Kurt on Glee is an intelligent and confident sissy main character. We have High School Musical’s Ryan singing with spunk and no convincing female romantic interest. Twinkles proudly prance, unashamedly emote, high-kick, jazz-hand, belt out “Paparazzi” with piano - everything a gay kid used to do in his bedroom with the door shut.Ĭonsider the current range of twinkle archetypes and twinkle-friendly supporters. Call them Twinkles: preteen boys who may not know they are gay yet, or may not want to say they are gay yet, but who have a gleam in their eye and a definite sensibility.

But it seems that, in our world of niche-entertainment marketing, gay boys are becoming a viable demographic, up there with tween girls and security moms. Of course, there has never been a lack of gay subtext on TV ( Dukes of Hazzard, Pee-wee Herman, Jonny Quest, SpongeBob). Is it finally okay to be a 13-year-old sissy? From the feather-cuffed, drama-filled Olympic figure-skating competitions to the unashamedly oddball high-school TV show Glee, being young and gay suddenly has a place in pop culture that isn’t cruel or tragic.