TV Shows

Should Children’s Television Shows Have Warnings About ‘Transgender’ Ideology?

If children’s television programming includes “transgender” ideology, should parents be warned? 

If Gonzo dresses up as Cinderella on Disney Jr.’s Muppet Babies, or Nickelodeon’s Rubble and Crew has a “nonbinary” character, should that be reflected in the shows’ ratings and content description? 

That question has Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr at odds with the Congressional Equality Caucus, a group of U.S. representatives who support and promote homosexuality and transgenderism. 

The caucus thinks it’s wrong to even ask the question about labeling children’s shows with transgender-identified characters, sending Carr a letter in June, stating:

Transgender people are part of every community, and many recognize their gender identity at a young age. Transgender people, including transgender young people, deserve to see themselves represented in media – and the public agrees.

Yes, you read that correctly. These legislators believe cartoon-watching young children can “recognize their gender identity.” 

Carr responded with a letter of his own on September 22, accusing the caucus of fighting “transparency and common sense.” 

He said: 

You stake out the radical position that parents have no right to know whether controversial gender identity ideologies are being promoted in children’s television programming. In your view, parents should not be empowered to make informed choices about the programs their children watch.

Gender ideology teaches children lies: There aren’t just two sexes, but a multitude of genders; the physical body doesn’t matter – only thoughts and feelings; and people can change from one sex to the other by just saying so. 

Parents should know if these falsehoods are being promoted in children’s shows – and be able to make decisions accordingly. 

The fracas began when the FCC’s Media Bureau properly solicited comments about the TV Parental Guidelines age ratings system in April 2026. The agency said parents had “raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents.” 

In asking for feedback from the public, the FCC asked questions such as: 

• Is the general public aware of the ratings system and how to provide feedback to the TV Oversight Management Board (TVOMB)?

• What more could the board do to include family-oriented perspectives – which are not well represented in the media industry – in its ratings process?

• Do descriptions of the content provide a sufficient basis for parents to make informed decisions concerning viewing decisions for their family, including when gender identity themes are discussed or displayed? 

Television guidelines were created by entertainment industry executives after Congress passed the Telecommunications Act in 1996, well before gender identity themes were being promoted to children. 

The Act required the entertainment industry to voluntarily provide parents with information about children’s entertainment content, or the FCC would establish a ratings system. 

Industry representatives chose to create the TVOMB and developed the TV Parental Guidelines age ratings system, which is still in use today.

The system provides ratings for programs that are appropriate for all children (TV-Y); appropriate for children over seven (TV-7); and suitable, but not specifically designed for, children (TV-G). The system also includes ratings for older children and adults: TV-PG, TV-14 and TV-MA.

In addition, parents are given content descriptions for sexually suggestive dialog (D), fantasy violence (FV), coarse or crude language (L), sexual situations (S), and/or violence (V). 

The Congressional Equality Caucus opposed the FCC’s Media Board seeking comments from the public about transgender ideology in children’s programs, calling it “censorship.” In their letter, the U.S. representatives wrote: 

We are deeply concerned that the questions you pose, such as whether programs should be rated differently because they discuss gender identity, indicate that you believe there is a role for the FCC to play in determining these ratings. 

The caucus added: 

The rating system is intended to address “sexual, violent, or other indecent material,” and we reject the idea that the inclusion of transgender characters or topics is “sexual, violent, or indecent.”

Chairman Carr took the caucus to task for opposing ratings that would inform parents about “the promotion of transgender and gender non-binary programming” in children’s television. 

The FCC commissioner wrote he was “deeply concerned” by the House members’ position “regarding the right of parents to know whether their sons or daughters are being exposed to controversial gender identity ideologies … in television shows that are rated as appropriate for young children.” 

Carr listed a number of children’s networks and shows that promote gender ideology. He told the Congressional Equality Caucus the FCC would move forward with giving parents more control over what their children watch: 

Opposing transparency puts you on the wrong side of the issue. Parents are nearly unanimous in wanting to know what their children are watching and to determine for their own families what shows are appropriate. Despite your opposition, the FCC will continue its work to empower parents and continue to engage with stakeholders as part of the agency’s open and ongoing proceeding.

Related articles and resources: 

‘Blue’s Clues & You!’ Celebrates LGBT Pride with New Alphabet Song

Disney Uses ‘Muppet Babies’ Show to Promote Transgender Ideology

Feds Ask Parents: ‘Did You Know Gender Ideology Can Be Promoted in Kids TV Shows?’

