In the "South Park" episode "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride," Stan (Trey Parker) gets a brand-new dog that he named Sparky. Stan loves Sparky, and Sparky is well-trained, loyal, and friendly. Stan, as any dog owner might, becomes slightly distressed when Sparky meets other dogs and humps them in public. Stan's friends notice, however, that Sparky is only humping other male dogs and, in that childish, homophobic way, laughing at Sparky's potential queerness. The characters are all eight years old, however, and live in a pretty small community in 1997, so their knowledge of queerness is quite limited.

Stan asks his teacher, Mr. Garrison (Parker) what it means to be gay, and the terrified and repressed teacher announced right to Stan's face that queer people are evil. Stan, overwhelmed and scared, flees. At home, Stan idly laments aloud that his dog is gay, internalizing his teacher's bigoted message. Sparky overhears Stan and runs away.