LGBTQ+
Teen Disney Star of Girl Meets World Comes Out as Queer on Twitter
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Teen Disney Star of Girl Meets World Comes Out as Queer on Twitter
The teen star of Girl Meets World came out on Twitter.
Rowan Blanchard, a 14-year-old actress who plays Riley Matthews on the Disney Channel series, revealed Friday night on the social media platform that she identifies as queer.
The information came to light after one of her more than 300,000 Twitter followers tweeted, "BisexualRileyMatthews2k16."
Since the show's debut in 2014, fans had been shipping—speculating that Riley and another Girl Meets World character, Maya, might have more than platonic feelings for one another. Blanchard's message was in response to the hope that a romantic relationship might come to fruition.
While Blanchard did not confirm that such a plotline might occur, she did offer the following information about her own sexuality, as well as her belief in the importance of LGBT representation in media.
In a follow-up tweet, she added, "& being queer to me just means not putting a label on sexuality- just existing."
Blanchard was named a Feminist Celebrity of the Year by the Ms. Foundation for Women. She has penned several essays on feminism, including a recent piece in Tavi Gevinson's magazine, Rookie. The article, "Sorry Not Sorry," is subtitled, "How I quit apologizing for existing."
"I have treated, specifically, male feelings and ego as superior to, and more fragile than my own," she wrote. "This practice dates back to elementary school, where it was first embedded in me and my female classmates, that our feelings, bodies, and minds would be used as weapons against us—mostly, but not exclusively—by our male peers."
This marks the first time a Disney Channel star whose show is still on the air has come out.
Girl Meets World is a sequel of the popular ABC show Boy Meets World. Blanchard portrays the daughter of the former show's stars, Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel).
<p>Daniel Reynolds is the associate social media editor at Here Media. He is also the world’s tallest poet.</p>
<p>Daniel Reynolds is the associate social media editor at Here Media. He is also the world’s tallest poet.</p>