Rainbow Youth has welcomed the Disney Channel's first coming-out story in a teen TV show, saying representation like that will help teens struggling with their own sexuality.
The storyline featured on the American show Andi Mack involved a 13-year-old boy coming out as gay to a close friend.
Taine Polkinghorne, co-chair of Rainbow Youth and advisor to the Human Rights Commision, this morning told TVNZ 1's Breakfast programme that this "first step" is "really positive for a large corporate such as Disney".
"The importance of seeing yourself represented cannot be understated ... when I was young and growing up I think that positive media representation such as this would have made a really big difference," Mr Polkinghorne said.
He said the issue was handled well on Andi Mack - "with great integrity and vulnerability and trust" - and dismissed backlash from some conservative commentators that people that age shouldn't be grappling with subjects like sexuality.
"I don't think it's ever too early to have conversations about love and family relationships, relationships of any description ... I think it's really important for young LGBT+ people themselves, but its also for everybody else," he said.
"I think in terms of parents they can always choose how they want to parent but they cant choose their children's sexuality."
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