#bryan konietzko in 2014: this was not a slam-dunk victory

[gayfandomblog]

anyone else obsessed with the fact that korrasami went canon before gay marriage was federally legalized in the US and was the first gay couple in any western cartoon

[cafenervosa]

Korra and Asami from The Legend of Korra

Picture this: you're me (congratulations). It's 2014 and you're riding the stationary bike in your college's athletic complex while watching The Legend of Korra. Around season 2 you started to feel like Korra and Asami would make a good couple, but it's 2014 so there's literally no way that would ever happen. Cut to the end moments of the series finale - Korra and Asami hold hands and exchange a fond look before walking into the spirit realm together. Wait a minute, you think, did what I think just happened, happen?

You take it to the internet and realize that everyone else is freaking out about this moment as well. Most of the people having strong reactions had never seen explicit wlw representation in media, let alone a program geared towards children. “Korrasami is canon," co-creator Bryan Konietzko wrote on his Tumblr, "You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it. That is the official story."

While the "blink and you miss it" confirmation of their relationship was a hardly a "slam-dunk victory for queer representation" (according to Konietzko), it was a significant step forward for LGBTQ representation in family programming. "As we wrote Book 1, before the audience had ever laid eyes on Korra and Asami, [Korrasami] was an idea I would kick around the writers' room," Konietzko wrote. "At first we didn't give it much weight, not because we think same-sex relationships are a joke, but because we never assumed it was something we would ever get away with depicting on an animated show for a kids network in this day and age, or at least in 2010."

Co-creator Michael DiMartino was able to further flesh out Korra and Asami's relationship in a series of comic books released after the TV series ended. Not only do they extend the narrative of The Legend of Korra, but they show Korra and Asami as a full-fledged couple.

To see the rest of my 2021 Pride drawings, click here!

For an image description, click the read more!

Image description: a drawing of Korra and Asami from The Legend of Korra done in shades of blue. Korra has one hand on her hip and is lifting Asami up with the other arm. She is lightly smiling up at her. Asami is sitting on Korra's arm while being lifting up. She is laughing and holding onto Korra's shoulder. They are in front of a light blue background with abstract clouds on it. End image description.