‘Peppa Pig’ adds first same-sex couple to the show—a polar bear family with two mommies

For the first time in the show’s 18-year history, “Peppa Pig” will add a same-sex couple to its cast of characters. In an episode titled “Families,” a polar bear family with two mommies made its debut earlier this week.

The scene featuring the couple shows Peppa’s friend Penny Polar Bear talking about her two mommies and what makes each of them special.

Related: More Americans than ever are identifying as LGBTQIA+—here’s how to talk about sexuality with your kids

“I’m Penny Polar Bear,” she says in the episode while drawing a picture of her family. “I live with my mommy and my other mommy. One mommy is a doctor and one mommy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti.”

The addition of the Polar Bear mommies was welcomed by many, as the LGBTQ+ representation is important for every child and family to see.

Really nice to see age appropriate representation of same sex couples on @peppapig with Penny & her two mummies. We are loving “One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti.” #PrimaryRocks #WomenEd #LesbianVisibility #DiverseEd https://t.co/EuZPdDcUDK

— Safe Schools Alliance (@SafeSchools_UK) September 7, 2022

Back in 2019, viewers launched a campaign for “Peppa Pig” writers to include a same-sex parent family in the show, to demonstrate representation for kids who are part of LGBTQ+ families and to teach inclusion.

Related: Parent resources to support your LGBTQ+ child

The petition, which garnered more than 23,000 signatures, stated the importance for such inclusion: “Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal. This means that children of same-sex parents may feel alienated by Peppa Pig, and that other children may be more likely to bully them, simply through ignorance. ‘Peppa Pig’ is not just for entertainment, children are inevitably learning from it too.”

Some have criticized the addition of the same-sex couple on the show, citing worries over preschool-aged children being “too young” to be “exposed” to lesbian characters.

It’s worth noting that if children are “taught” about heterosexual love and it’s accepted as the norm, it shouldn’t be any different with “lesbian love.” These couples exist, these families exist, they have always existed, and it can only help children in these families feel included while also broadening the minds of children everywhere to realize many different lived experiences exist beyond their own.

This is an age-appropriate representation of a family with two mommies. Here’s hoping Penny Polar Bear doesn’t know how to whistle—that’s the real scandal in Peppa Pig’s world (real ones know).