But typically it was mom and pop attractions that popped up to service tourists. “The state had always been a tourist destination, going back to the 1920s, in the sense that it had warmer weather and coastline.
It just really changed the face of Florida. Disney is now the biggest private sector employer in Florida Walt Disney World had more than 75,000 workers before the coronavirus pandemic.Īubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, says: “You could argue that Disney has had a bigger impact on Florida and central Florida than any other company or group. The opening of the Walt Disney World Resort in October 1971 helped transform the state into an economic powerhouse and tourism magnet. It needs to be vetoed and, if it isn’t vetoed, it needs to be repealed.”įew activists or non-government organisations could have opposed the bill with the clout of Disney, as synonymous with Florida as beaches and oranges. “It is a hateful bill that is rooted in the same anti-LGBTQ animus that has been used to justify discrimination and violence against us forever. Wolf, press secretary of the LGBTQ rights organisation Equality Florida and a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, says: “The ‘don’t say gay bill’ was dubbed that by the community because it is a bigoted, very specifically anti-LGBTQ piece of legislation designed to censor classroom speech about our community. It has been condemned as “hateful” by Joe Biden and other Democrats who argue that it demonises LGBTQ people. The legislation has been sent to DeSantis, a rightwing populist in the mould of Donald Trump, for signature but could then face legal challenges. Silence is complicity.”Ī rally and march in Florida earlier this month. Just in case anyone did not get the message, she added: “If you’re against the anti-grooming bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of four- to eight-year-old children. But their prejudices were laid bare by a tweet from Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, that said: “The bill that liberals inaccurately call ‘don’t say gay’ would be more accurately described as an anti-grooming bill.” Republicans promoting it claim that parents rather than teachers should be talking to their children about gender issues during their early formative years. The controversial bill bars instruction on “sexual orientation or gender identity” in schools from kindergarten through grade 3.
But today its reputation for inclusivity and tolerance is under scrutiny – as are its deep ties to the political establishment and the lack of LGBTQ representation in its films.ĭisney’s workers have been staging walkouts in protest at chief executive Bob Chapek’s lacklustre response to Florida legislation dubbed “don’t say gay”. The Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s biggest media and entertainment empires, prides itself on a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) friendly culture.