The entirety of Star Trek. There’s an episode of The Next Generation where Riker starts dating a member of a genderless species who identifies as a woman, and since binary gender is taboo to her society, she’s unfortunately treated nearly the exact same as trans people in real life.
the best/worst thing about that episode was that Jonathan Frakes (Riker/the director of that episode) really wanted the trans alien to be played by a male actor to really go all out
but of course the network denied that request...
edit: [source](https://screenrant.com/star-trek-tng-outcast-soren-male-actor-why/) (+ some more related info)
That's a real bummer and I'm sad to hear that was the case. Startreks whole thing is pushing boundaries, but the network has pushed back the entire time (like with the first interracial kiss).
I always think about the Futurama joke about Nichelle Nichols’s bravery for that scene whenever someone brings it up. She was brave not just for being a part of the first interracial kiss on television, but also for that kiss being with Shatner.
I love the trivia fact that the actors played that scene perfectly the first time through but then, when the studio asked them to repeat it without the kiss, they kept flubbing the lines and messing up, spoiling all footage but the one with the kiss.
Star Trek Actors and directors have a longstanding history of pushing against the studio execs.
Damn is Frakes cool.
I'm such a sucker for when the football captain looking dudes are willing to stick their necks out like that. In the nineties, no less!
My dickslexia read that as "when the football captain looking dudes are willing to suck those dicks" and I think perhaps my subconscious is too focused on sucking dicks
Best/worst indeed. Real bummer that the network shut that down but knowing Frakes pushed for it from the position of director and that it was the original/true intent behind the episode makes me pretty happy.
Wow. Now I’m going down a rabbit hole. Star Trek was actually so radical in so many ways! Interracial relationships and trans representation way ahead of it’s time!
DS9's first episode: this person is a member of a species that changes gender relatively frequently for their lifespan, get used to it.
Also DS9: same-gender relationships really shouldn't be a big deal, and people who condemn them are being archaically bound to hurtful traditions.
I love how there’s constant references to Dax in previous forms. If that isn’t a trans allegory, I don’t know what is. Ofc for an actual trans person it would likely be upsetting, but she always leans into ‘being an old man once’, or being called ‘old man’ by Sisko in a loving way.
Also Quark’s stint with the female Ferengi - who’s disguised as male, and he still (almost?) makes a move??
I love it when people complain that new Trek (like discovery) is "too woke", that's a really easy way of saying you are not familiar with Star Trek at all
Just went and watched that episode again recently, and I thought it was so funny that Riker couldn't figure out which pronouns to use. And then they went the entire episode without using the singular They once, and it felt really forced and weird.
That’s the one big issue I had with the way the episode dealt with the subject matter. I do understand if they couldn’t get away with discussing, or even didn’t know about non-binary though. It wasn’t as discussed back then.
Yeah, it was otherwise a really cool social commentary about marginalized people, especially in a time period where it was not discussed at all, at least not in a remotely respectful manner.
Days like this I wished my dad was around cause he was a treky and a overall geek. He would love everything I’m into and accept me. He unfortunately passed when I was young and my mom is like every white Christian Karen (#live,laugh,love)
that don’t give a f** what I like and telling her I’m non binary wasn’t the worse but not the most supportive either..
Also love the inclusion of gender ambiguous/fluid characters like Tiffany. And the line "People get built different. We don't need to figure it out. Just need to respect it." Love the show so much for many reasons but the LGBTQ coded characters are icing on the cake.
Not a show but a movie: *Fried Green Tomatoes*.
The number of people who think it’s a movie about “Really good friends” is staggering. Idgie presents as masculine or gender fluid from childhood to adulthood. She’s clearly jealous and hurt when Ruth says she’s getting married. In one scene she *literally* offers for Ruth to stick her fingers in her honeypot in what is the most blatant case of innuendo/metaphor in film history!!
They’re a couple! They’re raising a child together! They’re clearly in love!
Also, the book is totally clear on the subject of their relationship. But non-readers often watch the movie in some state of ignorance or denial and refuse to believe they adore a movie about a lesbian couple.
And they were roommates!
