What would be so bad if there WERE lesbian undertones?

I don't think this movie necessarily or purposely has gay undertones, but it's very possible it does. There are lots of signs (disinterest in boys, Jody's masculine persona, some demonizing of men, idolizing a woman who disguised herself as a man, and their general chemistry and "having" to be with one another, and even the sound of the adult narrator's voice when talking about Jody).

Is it possible they are just close platonic friends? Definitely. Is it possible they're little lesbians who are falling in puppy love? Definitely.

It's not pushing some sort of "agenda" if some people think the girls in the movie are gay. It's up to interpretation because they don't CLEARLY say anything. (This is unlike another movie Fried Green Tomatoes, where the director and writer flat out say the characters ARE lesbians.) There aren't many movies that young gay kids can relate to, and judging from a lot of things I've seen on the internet, many lesbians found comfort and were able to relate to this movie as kids. There's nothing perverted about kids this age getting crushes or starting to have the beginnings of romantic and sexual feelings for ANYONE. Gay kids go through the same sexual development as straight ones, and unless they are individually more promiscuous, their feelings for crushes aren't more inherently sexual than any other kid. And just because someone is PROBABLY going to say something stupid about it, having young gay characters can't make or encourage kids to be gay. If they are, they might feel more comfortable coming out after seeing they're not bad/crazy/weird, but films can't influence anyone's sexuality.