For Disney, there now seems to be only one color: the rainbow. Not content with animated films filled with explicitly gay friendly scenes and having soundly challenged the law banning gender ideology in Florida schools, the multinational company has pulled yet another rabbit out of its hat.
It involves a series of benefits that the company will bestow on its employees and family members who access hormonal and surgical procedures aimed at changing their sex. The goal is “to ensure that here at our company our employees and cast can express their gender authentically and proudly,” says a Disney source, likely an executive, interviewed by reporter Christopher Rufo.
The project also includes an information plan on “gender affirmation procedures” for transgender employees or their children who have made the transition.
Republican states at odds
Disney’s new move, however, runs counter to policies undertaken in recent times by at least three Republican-led states. Earlier this year, Texas classified gender reassignment surgeries on minors as “child abuse,” while Governor Greg Abbott ordered that the Secretary of Family and Protective Services investigate cases where children are transitioning. Arizona has also banned these procedures on children, while Alabama Congress has passed a similar bill that lacks only the governor’s signature.
Therefore, the “game of sides” played by the CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek (pictured), is quite striking. After apologizing for being “lukewarm” in condemning the “homophobic” law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Chapek cried mea culpa some more and promised to become “a better ally of the LGBT+ community” by pledging to “ensure that our company lives up to its values.”
Chapek then reiterated, “I recognize that we have made mistakes and the pain those mistakes have caused. And I know that our silence was not just about the Florida issue, but has to do with every situation where a person or institution should have stood up for this community and they did not. My leadership team and I are determined to use this moment as a catalyst for more meaningful and lasting change.” Meanwhile, in the span of less than a year, at least six Disney employees have ended up in handcuffs, all on the same charge: child molestation or abuse. On these disturbing facts, however, there has been no expression of regret from the CEO…
Discussion about this post