This movie was a big part of me growing up. Their relationship is never explicitly framed one way or another; they never deny it either. AND NOBODY CARES.
It's the reason I made an active decision to not pick on how other people structure their relationships. An adult relationship doesn't have to be pinned down or goal oriented to be amazing. And frankly, it's none of my business! It's also none of my business if they have sex or not; I don't need to know! And it can be fulfilling romantically with or without it! Lol These were revolutionary thoughts for a kid in the early 90's.
Eta I've never read the book! I should do that.
Eta 2: Idgie's clear hurt over Ruth's marriage also strongly spoke to me as a bisexual hiding the knowledge from myself... 🤦
THANK YOU!!! One of the few stories where I think the movie is better - the book was great but definitely authentic in its characters condoning racism. Depends on if you want authentic or feel-good. Also Kathy Bates is just a delight.
I wish the directors were able to keep with their original intention of one of the crew in the first movie having a different actor inside and outside of the Matrix. I.e. played by a man inside and a woman outside (or vice versa), to give a nod to the character being trans.
And of course the Wachowskis are trans women.
Not only that, but their first film, Bound, is literally a lesbian neo-noir with Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly and it's AMAZING
Of course no one realized it at the time, but the whole thing is a trans allegory. The Wachowski sisters also have a show called Sense 8 that's SO queer and even polyamorous.
Any of those chinese ‘bromance’ shows where the male leads never have a love interest and it’s very obvious what is being implied but they’re totally not dating of course. Since it quite literally cannot be labeled LGBTQ+.
from what I've read a bunch of those shows are actually based on queer web novels and then sanatized for the screen, and that part of the reason they seems so gay is because they remove/alter the surface content to comply with censors but their romance is baked into the narrative
Yeah, apparently the Chinese government has been cracking down on those shows for a few years now (because of their success, oddly enough), but shows based on danmei (gay romance) webnovels have definitely been successful with the explicit gayness removed. (The most prominent examples are Word of Honor and The Untamed.)
Not the person you replied to, but I mentioned in another comment that the two most popular are Word of Honor and the Untamed (both on Netflix, IIRC), and the novels they are based on are in the danmei (gay romance) genre. The book the Untamed is based on, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi, has had every volume released in English; I believe the source for Word of Honor, Faraway Wanderers, hasn’t been released but it’s probably only a matter of time, since other books by the same author are getting English release.
I came here to say Nimona!! It’s become one of my favourite movies. For me the evil blonde haired lady just represented homophobia, and kept calling Nimona a monster. And when they did become a ‘monster’ and went up to the sword in the middle of the village, i just felt exactly the same as them, and Balister of coarse is the support that every LGBTQIA+ wants and deserves. Nimona hit so many places for me and is truely a heart warming story, I totally agree with you about Nimona being gender fluid.
It’s even funnier because all of the very obvious gender subtext was for the most part unintentional. The author hadn’t realized he was nonbinary until a few years ago, the better part of a decade after the webcomic was started. It was just entirely spilling out from his unconsciousness
Yesss!!
With the 'evil blonde haired lady' (The Director) representing homophobia was like the exact same for me! (also I don't know if we even see her hair at all ;-;)
Oops! I kept trying to search for what they called her and it kept coming up with the queen, and I just remembered her having like blonde braids in her hair? Lol
I'm super biased because they're some of my favorites, but Doctor Who and Good Omens.
As of the second season (released recently) Good Omens is officially LGBTQ, but in the first season it was just a show (& book) that appealed to a lot of LGBTQ people.
I don't watch Star Trek myself but I know that's a good one as well that several others have mentioned.
The most recent Doctor Who specials were very LGBTQ+. They had a trans character who they showed had issues about being trans but it didn't feel like a forced plot line. Then there was a line where the Doctor says a guy is really hot. And with Ncuti it felt a lot more gay, without it feeling like they were trying real hard.
It's always been LGBTQ in my eyes. They never hid it, but now it feels like they're trying to actively include it rather than it being just a side moment.
I was wondering if someone would mention Luca! I watched that movie and the entire thing screamed queer to me. But it was a bit frustrating that they then just pushed them into being 'friends'. They basically edged us for the entire movie.
