West Hollywood’s Mayor Defends TV’s Tinky Winky

Joining one of the season’s strangest national debates, the mayor of West Hollywood is stepping forward to defend TV character Tinky Winky against accusations that the pear-shaped Teletubby, who sometimes wears a tutu and carries a red handbag, is a bad influence on kids.

“Tinky Winky is an innocent, innocuous icon for preschoolers,” said Mayor Steve Martin.

Tinky Winky, the largest of the Teletubbies, and his pals first aired in Britain in 1997.

Although Tinky Winky spends his time on the show giving big hugs and singing his “Pinkle Winkle Tinky Winky” song, the Rev. Jerry Falwell says Tinky Winky is actually indoctrinating children into homosexuality.

“The character, whose voice is obviously that of a boy, has been found carrying a red purse in many episodes and has become a favorite character for gay groups worldwide,” he wrote in the most recent issue of the National Liberty Journal.

In an article titled “Tinky Winky Comes Out of the Closet,” Falwell drew attention to the fact that the Teletubby is purple and has a triangular antenna on his head. The color and shape are symbols of gay pride.

“As a Christian, I believe that role-modeling the gay lifestyle is damaging to the moral lives of children,” Falwell said in a statement.

He did not address the other Teletubbies--Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po--who have all worn tutus periodically. However, in the same article he accused the Walt Disney Co. of infusing three popular movies--”The Rescuers,” “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King”--with subliminal sexual messages.

The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co., which owns the U.S. rights to the Teletubbies, has said Tinky Winky is neither gay nor straight. “He hasn’t even reached puberty yet,” said Steve Rice, a company spokesman.

The company also denied accusations that the four characters stunt toddlers’ intellectual development with their baby-talk dialogue.

Falwell’s criticism of the character has sparked outrage, laughter and ridicule in the gay community.

“It really speaks to Falwell’s unhealthy obsession with gay issues,” Martin said. “Pretty soon he’s going to be checking out what Ronald McDonald is downloading off the Internet.”

Martin said there has been talk about Tinky Winky being a gay icon, particularly after his picture was placed opposite a photo of gay actress Ellen DeGeneres in a Washington Post column last month. But he said it would be false to stereotype the character based on his purse.

“Here in West Hollywood, I run into lots of gay men every day,” he said. “I don’t know one who carries a purse.”

Christopher Calhoun, public policy advocate for the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, said that the debate is a fun diversion from the impeachment proceedings and that Falwell’s comments reflect the religious leader’s growing irrelevance. Calhoun said that Tinky Winky is more “pre-sexual” than gay but that the character definitely stretches traditional gender roles.

“Children need to have different types of heroes and role models,” he said. “I think it will expand horizons.”

Falwell was not available for comment Friday, but wrote in a news release Wednesday: “I know that children’s minds absorb multiple media messages at a phenomenal rate. So while I’d like to laugh along with those who are encouraging concerned parents and critics to ‘lighten up’ . . . I find the issue far too important.”

His warnings have become fodder for comedians and radio talk show hosts. One late-night talk show featured doctored pictures of Tinky Winky on a date with musician George Michael.

“Teletubbies” was created as a preschoolers show whose brightly colored space-alien characters live in a fantasy world of flowers and green rolling hills. It was marketed as one of the first shows to target an audience between 2 and 5 years old. It has since become immensely popular in Britain and the United States.

Some critics have denounced PBS, which airs the show in America, for broadcasting a program that encourages children to watch television at such a young age. They say there is not adequate research on how TV affects the cognitive development of the very young.

The show can be annoyingly repetitive for adults--one Canadian newspaper described the Teletubbies as “Ewoks after a lobotomy.” Reportedly it is popular among hallucinogenic drug users, who are drawn to the slow, colorful images.

The Teletubbies resemble human infants in some ways. They babble, laugh and coo with rabbits, a talking periscope and a baby-faced sun. They have TV screens on their stomachs and broadcast messages they receive through their antennas from a nearby windmill.

According to a profile on the Teletubby World Wide Web site, “Tinky Winky loves walking, marching, dancing and falling over.” One recent episode featured him jumping in the air and twirling in a tutu.

Martin said the attack on Tinky Winky has wrongly forced parents to confront the character’s sexuality and made him a cultural “centerpiece like Monica Lewinsky or [drag queen] RuPaul.”

“Now, every ‘purple’ children’s character may be a victim of his vicious hate,” Martin said. “Watch out, Barney, he may be coming after you next.”