# Pink Panther **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2001, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227 "2001-02-28T16:36:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/1 "2001-02-28T16:36:41Z")
A number of observations: He puffs on a gaudy cigarette holder. He walks around without any clothes. He skips. He’s skinny. And above all… He’s pink. Question is…IS THE PINK PANTHER GAY? enolancooper ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/2 "2001-02-28T16:42:21Z")
Of course not; he’s one of those continental, swingin’ cosmpolites from the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/3 "2001-02-28T16:44:31Z")
Let me help you out. The Pink Panther is a cartoon. A fictional character. Usual laws of the universe do not apply. ---
**Author:** ![sojourn26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@sojourn26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sojourn26)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/4 "2001-02-28T17:03:54Z")
You want proof? Get the Pink Panther around Bugs Bunny and see what happens. Bugs does like to kiss guys after all. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/5 "2001-02-28T17:06:33Z")
Yeah, but that’s just Bugs exhibiting the “If you can’t kill 'em, confuse 'em” ethos. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/6 "2001-02-28T17:07:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*Let me help you out. The Pink Panther is a cartoon. A fictional character. Usual laws of the universe do not apply. \*\* Disagree. The cartoon character is drawn by people, who are generally aware of what image they are trying to portray, and how to portray it. If a cartoon character has enough of what are thought to be Gay characteristics to actually appear to be Gay, there is a very good likelihood that the character is intended to be Gay. But I do agree with you in this particular instance that the OP appears to be facetious, and in fact this thread is likely to be moved from GD shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/7 "2001-02-28T17:54:16Z")
\*\*IzzyR wrote: Disagree. The cartoon character is drawn by people, who are generally aware of what image they are trying to portray, and how to portray it. If a cartoon character has enough of what are thought to be Gay characteristics to actually appear to be Gay, there is a very good likelihood that the character is intended to be Gay.\*\* Okay…just what are these Gay characteristics? How are they different from Straight or Bisexual charactersistics? Do you need just one of these characteristics to be Gay or a certain number? Likewise for Bisexual or Straight characteristics? ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/8 "2001-02-28T18:02:52Z")
**Freyr** I was not commenting about what might be Gay characteristics, or even whether such characteristics exist. I was responding to the specific reasoning set forth by **wring**. To the extent that one grants that there are such characteristics (in the public perception, at least), than a cartoon character that has enough of them to seem Gay was likely intended to appear thus by it’s creators. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/9 "2001-02-28T18:14:02Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Moving to IMHO. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/10 "2001-02-28T18:44:04Z")
now that it’s in a better forum to get at the question. It’s a cartoon character and has whatever characteristics the creator of same attributes to it. In addition (and to expound on my prior comment), the fact that **in this world** certain characteristics may or may not make sense or be attributable to various sub groups, should not be taken as evidence that the cartoon character is anything in particular within it’s setting. For example, while **Pepe LePew** , being a skunk, and French (name/accent), perceiving himself to be [cheesy French accent]‘ze great lovair’ [/cheesy French accent], the creator **may** have intended some implications about the French, or may have just used the skunk 'cause it was an inheriantly funny animal and could have multiple funny scenes because of the skunkiness. So, unless you can come up with some specific cartoon where in the Pink Panther had any sexual encounter at all, (and then we could attempt to discern the gender of the partner), then I suspect there will be no definative answer (except if the cartoon creator themselves chimes in) ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/11 "2001-02-28T19:12:15Z")
**wring** But in your example, you agree that the skunk is in fact French based on the name and accent. So you do accept that one can assign a cartoon character to a specific group based on characteristics that would put it there IRL. This seems to conflict with your earlier position. Asking whether the creator “intended some implications about the French” is parallel to asking whether the creator of the Pink Panther intended to impart a particular implication about Gays, which goes beyond the question in this OP. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/12 "2001-02-28T19:35:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IzzyR \* > \*\ ***wring** > > But in your example, you agree that the skunk is in fact French based on the name and accent. So you do accept that one can assign a cartoon character to a specific group based on characteristics that would put it there IRL. This seems to conflict with your earlier position. > > Asking whether the creator “intended some implications about the French” is parallel to asking whether the creator of the Pink Panther intended to impart a particular implication about Gays, which goes beyond the question in this OP. \*\* Will try again. My point was that we don’t have the creator of the cartoon character here to ask. The cartoon creator may, in fact, have had some particular ideas when writing the cartoon. (as in the Rocky & Bullwinckle cartoons which had huge numbers of references to popular figures of the day, the cold war etc.). However, the particular references that they may have made do not necessarily translate equally into the medium. Cartoon reality is not the same as our world. we can’t walk on air. Road Runner can. Bugs Bunny can defy the laws of gravity since he never studied law. There is no real attempt to have the laws/realties of our world be directly applicable to the cartoon world. that’s what makes it funny. So. was Pink Panther gay?? Based on the list of attributes in the OP, I’d say no (since I don’t think most of them signal one way or the other). But more importantly, no, based on the fact that in the cartoon world he inhabited, sexuality was not part of the equation. we also don’t have any real idea if he was male or female AFAIR (although often cartoon female characters merely wore lipstick to establish their femininity). Bottom line, **Izzy** I don’t really care. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/b9e5f3/32.png) [@50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2001, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pink-panther/56227/13 "2001-03-01T01:53:08Z")
I only watch Pink Panther for the Inspector, and the music.