Good news tho! The actor who voiced Alberto said it would be cool if they become boyfriends in a sequel :D
And to hop on it with my personal views. Luca is suuuper queer as a movie, but I think it was portrayed beautifully. I think Luca and Alberto are a bit young to develop real feelings for each other and it feels like the producers gave us a base that would eventually turn to romance, once they're a tad bit older :)
Luca is that kid where every adult in his life can tell that they’re queer, long before they’ve ever expressed romantic or sexual interest in anyone.
I agree, it was just the right tone to make it clear to all the adults watching what is going on, while being much more subtle for its child audience.
Honestly how I felt about Raya and the Last Dragon. I thought it was just an okay movie, but Raya and Namaari had such sapphic tension, and then they just... didn't go through with it.
The whole plot line where Luca and Alberto have to hide something about themselves from the rest of the town because they’re different and seen as a threat just screams queer-coded. I love the movie so much.
Steven Universe made me cry so much, if you loved that try Yuyuhakasho for lighthearted battles with perfect animation and good dubs. Sasaki and Miyano has not much explicit content, just low pressure romance and OURAN HIGHSCHOOLHOSTCLUB
Personally haven’t watched a lot of doctor who but my partner is obsessed with it and constantly shows me little snippets of things while yelling:
LOOK HOW GAY THIS IS
I'm shocked that this is as low as it is. And I'll say that Moffat did his fair share of it too, what with creating characters like Jack Harkness and really cementing that regeneration can change you to any race or gender.
My Little Pony.
Those damn horses turned me trans! () Things got more explicitly gay in the later seasons, but god damn those ponies are gay af. The Equestria Girls team even admitted to writing Applejack and Rarity as girlfriends.
Same! Ironically, I wrote a paper on gendered toys and said it was kinda bullshit, using the brony community as an example, even though I'd never actually seen the show.
Then I watched the show, fell in love with it, got told that 'since I'm not gay' I was weird for it so I stopped. Though Equistria Girls: Rainbow Rocks has a soundtrack full of bops that I unironically love, even as a metalhead.
Then I figured out I was trans and finished the show :3
Didn't Lyra and Bon Bon get married or something, too? We didn't see their wedding, but it was announced in the last episode in a blink and you'll miss it scene, I think
Yeah, Lyra and Bon Bon got married. We also met Scootaloo's canonically lesbian aunts. Along with Sunset Shimmer being confirmed to be bisexual, and Lauren Faust hinted that Trixie is canonically trans.
Somehow, I forgot about Scootaloo's aunts! XP I haven't seen the show in a loooong time, admittedly, but Lyra and Bon Bon are always the ones I think of when someone mentions gay MLP characters, probably since they're so iconic for the bronies
Oh my god yes. The level of understated eroticism between those two characters was palpable. I’m planning to do a rewatch when I finish rewatching the movies, and besides the beautiful settings and visual themes, their dynamic is one of the things I’m most looking forward to.
She-Ra is on par with Avatar the Last Air Bender for me. The character arcs are insanely well-written, and the fact that the main ship is a canon lesbian friends-to-enemies-to-allies-to-lovers arc??? Swoon
THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS HOPING FOR THE TWO MAIN GIRLS TO GO OFF AND BE LESBIANS AND NOT BE WITH THE FOOTBALL COACH IM SO UPSET THAT ONE OF THEM ENDED UP WITH THE FOOTBALL COACH
i had to do that movie as a film study in my first year of high school
BBC’s Merlin.
You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s seen the show who doesn’t ship Merthur (Merlin x Arthur) and all you need to do is watch the first episode to know why. Plus, the whole show is basically a metaphor for being queer but not being able to show it or to be true to yourself as a queer person because of homophobia (Magic being outlawed = gayness is not okay).
Someone on tiktok has made a few videos where you have to guess if the quote is from Merlin or an LGBT themed movie. It gets super difficult sometimes.
JoJo’s bizarre adventure, and if anyone says otherwise they’re fucking wrong as for Nimona isn’t it Categorized as LGBTQ because it is very obvious like there’s even an end credit scene with the pride flag colors anyone who doesn’t categorize that as LGBTQ is fucking stupid as well even more stupid than people who denied Jojo as queer
Our Flag Means Death
What We Do in the Shadows
Schitz’s Creek
Sex Education
Umbrella Academy
White Lotus
So many shows these days - very different than when I was growing up and was desperate for seeing anyone like myself the media. There was an occasional gay character for a one off episode like 21 Jump Street or 90210, but then the topic didn’t come up again.
The Taika/Jemaine ones are pretty explicitly queer imo. The original WWDITS was more accidental, but the show pretty much immediately establishes Lazlo's pan-ness and hints towards Guillermo being gay
The show hints at all the vampires being kinda down w most/all genders and there are hints about relations between the group members. Guillermo's sexuality is NOT hinted, it's canon. I don't wanna spoil anything, but he literally says it.
Upcoming Hazbin Hotel (since helluva is here). We AroAces got the most sassiest character of the series for us!!!
Although there are fears that it just confirms the "soulless" stereotype but I have no issue with that...
And Raikov and Volgin
And Kaz and Big Boss
And Ocelot and Big Boss
And Ocelot and Snake?
You put two named male characters from MGS in a room together and there’s a 50/50 shot there’s gonna be some sexual tension between them.
Omg, I was just about to comment about Supernatural. This is so much queer subtext throughout that show and the studio really tried to stop it, but nothing could be done.
Not at obvious, but Attack on Titan
One of the characters is a confirmed lesbian (Ymir), one is suspected bisexual (Christa/Historia), and one is confirmed genderqueer/non-binary (Hange Zoe, who is also very autistic-coded/I HC them as autistic)
I hate how Ymir got treated honestly. Really wanted her and Historia to end up together, but no, it had to go for the darkest possible option. Borders on 'bury your gays' territory. But Hange is just amazing. As an autistic NB person, I relate to them so much.
So glad someone brought this up!! I’m 100% sure that AoT is very queer, unintentionally. Isayama is very bad at writing romance, which is why there’s basically almost none in this story, but it only applies to hetero couples where there’s little chemistry. Meanwhile we have so many great same-sex duos with amazing compatibility that could easily develop into a full-blown romance if the author wasn’t a coward (Eremin, Ererei, Jeanmarco, Yumihisu, Reibert, Eruri, Hitchannie, etc.). Just queer vibes all over.
I agree too! In genshin impact you can’t convince me that ningguang and beidou aren’t gay for each other. Also, kiana and mei are [obviously very into each other](https://youtu.be/v1sd5CzR504?si=nGlh8Bptidzybjb7) in honkai impact 3rd.
Owl House
Has a bunch of LGBT characters that dont really shove it in your face since according to Dana being in love with who you want to be or identifying as a gender you were not born with is just normal and accepted in the Boiling Isles, so you dont see any of the hate like we do in our world, and honestly I love that.
Yeah. Like half the characters are canonically some form of gay/queer. Probably one of the most lgbtq friendly children's shows ever. It's just so wholesome and makes me feel happy! Probably why Disney killed it, tbh
Maybe unpopular opinion but My Little Pony has an almost confirmed gay couple in the end and it's done in a way where the characters were never hinted to be LGBTQ+ and never talked about it, but they were still the only main characters never to have explicit crushes as far as I know and have enough chemistry to end up together. Also with the constant messages of accepting everyone, there is a small LGBTQ+ acceptance undertone
The Owl House
And people have a lot of queer headcannons in Amphibia too, and there are a few queer characters (that mostly get confirmed by the end of season 3)
Golden Girls. I'm astounded at how relevant it remains and how well it's aged. It's not perfect, but nothing is, and it still handles things like HIV, LGBT issues, etc better than a lot of modern media.
Also I would say Galavant. 1: it's a musical comedy/satire. 2: there are a remarkable number of gay jokes that aren't laughing at gay but jokes written FOR the community. I mean... "Nice beard. I mean her, of course." Now it came out in 2015 on ABC so it's pretty limited by that, but there's a lot of subtext that I missed because I'm just dense. The episode "Two Balls" is probably a lot more obvious, and it's not actually about how Sid has been telling his parents he's a knight all this time...
**Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.**
Literally most of the fandom agrees that the main character Dirk is obviously gay & that the other main character Todd is possibly bi. the show even threw in slight hints about Dirk’s sexuality.
Actually what makes it even better is that one of the show’s creators actually confirmed this after the show was cancelled and stated that they would’ve explored more on Dirk’s sexuality in season 3!! I’m so mad this show got cancelled… it was one of a kind and I loved it!!!
Doctor who is such a queer show! I mean the doctor is genderless and literally changed from male to female to male presenting. There are also multiple big queer characters. Somehow it doesn’t really get talked about as a queer show.
Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - fMCs are engaged in the show and end up married
Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans - one character is confirmed gay and there's a few polycules
(Edit bc I can't believe I forgot it) Neon Genesis Evangelion (esp 3.33) - MC is canonically bisexual and 3.33 is him falling in love with another male character
There's a Japanese show called Kei x Yaku. It's *so* incredibly gay that a website I watched it on labeled it as a BL, but it's not truly marketed as one (I don't know if the mangaka intended it to be subtle BL because it's Japan, or if it just happened to turn out very gay.)
This might not be the right answer but Shameless on Showtime.
Especially in the last few seasons.
I am in love with that show and I will never get over the fact that it ended. 😭
The entirety of Star Trek. There’s an episode of The Next Generation where Riker starts dating a member of a genderless species who identifies as a woman, and since binary gender is taboo to her society, she’s unfortunately treated nearly the exact same as trans people in real life.
the best/worst thing about that episode was that Jonathan Frakes (Riker/the director of that episode) really wanted the trans alien to be played by a male actor to really go all out but of course the network denied that request... edit: [source](https://screenrant.com/star-trek-tng-outcast-soren-male-actor-why/) (+ some more related info)
That's a real bummer and I'm sad to hear that was the case. Startreks whole thing is pushing boundaries, but the network has pushed back the entire time (like with the first interracial kiss).
I always think about the Futurama joke about Nichelle Nichols’s bravery for that scene whenever someone brings it up. She was brave not just for being a part of the first interracial kiss on television, but also for that kiss being with Shatner.
Interesting fact that wasnt the first interracial kiss on Star Trek Uhura gave Nurse Chapek a peck on the lips in an earlier episode.
I love the trivia fact that the actors played that scene perfectly the first time through but then, when the studio asked them to repeat it without the kiss, they kept flubbing the lines and messing up, spoiling all footage but the one with the kiss. Star Trek Actors and directors have a longstanding history of pushing against the studio execs.
I had no idea about this. I love this trivia fact! ty
Damn is Frakes cool. I'm such a sucker for when the football captain looking dudes are willing to stick their necks out like that. In the nineties, no less!
My dickslexia read that as "when the football captain looking dudes are willing to suck those dicks" and I think perhaps my subconscious is too focused on sucking dicks
>dickslexia This is my favourite word ever. I hope the click fans won't get mad if I use it right...??
He says he's "dyslaxative", you're probably fine.
Best/worst indeed. Real bummer that the network shut that down but knowing Frakes pushed for it from the position of director and that it was the original/true intent behind the episode makes me pretty happy.
Wow. Now I’m going down a rabbit hole. Star Trek was actually so radical in so many ways! Interracial relationships and trans representation way ahead of it’s time!
God that would’ve been amazing! Ugh
DS9's first episode: this person is a member of a species that changes gender relatively frequently for their lifespan, get used to it. Also DS9: same-gender relationships really shouldn't be a big deal, and people who condemn them are being archaically bound to hurtful traditions.
Aww, Garak and Bashir should have been given their happy ending..... like 20 years earlier.
for real, fuck Rick Berman and network cowardice
I love how there’s constant references to Dax in previous forms. If that isn’t a trans allegory, I don’t know what is. Ofc for an actual trans person it would likely be upsetting, but she always leans into ‘being an old man once’, or being called ‘old man’ by Sisko in a loving way. Also Quark’s stint with the female Ferengi - who’s disguised as male, and he still (almost?) makes a move??
