For those of us who have been fighting in the trenches of the culture war, the past few weeks have buoyed our spirits and even sparked optimism that the woke mind virus pandemic is coming to an end. 

Corporations and universities are axing their DEI departments--although I will be curious to see whether they follow through on their promises or just rename and rebrand their efforts--and it is now cool again to speak your mind in most circles. 

It's like we can breathe again. 

One great sign of this cultural shift is that Disney--yes THAT Disney--has moved away from Queering all the content and has even deleted a scene in an upcoming series that promoted Alphabet ideology. 

Vibes have shifted. https://t.co/XKi9mrL3IY

— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) December 17, 2024

It's impossible to overstate how significant a shift that is. Despite making noises about pulling back from fighting the culture wars after it got its butt kicked by Ron DeSantis a couple of years ago, the company's actual behavior didn't change that much. They simply quit talking so much about Alphabet issues while they kept pouring out the content that outraged so many parents. 

Pixar‘s new animated series Win or Lose, set for a 2025 premiere on Disney+, will no longer include a transgender storyline.

Disney has eliminated “a few lines of dialogue” from an episode that references a character’s gender identity, we’ve learned.

Disney released a statement to Deadline confirming the change, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, saying that  “when it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.”

Disney's acknowledgment that parents, not woke activists who use their positions to become evangelists for Queer ideology, should be discussing these issues with their parents is a huge acknowledgment that the company lost its way. 

In some ways, more importantly, it is Disney's executives taking back their company from the generation of woke activists who hijacked the power of Disney to spread neo-Marxist ideology of all kinds, beyond Alphabet ideology. 

NEW: Disney production coordinator Allen March, who says his team is committed to "exploring queer stories" and promoting "trans," "bisexual," and "gender nonconforming" characters, says kids are "getting all this information from the media" and "there's a lot of power to that." pic.twitter.com/rgxXgcIEwA

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 31, 2022

NEW: Disney corporate president Karey Burke, the "mother of two queer children," says the company has been "targeting Gen Z and millennials" with LGBTQIA+ "inclusion" content. Her son told her that "Gen Z is 30-40% queerer" and that Disney "better get with it." pic.twitter.com/CYYD7NqKZg

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 7, 2022

Many of these major corporations adopted wokeness not so much because the CEOs wanted to, although some did, but because they were getting outside pressure from ESG activists and inside pressure from their own employees, of whom they had become afraid. 

NEW: Disney corporate president Karey Burke, the "mother of two queer children," says the company has been "targeting Gen Z and millennials" with LGBTQIA+ "inclusion" content. Her son told her that "Gen Z is 30-40% queerer" and that Disney "better get with it." pic.twitter.com/CYYD7NqKZg

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 7, 2022

The anti-woke consumer movement has been a force all its own, though. While the ESG pressure came from financial institutions like Blackrock, access to capital is only one component of the financial success of a corporation. Companies need customers even more than they need outside capital--after all, those investments they make are all about the RETURN on capital, and if your return on capital is small, then it really doesn't matter that Blackrock is willing to give it to you. 

I wonder how Disney+ is doing? ... pic.twitter.com/qLaoWQX22a

— Theo Jordan (@Theo_TJ_Jordan) February 5, 2023

Disney had gone so far to the left that the audience was getting left behind. The success of the company ultimately depends on parents wanting their kids to watch Disney products and go to Disney parks, and in recent years, this has been a struggle. 

This Disney Executive producer candidly explains her agenda is to insert “queerness” into each show. pic.twitter.com/BlpIGdmq2c

— David Vance (@DVATW) February 6, 2023

It's easy to overstate how many parents have paid enough attention to these matters, but cultural wins are won on the margins. It's not like parents were demanding that Disney queer their content--it was a fringe group that accomplished a huge win--so I feel confident that we culture warriors can claim credit. 

Not long after causing waves with the decision to pull a completed episode of Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur featuring a transgender character, Disney animation has suffered another backslide in queer representation.https://t.co/TCAplQPMNL pic.twitter.com/1IVUT3y498

— Animation Magazine (@animag) December 18, 2024

Parents shouldn't HAVE to fight these fights in the first place, and even ones who sigh in disgust at the injecting of Alphabet ideology into kids' content are less likely that we would prefer to gin up the energy to fight these battles. The same is true for parents fighting Alphabet ideology in the schools. Too few parents join Moms for Liberty, for example, but then again, Moms for Liberty is winning some major battles. 

That's why it is important for those of us who are paying close attention to get off our keisters and fight, or support those who are on the front lines. They are winning the battle for the culture. 

Total & complete victory for @GovRonDeSantis over @disney. Woke Disney bends the knee, removes trans character from animated series says they recognize parents would “prefer to discuss certain subjects on their own terms and timeline.” This is what the Florida law said! Huge win. pic.twitter.com/f4ZgPaLjWo

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 18, 2024

They are the superheroes saving society. 

Interesting convo on corporate America ending DEI programs. My comment on @cnn: vast majority of Americans want to rise and fall based on talent and hard work, not on forced racial quotas. pic.twitter.com/L1J9lo34kU

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) December 18, 2024