15 Ways "Cadet Kelly" Was Secretly About Being Gay

    Well, well, well.

    This is the 2002 original Disney Channel movie Cadet Kelly, starring then-Disney stars Hilary Duff and Christy Carlson Romano.

    1. The movie is essentially about a protagonist who fights to keep her individuality in a place that doesn't encourage it.

    2. And she gets pretty harshly insulted by Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone for her "girly" personality.

    3. Kelly's prized possession is a rainbow blanket, and she refuses to part with it.

    4. ...which leads to Jennifer quite triumphantly ripping it to shreds and stomping on it in front of everyone.

    5. As revenge, Kelly paints a rainbow flag on the back of Jennifer's head:

    6. ...which makes her scream loud enough for the entire camp to hear.

    7. But let's not forget the most important factor: the sexual tension.

    8. Sure, there's a "love interest" (named Brad), but he stops being relevant by the end and is never brought up again.

    9. SERIOUSLY, though. Brad is a cover.

    10. Even the school dance scene ends up with the girls somehow dancing together via the greatest downhill fall of all time.

    11. And the looks they share in the ending dance scene? Eh? EH?

    12. They also whip out colorful ribbons at the end, making their dance unique.

    13. And there's the moment Kelly and Jennifer share at the end, where they seem especially upset to be leaving each other (even though they fought for most of the movie.)

    14. They also managed to slip this line into the movie (not in the context you're thinking, but still. IT'S THERE. Just hovering.)

    15. And okay, this line is a stretch too but it's also quite a coincidence, no?

    But whether Cadet Kelly is secretly an LGBT movie or not, one thing's for certain: it helped some girls learn something new about themselves.