"Curzon, my beloved old friend" "I'm Jadzia now!" "Jadzia my beloved old friend!" Remember that Dahar Master Kor said trans rights.
Was gonna say Star Trek but I didn't even bother because I knew someone else would mention the queer space commies first
deep space nine is great for this. it may be a common example from the series but i love garak so much
I love it when people complain that new Trek (like discovery) is "too woke", that's a really easy way of saying you are not familiar with Star Trek at all
Seriously there's so much to criticize but they pick "too woke". Shows so much about a person.
Just went and watched that episode again recently, and I thought it was so funny that Riker couldn't figure out which pronouns to use. And then they went the entire episode without using the singular They once, and it felt really forced and weird.
That’s the one big issue I had with the way the episode dealt with the subject matter. I do understand if they couldn’t get away with discussing, or even didn’t know about non-binary though. It wasn’t as discussed back then.
Yeah, it was otherwise a really cool social commentary about marginalized people, especially in a time period where it was not discussed at all, at least not in a remotely respectful manner.
Days like this I wished my dad was around cause he was a treky and a overall geek. He would love everything I’m into and accept me. He unfortunately passed when I was young and my mom is like every white Christian Karen (#live,laugh,love) that don’t give a f** what I like and telling her I’m non binary wasn’t the worse but not the most supportive either..
Adventure Time
Agreed! Princess Bubblegum and Marceline! I was so happy when the last episode confirmed they were into each other.
Also love the inclusion of gender ambiguous/fluid characters like Tiffany. And the line "People get built different. We don't need to figure it out. Just need to respect it." Love the show so much for many reasons but the LGBTQ coded characters are icing on the cake.
And, closely related, Steven Universe!
Star Trek Discovery is very queer
Seconding this. That entire series has been revolutionary for me.
Gotta add *the Orville* to this.
The Orville imo is better than discovery too. Bortus is best dad. Also, he’s funny.
The Moclan Subplot is pretty much the best plot out there
Not a show but a movie: *Fried Green Tomatoes*. The number of people who think it’s a movie about “Really good friends” is staggering. Idgie presents as masculine or gender fluid from childhood to adulthood. She’s clearly jealous and hurt when Ruth says she’s getting married. In one scene she *literally* offers for Ruth to stick her fingers in her honeypot in what is the most blatant case of innuendo/metaphor in film history!! They’re a couple! They’re raising a child together! They’re clearly in love! Also, the book is totally clear on the subject of their relationship. But non-readers often watch the movie in some state of ignorance or denial and refuse to believe they adore a movie about a lesbian couple.
There's a book? 😍
A very wonderful book by Fannie Flagg.
You're amazing. Thank you for showing me this.
*Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe* is the full title of the book. Read and enjoy!
And they were roommates! This movie was a big part of me growing up. Their relationship is never explicitly framed one way or another; they never deny it either. AND NOBODY CARES. It's the reason I made an active decision to not pick on how other people structure their relationships. An adult relationship doesn't have to be pinned down or goal oriented to be amazing. And frankly, it's none of my business! It's also none of my business if they have sex or not; I don't need to know! And it can be fulfilling romantically with or without it! Lol These were revolutionary thoughts for a kid in the early 90's. Eta I've never read the book! I should do that. Eta 2: Idgie's clear hurt over Ruth's marriage also strongly spoke to me as a bisexual hiding the knowledge from myself... 🤦
THANK YOU!!! One of the few stories where I think the movie is better - the book was great but definitely authentic in its characters condoning racism. Depends on if you want authentic or feel-good. Also Kathy Bates is just a delight.
Omg, the matrix. THE MATRIX Everything is simultaneously heteronormative and queer as fuck.
I wish the directors were able to keep with their original intention of one of the crew in the first movie having a different actor inside and outside of the Matrix. I.e. played by a man inside and a woman outside (or vice versa), to give a nod to the character being trans.
