Disclaimer: This article is going to have spoilers but most of them are going to be about LeFou.

Another Disclaimer: Also, I’ve only seen this movie twice and do not have it available to me as I write this so I might be inaccurate about some minute details. Trust me, it’s going to be okay.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (2017) came to theaters a little over a week ago and I have seen it twice. Why? Well because I enjoyed it; it tugged at all my nostalgic heartstrings; it made me laugh and it made me cry a lot. Yeah, I’m cool, I’m capable of enjoying things (my defensiveness only grows as I get older).

Before I watched the movie, I had two major apprehensions: Emma Watson’s singing (still wasn’t impressed at all but I’ll get over it), and the fact that LeFou was supposed to be (SPOILER ALERT) gay. Now, most people who know me would be surprised that I was originally against the idea of LeFou being gay because I’m queer myself and outspoken about LGBTQI+ representation in popular media. So here were my two problems: One, in the original film, LeFou was a unredeemable, disgusting, and one-dimensional antagonist; Two, not only that but he is an unimportant side character so thank you tokenism for giving us another unimportant side character who is gay. Just looking at those two points I decided that he definitely wasn’t going to be a good example of queer representation in a popular Disney movie; however, that was before I watched the movie which made my feelings much more ambivalent. So strap in and get ready to read about all my conflicting emotions.

LeFou is a Redeemable Anti-Hero

I’m using the term “anti-hero” liberally because it implies that he is a strong lead character or something but let me assure you, he is still a side character. Through the second half the film we get to see a LeFou has moral dilemmas with Gaston’s behavior so much so that he sings about Gaston possibly being the real monster that was set free. In the end, after Gaston leaves him in the dust, he fights against the mob with Mrs. Potts and says that he is “so over” Gaston before Mrs. Potts reassures him that he is better than Gaston. LeFou is also a caring character, though most of his care is directed toward a total creep (love is blind am I right?). His love for and loyalty to Gaston is what makes him so conflicted but he realizes how Gaston has taken advantage of him. LeFou isn’t a creepy, drool-ridden idiot; he is still illiterate (which wasn’t uncommon in that time) but he is definitely more intelligent and observant than Gaston and some of the other people in their town. Let’s just say the first time I walked away from this movie my heart was full for him. He also keeps his funny moments, which is great too, but that’s not the only reason he’s there!

There is Another Gay Character (Who dresses in drag!)

I didn’t notice this other character much during my first viewing because he was a nobody that hung around two other mob-following dudes. The first hint of his queerness is during the fight scene between the mob and the palace servants; Madame Garderobe (the wardrobe) attacks him and his buddies by dressing them up in ostentatious dresses, wigs, and makeup; while the other two react by screaming and running away he turns and smiles as if he finally feels alive while Garderobe sings that he is now free. I literally clapped my hands and nearly jumped out of my seat during this moment because I have strong feelings about drag. Of course, this doesn’t automatically mean that this character is gay but a later scene hints that he is.

But That Scene Was Too Subtle and Short

Near the end, when everyone is happy in the movie and the audience is getting their stuff to get ready to leave, LeFou and this unnamed other gay character (I think his name might be Stanley because LeFou gestures to him when singing the lyrics “you can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley”) have a moment when the accidentally end up dancing together and looking at each other; This moment is so short you could blink and miss it; not only that, but it could look like a comical accident that doesn’t hint at any queerness but instead hints at queerness being a joke (I didn’t see it that way but I’m sure there are those who are uncomfortable with The Gay would interpret it that way.) Don’t get me wrong, I live for these moments because they aren’t common in family-friendly popular media; I feast on the crumbs that are given to me; however, that’s all they are; they’re just crumbs that Disney is handing out to starving queer birds (“Here you go, that should be enough to last you a couple of years”).

There are some other scenes that suggest LeFou’s sexuality but again, these are scenes that movie-goers might interpret as gayness being the butt of a joke. Then again, I didn’t see them that way so maybe I should have a faith in my fellow audience-members. Again, it’s not like gay characters can’t be the comedic relief and it’s not like it’s bad for gay characters/people to be sassy.

But this leaves questions buzzing in my head as I write this out: would someone unlike me, who is always looking for the queer in everything, notice LeFou’s gay in this movie? Would they notice the queerness of the drag scene? Would they laugh at the scenes for the same reasons I laughed at them? I can’t expect people to think the same way I do but I don’t think it’s wrong to expect a little less subtly.

Flamboyant Gay Characters Who Dress in Drag: Harmful Stereotyping or Good Representation?

So in the movie, LeFou is sassy and flamboyant and the only other gay character gets dressed up in drag and loves it. Some people might say this is terrible representations because these are “harmful” stereotypes of the gay community. I don’t think there is anything wrong with flamboyant gay characters because flamboyant gay people exist and it’s not a bad thing to be feminine and it’s not a bad thing to subvert and sometimes satirize gender roles (in fact, it’s what I love most about being a part of the community). However, I can see where some people would consider this bad representation because it is Disney assuming all gay men are feminine because they are attracted to other guys and that to be attracted to men is a feminine quality only (this is where most of my ambivalence resides). Still, some gay men have feminine traits and some gay men do like to dress in drag and neither of those is bad or harmful things.

I can’t write this off as good representation because it’s hard to believe that Disney is playing with gender roles and these gay characters the way I interpret them; I can’t write this off as bad representation because I see nothing wrong with those qualities and I celebrate them and I do get to interpret them however I want and that’s what matters most to me as a queer person; I can write this off as a decent attempt at representation, a first hopeful step for something better.

One definite thing I can say is this: I loved the movie, even though Emma Watson’s singing wasn’t all that great, and I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD.