky pardon...) outraged, the LGBT community and its supporters decided to embrace Tinky Winky(him) as their icon based on these "clear clues". The current Pride collection has thus just become the long-awaited punchline to the whole "scandal" and closure to the story for many fans of the show. And so many are already joking on online forums that Tinky Winky has finally, after 22 years, seen his coming out...
