I have to disagree with you. In fact, I did look through that article and as many other sources as I could find in preparation for this post. I was hoping to find a quote about future plans to address these concerns. I didn't find one.

And I disagree with your suggestion that art teachers are necessarily more sensitive to the plight of kids perceived as being gay or effeminate. The world would be better if it were that simple, but sadly, that hasn't been my experience.

I have to disagree with you. In fact, I did look through that article and as many other sources as I could find in preparation for this post. I was hoping to find a quote about future plans to address these concerns. I didn't find one.

And I disagree with your suggestion that art teachers are necessarily more sensitive to the plight of kids perceived as being gay or effeminate. The world would be better if it were that simple, but sadly, that hasn't been my experience.

A thirty second perusal of the Wikipedia article that you linked might have have led you to consider, even for a second, that Batiuk is plausibly familiar and empathetic to the plight of students who are picked on for their appreciation of the arts, and that this empathy lies at the heart of his motivation for introducing this character. I don't read the strip, so maybe I lack a broader context, but like the commenter above me, I would not have made a connection between this character and homosexuality if you hadn't tried so very hard to make one. Sorry, but I think this connection exists squarely within the confines of your brain and nowhere outside it.