Every time I hear the name "Arthur," I immediately think of the yellow-sweatered aardvark. While Arthur certainly made an impact on the children's literary world, I, along with many of my generation, remember him much more fondly for the long-running PBS animated show. While Arthur dealt with many issues relevant to children, it did not resolve one to my memory: interracial marriage.
All of the characters in the show were anthropomorphic versions of vary mammals. It is implied that each sort of animal is a different ethnicity. Immediately, this begs a huge question of whether animals can crossbreed. Because all the anthropomorphic animals are self-aware, have free will, and fit into the society like anyone else, I couldn't imagine carnal relations between non-similar species would be counted as bestiality, or immoral in some way. However, can different species crossbreed? The character of Emily, DW's perfectionist friend, is (according to Arthur Wiki) three-quarters rabbit and one-quarter monkey, the only "mixed" animal on the show. Does this mean that different species' chromosomes line up? Or do only certain species line up with each other?
In a cheap move at diversity, Arthur just creates a whole set of questions that they can't possible answer as long as they keep trying to make it a kids' show.
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