Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast
Imagine a world where you’re a lesbian. Now imagine you’re the only lesbian at a family function. And despite the fact that you don’t hide your lesbianism, people keep asking about a future boyfriend or fail to remember who your long-term girlfriend is.
Frustrating, I know. But that’s kind of what happened to Scooby-Doo’s Velma Dinkley. Except instead of a family function, it’s decades of TV and movies, and instead of “forgetful” family members, Velma had studio execs distancing themselves from the fact that she’s been purposely queer-coded for years.
Yes, Velma is a cartoon character, whose roots date back to 1969, in the original Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo series. But even the 1970s were no match for her inherent sapphic nature, like knowing what Daphne’s moans sound like. Subtle lines like that, or the fact that Velma never really had a long-lasting love interest, are what got—and has kept—the lesbian headcanons rolling. If we can’t get gay representation, we’ll create it, and that especially goes for lesbians.