Brendan Carr’s war on wokeness targets inclusive children’s television

Source: The Verge

FCC’s Request for Comments on Children’s Programming

Under the guidance of consummate bully / chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC is taking steps toward cracking down on children’s entertainment that explores gender identity.

On Wednesday, the FCC’s Media Bureau announced that it is soliciting public comments on whether the TV ratings system has made sound decisions regarding children’s programming with transgender or non‑binary characters. In a statement about the commenting period, the FCC said it was seeking feedback due to an alleged uptick in “significant concerns” about whether “controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents.”

“Specifically, the industry guidelines that parents rely on are rating shows with transgender and gender non‑binary programming as appropriate for children and young children, and doing so without providing this information to parents, thereby undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families,” the FCC explained.

Brendan Carr’s Statements

On X, Carr echoed the FCC’s sentiments and claimed that parents are worried that “New York & Hollywood programmers” are pushing a pro‑transgender agenda. Carr also insisted that these programmers are undermining both the law and the ratings system that was established to protect children from unsuitable content.

All of the incoherent noise Carr’s FCC is making reads transparently as an attempt to weaponize the entertainment industry’s (voluntary) ratings system in order to erase transgender and non‑binary people from the media. As Variety notes, the FCC is not directly in control of the ratings system, but it does have the ability to judge whether the ratings board is operating effectively.

Responses from FCC Commissioners

In a comment to Variety, FCC Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez pointed out that, per the FCC’s most recent annual report, there were “only 11 pieces of public correspondence relevant to the [TV ratings] board’s work, and spot checks turned up just two instances where a rating actually needed to be changed.”

“American families are worried about affordability, access and rising costs, not whether the TV ratings system has enough warnings about gender identity,” Gomez said.

Broader Implications

The FCC’s questionnaire includes proposals such as adding “additional faith‑based organizations” and more “stakeholders outside of the entertainment industry,” framing the current ratings board as potentially not acting in children’s best interest. While the FCC has not explicitly stated that it wants to exclude trans and non‑binary people from screen, the process could be used to launch a larger campaign to scale back queer representation.

Children who are transgender, non‑binary, and queer will always exist, regardless of the shows they watch. They and their cisgender peers deserve stories that reflect diverse gender expressions, as these narratives mirror real‑world experiences. Critics argue that the Trump‑era FCC is trying to play on people’s fears about children’s safety to push a bigoted agenda. With any luck, this controversy will subside unless Carr selects another target.