Velma Dinkley is officially un-closeted! Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo! was released on October 4, and with the movie’s release, we see great representation of the lesbian community. Although she has been idealized as lesbian for a long time, Velma Dinkley’s confirmation as a lesbian was highlighted in that film with the reveal of the fashion designer Coco Diablo. As her glasses fog up looking at the womans, she blushes, and utters a bashful and wistful “Jinkies…”
In recent media, shows have been cancelled, censored, or not greenlit for more seasons due to including the LGBTQ community as either passing representation or a main pillar of the show. Conservatives worry that this sort of media is brainwashing their children, and therefore representation in cartoons and popular children’s media is very rare. Disney has allegedly canceled shows for having characters that come out or just are part of the community, such as Andi Mack. This issue prevails with every minute reference to the LGBTQ community. With modern conservatives coming down on LGBTQ representation even more, we’re doubly glad and excited to see Velma and the Scooby Doo franchise are unwavering on this matter.
Velma has actually been a longtime pillar of lesbian representation, as Scooby-Doo producer Tony Cervone said in an Instagram post, “I’ve said this before, but Velma in ‘Mystery Incorporated’ is not bi. She’s gay. We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character when she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her, and she had unspoken difficulty with the why.”
Director James Gunn also confirmed Velma Dinkley as a lesbian with the now-deleted twitter statement “I tried! In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel). ????”
