Nearly 18,000 people signed a petition demanding children’s UK TV show Peppa Pig introduce an LGBTI family.

The petition, started on Care 2 Petitions, comes after US TV show Arthur aired its first ever same-sex marriage.

The petition reads: ‘Despite there being six series and over 250 episodes produced so far, none of the families feature same-sex parents.

‘Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal.

‘This means that children of same-sex parents may feel alienated by Peppa Pig, and that other children may be more likely to bully them, simply through ignorance.

‘Peppa Pig is not just for entertainment, children are inevitably learning from it too.’

The children’s show follows the life of Peppa Pig and her brother George. It follows their mishaps and adventures through the world. It is one of the most popular young children’s television shows in the UK and across the world.

There are a few shows already with LGBTI families and characters, though none aged at the very young age demographic of Peppa Pig. Shows like Steven Universe have openly queer characters, whereas Star vs. the Forces of Evil has gender non-conforming characters.

As for same-sex parents, Nickelodeon has the Loud House. This features an interracial gay couple who adopted the character Clyde.

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