How Tinky “Twinky” Winky became a camp icon

Over the hills and far away, the Teletubbies are happy and gay.

These rainbow-coloured, genderless aliens live on a hill as perfect as that one Microsoft Windows screensaver, where they spend their days eating Tubby toast and watching TV on each other’s stomachs. But one of them has always seemed a little, well…fruitier than the rest. 

This is the story of how Tinky Winky – my favourite Teletubby – became a camp icon.  

Role-modelling “the gay lifestyle” is IN

It’s 1998 and Michael Colton, a journalist at the Washington Post, is writing the Style section’s annual In/Out column. Ellen DeGeneres is the most prominent, openly queer celebrity on TV, but Colton believes that the American public are more interested in Tinky Winky, a character that has a masculine voice and carries a shiny red purse. Colton announces that DeGeneres and her then girlfriend, Anne Heche, are OUT, and the violet-hued Teletubby is IN.   

Shortly after the column is published, Baptist televangelist and notable homophobe Jerry Falwell releases a Parents Alert, warning against the corruptive potential of Teletubbies. He references Tinky Winky’s purple hue and its significance as “the gay pride colour” (although he mistakes this for the more specific – and gayer – lavender shade), as well as the inverted triangle atop his antenna, a gay pride symbol (though the gay triangle is typically pink, not purple). He also cites Colton’s Washington Post column as evidence that Tinky Winky is “role-modelling the gay lifestyle and damaging the moral lives of children.”

Falwell’s followers may have been concerned, but the general public largely dismissed the idea as ludicrous and inappropriate. Colton later responded to Falwell’s claims in Salon magazine, stating that:

“Tinky Winky is obviously not homosexual, by any stretch of the imagination, but he possesses a few effeminate characteristics (he also likes to wear a tutu on occasion). It's amusing to label him gay simply because the idea of homosexuality – or any sexuality – is completely incomprehensible and irrelevant in Teletubbyland[…]”

Tinky Winky in the tutu he likes to wear “on occasion”.

But the idea that Tinky Winky may have some queer sensibilities wasn’t so incomprehensible after all.

Not gay, but still queer

Responses from within Teletubbyland were more exasperated. Steve Rice, a spokesperson for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment (the organisation that licenses Teletubbies) said: “It’s a children’s show, folks. To think we would be putting sexual innuendo in a children’s show is kind of outlandish […] I really find it absurd and kind of offensive.”

Looking at this 20+ year-old controversy with modern eyes is fascinating – and frustrating. Falwell, Colton and Rice were adamant that sexual orientation and gender identity were mere “innuendo”, as though a queer person just existing is something reprehensible.  

A spokesperson from Its Bitsy Entertainment said that speculation about Tinky Winky’s sexuality was “absurd” and “offensive”.

Kenn Viselman was the only Teletubbies spokesperson to acknowledge why Tinky Winky had been perceived as a gay character. He said: "If gay people think Tinky Winky is gay, it’s because there aren’t enough gay role models on TV. But they aren't going to find one on this show."

I don’t believe that Tinky Winky is ‘gay’, at least not in the world of Teletubbies. I agree with Colton, Rice and Viselman that he is a three-year-old who likes to dress up and eat Tubby toast, and that romantic and sexual interest are barely a crackle in his staticky tummy.

But I do believe that Tinky Winky has queer sensibilities. He may not be role modelling “the gay lifestyle” (whatever that means), but he does demonstrate a gender fluidity and ambiguity, something that has cemented him as an icon in many queer circles.

Tinky Winky says “it’s OK to be gay”

In Teletubbies, Tinky Winky is referred to using he/him pronouns. But as a three-year-old viewer, I never knew what gender he was. In fact, I remember switching his gender between boy and girl as I felt the situation required, never settling for long on either end of the spectrum.

Fictional characters – if they are interesting enough, colourful enough or beloved enough – have a vivid life outside of the text they come from, where fans can extend their story into something larger. This, coupled with the legacy of the Hays Code for screen media (spanning the 1930s – 1960s) means that a character may not be explicitly, out-and-proud queer, but they can still be implicitly queer. Social cues – like a character’s mannerisms, the way they dress, and their ability to fit into specific gender roles – can help communicate whether a character has ✨the gay vibe✨. Many a gaydar has gone into overdrive thanks to Disney’s line up of flamboyant villains, prime examples of queer-coding.

I remember calling Tinky Winky a boy and a girl, as he never sat comfortably on either end of the gender binary.

Tinky Winky was embraced by the gay community shortly after Teletubbies went to air in 1997 for these exact reasons. At the time, the Washington Post reported that “many a gay hipster has been spotted in England wearing a Tinky Winky backpack,” and his wardrobe choices were a hot topic on gay internet chat sites. In Village Voice, columnist Michael Musto declared that Tinky Winky was "out and proud" and sending "a great message to kids — not only that it's OK to be gay, but the importance of being well-accessorized." 

Tinky Winky belongs to everyone

A meme celebrating the ‘little gay demons’, courtesy of @sufferingsapphomemes on Instagram

Two decades on, there is still speculation around whether Tinky “Twinky” Winky is gay or just well-dressed. As recent as 2021, he and his fellow Teletubbies were referred to as “little gay demons” (derogatory) for celebrating the music of fellow queer icon, Lil Nas X. He also turned heads at NYFW that year, where he appeared in a resplendent black tutu.  

Regardless, the queer community have long ago embraced Tinky Winky for his ambiguous gender and fashion forward nature as a means of seeing themselves celebrated on screen. Even today, the idea that Tinky Winky is “modelling the gay lifestyle” has inspired comedy skits, drag performances and a deep love of the character.

As Eric Zorn summarised in the Chicago Tribune: “Tinky Winky should belong to those of all orientations who don't want their appearance or mannerisms defined, limited or scorned by the likes of Jerry Falwell.”