Boys and girls, tonight I feel the need to defend a personal hero. He’s meant a lot to me, he’s taught me many valuable lessons in life about interpersonal relationships, power struggles, and romance, I look to his example almost every day of my life, and now he has been attacked.
Boys and girls, Bugs Bunny is not sexist.
Some lady in Canada thinks he is, though. In 1999 she complained to the Canadian Broadcasting Company that she felt the lovable cartoon character had made a “deeply misogynistic comment”.
The cartoon in question was the classic short “Bewitched Bunny”, where Bugs escapes from June Foray by heaving a bag of magic powder at her. She is transformed into a sexy female bunny, and as the two of them walk off into the sunset, Bugs turns to the audience and says, “Ah sure, I know. But aren’t they all witches inside?”
Heady stuff. The woman wrote a letter to the president of Canada’s Global Television channel and requested a televised apology to the women viewers. He, politely and with respect, blew her off. She moved on to complain to the broadcasting-standards council, saying “…this cartoon is offensive not only to women, but it gives a wrong idea of women to impressionable children – women are evil inside.” The council bounced her complaint (politely), and stated that they could find nothing in the “demeanor of Bugs Bunny or any other character or element of the episode of the “Bugs Bunny and Tweety” show which suggests a program attitude which could be broadly interpreted as constituting ‘negative or degrading comments on the role and nature of women.’.
Type your cut contents here.
A couple thoughts strike me right off:
Bugs Bunny treated men far worse in his cartoons than he ever treated women, witches or not. One throwaway line in one cartoon is nothing compared to 50 years of running circles around such fine, upstanding male role models as Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam.
Had this been the United States, the channel would have probably caved like a marshmellow sunroof and pulled the cartoon.
PC nazis have no sense of humor, but we knew that.
Of all things, how can you try to paint Bugs with the woman-hater brush? If ever anyone in media has embraced alternative lifestyles, in the grand tradition of Fatty Arbuckle, Rock Hudson, and Charlie Sheen, it’s Bugs. For 5 decades, Bugs has been consistantly open with his preferences and attitudes. Just look:
Transvestitism
This is a bunny truly comfortable with his sexuality. Slipping easily in and out of dresses, skirts, wigs and tight sweaters, Bugs is happy and proud. Unlike many TVs who cross-dress in private and in shame, Bugs thrusts out his padded top and says to the world, “This is me! This is who I am, doc!” (chuckles and munches carrot).
Bisexuality
Not only is Bugs attracted to female rabbits (and female movie stars, on occasion), but he has married Elmer several times, both as bride and groom, and Yosemite Sam once, as bride. He’s kissed hunters, boxers, construction men and wrestlers alike, and has been known to dive into gentleman’s clothing while the gentlemen in question were still wearing them.
Sadism
There is certainly a violent aspect to Bugs’ personal life, although in his defense he is usually heavily outarmed. It is rare that he can spend even a few minutes alone with his co-workers without hitting them with large objects, such as a truck. His erotic beatings can be seen clearly in the classic “Hillbilly Hare,” where, dressed as a charming Kentucky maiden and playing a fiddle, he seduced two good ole boys into whaling the living shit out of each other. Makes you wonder if Acme sells leather accessories, and whether you can trust them.
Infantilism
Quite a few times our intrepid rodent has found himself swaddled and adopted, usually by a gorilla, and I must say he seemed to enjoy it. Hey, try anything once!
Oh, and he’s a vegetarian.
Bugs is an American icon, inspiring and defiant, and I think that if he feels comfortable in chiffon, no one should have the right to say him nay. Stand up and be counted! If anyone in your area has the nerve to disparage this Oscar-winning rabbit’s choice of personal expression, be sure to let them know in no uncertain terms that of course they know, this means war.
