What do The Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz,” Ruby Rhod from “The Fifth Element” and Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” have in common? For many, these characters are prime examples of “queer-coding.”On Oct. 25, Marley Duncan, a Claremont Graduate University alumnus, led a discussion on the origins of queer-coding at the Claremont Colleges’ Queer Resource Center (QRC). This concept was largely made popular through the Hays Code, a set of voluntary regulations imposed on Hollywood in the 1930s. While queer-coding existed so that people could find representation where they weren’t supposed to, or directors could make subtle references, it means something different for students now, to still rely on these tropes as a means of representation.