Increase in LGBT Characters in Children’s Entertainment – Focus’ Plugged In Gives Advice for Parents

Parenting Tips for Guiding Your Kids in the Digital Age

Plugged In

Rep. Hageman Introduces Resolution Demanding Transparency in TV Show Ratings

Report Shows Hundreds of LGBT-Identified Characters in Children’s Cartoons

TV Parental Guidelines: Understanding the TV Ratings and Parental Controls

Yes, Gay ‘Pride Month’ Most Certainly IS After Our Kids

Kelsey Grammer’s On-Screen Father Taught Him About Dads and Sons

The actor Kelsey Grammer has played Dr. Frasier Crane for more than 40 years.

Debuting the character on the sitcom Cheers, Grammer joined the cast of the Emmy award-winning show in its third season back in 1984. As the snobby, snooty, and emotionally complex psychiatrist, Dr. Crane’s pompous temperament contrasted perfectly with his lower brow bar mates wit and humor.

After Cheers went off the air in 1993 after 11 seasons, Grammer received his own show playing the same quirky shrink – but this time as the host of a call-in radio program in his hometown of Seattle. Frasier was another fan favorite, scoring high ratings for 11 seasons – and earning Grammer historic sitcom status.

Grammer reprised the erudite role once again last year, playing the same doctor – but this time focusing his attention on his adult son.

Asked about the role in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Grammer reflected:

What’s great about Frasier is, there’s an old poem by Jorge Luis Borges that I used to read, where he talks about how Shakespeare could take all of creation and treat it like a bauble in his hand. And I always thought that’s what Frasier’s like.
Frasier treats the universe like a bauble. It’s like it’s a magical gift that he can just go anywhere in the world with. He can go to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and we can enjoy the ride with him because it’s always just a little bit funny. Which goes back to something I learned a long time ago from a very famous old actor, who said, “You have to give the audience a wink, and you just have to let them know they’re safe, that this isn’t that serious, that we’re going someplace funny.” And Frasier knows how to wink.

But one of the more profound things that Grammer has previously shared about his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in Frasier revolved around the on-screen relationship between the doctor and his father, Martin Crane, played by the actor John Mahoney.

“The greatest gift I got from the show was to understand what it was like to have a father, and a brother,” Grammer recently reflected. “These are things I did not actually have.”

That’s an understatement.

Kelsey Grammer’s parents divorced when he was two. Raised by his mother and grandmother, his grandfather, whom he was close to, died of cancer. When he was twelve, his father was murdered – assassinated, really.

A writer in the Virgin Islands, a mentally unstable man lured his father out of his house one night by setting his car on fire. Apparently, the man objected to something his dad had written.

When Kelsey was 20, his 18-year-old sister was kidnapped, raped and murdered. Five years later, two half-brothers died scuba diving.

The string of tragedies hit Grammer like a ton of bricks. Spiraling into depression, he began abusing drugs and alcohol. Of his drinking addiction, he said, “I liked the way it made me feel.”

It’s not exactly clear where Kelsey Grammer is spiritually, but he’s previous said, “I’m kind of a Bible guy. I’ve been reading the Bible all my life. I turn it over to prayer, for reflection, for information, and I just always have. It’s just always been sort of at my fingertips throughout my life, ever since I was a boy. So, I have a relationship with the Word of God.”

Kelsey Grammer is married and has seven children ranging in age from seven to 40.

But Grammer’s reflection about learning about what it’s like to have a father by playing a son on television shines a light on something worth highlighting.

Social conservatives are often mocked and maligned for advocating for wholesome television, movies, and music. We’re accused of being uptight and even puritanical. We’re told these offerings are mere works of fiction and simply entertainment, not education.

But if an actor can learn about family from playing in one on television, how much more do audiences absorb from watching?

There is power in story – especially depictions of mothers and fathers interacting with sons and daughters. As culture continues to slide and as families fracture at alarmingly high rates, Hollywood stands in an enormously powerful position to model the beauty and meaning of our fundamental and formative relationships.

When John Mahoney passed away in 2018 at the age of 77, Kelsey Grammer paid him tribute.

“John actually played my father longer than I knew my own father, so he was more like my dad,” said a teary-eye Grammer. “He was my father. I loved him.”

Image credit NBC