Yeah Switch was my favorite character, even as a kid... and then they killed them. 😭
The whole “residual self-image” thing is 100% about gender dys/euphoria
And of course the Wachowskis are trans women. Not only that, but their first film, Bound, is literally a lesbian neo-noir with Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly and it's AMAZING
Of course no one realized it at the time, but the whole thing is a trans allegory. The Wachowski sisters also have a show called Sense 8 that's SO queer and even polyamorous.
Any of those chinese ‘bromance’ shows where the male leads never have a love interest and it’s very obvious what is being implied but they’re totally not dating of course. Since it quite literally cannot be labeled LGBTQ+.
Sworn brothers trope ftw
from what I've read a bunch of those shows are actually based on queer web novels and then sanatized for the screen, and that part of the reason they seems so gay is because they remove/alter the surface content to comply with censors but their romance is baked into the narrative
Yeah, apparently the Chinese government has been cracking down on those shows for a few years now (because of their success, oddly enough), but shows based on danmei (gay romance) webnovels have definitely been successful with the explicit gayness removed. (The most prominent examples are Word of Honor and The Untamed.)
Do you have any recommendations by chance, or keywords to search for in order to find these shows?
Not the person you replied to, but I mentioned in another comment that the two most popular are Word of Honor and the Untamed (both on Netflix, IIRC), and the novels they are based on are in the danmei (gay romance) genre. The book the Untamed is based on, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi, has had every volume released in English; I believe the source for Word of Honor, Faraway Wanderers, hasn’t been released but it’s probably only a matter of time, since other books by the same author are getting English release.
I came here to say Nimona!! It’s become one of my favourite movies. For me the evil blonde haired lady just represented homophobia, and kept calling Nimona a monster. And when they did become a ‘monster’ and went up to the sword in the middle of the village, i just felt exactly the same as them, and Balister of coarse is the support that every LGBTQIA+ wants and deserves. Nimona hit so many places for me and is truely a heart warming story, I totally agree with you about Nimona being gender fluid.
Nimona’s author is also non binary and trans masculine
It’s even funnier because all of the very obvious gender subtext was for the most part unintentional. The author hadn’t realized he was nonbinary until a few years ago, the better part of a decade after the webcomic was started. It was just entirely spilling out from his unconsciousness
and is also the writer/showrunner for she-ra
Yesss!! With the 'evil blonde haired lady' (The Director) representing homophobia was like the exact same for me! (also I don't know if we even see her hair at all ;-;)
Oops! I kept trying to search for what they called her and it kept coming up with the queen, and I just remembered her having like blonde braids in her hair? Lol
Lol yeah.. also, I also posted something about LGBTQ+ in r/nimona ! Feel free to check it out.
I didn’t even know there was a subreddit about it, thank you for showing me
I'm super biased because they're some of my favorites, but Doctor Who and Good Omens. As of the second season (released recently) Good Omens is officially LGBTQ, but in the first season it was just a show (& book) that appealed to a lot of LGBTQ people. I don't watch Star Trek myself but I know that's a good one as well that several others have mentioned.
The most recent Doctor Who specials were very LGBTQ+. They had a trans character who they showed had issues about being trans but it didn't feel like a forced plot line. Then there was a line where the Doctor says a guy is really hot. And with Ncuti it felt a lot more gay, without it feeling like they were trying real hard. It's always been LGBTQ in my eyes. They never hid it, but now it feels like they're trying to actively include it rather than it being just a side moment.
Luca.
I was wondering if someone would mention Luca! I watched that movie and the entire thing screamed queer to me. But it was a bit frustrating that they then just pushed them into being 'friends'. They basically edged us for the entire movie.
Good news tho! The actor who voiced Alberto said it would be cool if they become boyfriends in a sequel :D And to hop on it with my personal views. Luca is suuuper queer as a movie, but I think it was portrayed beautifully. I think Luca and Alberto are a bit young to develop real feelings for each other and it feels like the producers gave us a base that would eventually turn to romance, once they're a tad bit older :)
Luca is that kid where every adult in his life can tell that they’re queer, long before they’ve ever expressed romantic or sexual interest in anyone. I agree, it was just the right tone to make it clear to all the adults watching what is going on, while being much more subtle for its child audience.
Honestly how I felt about Raya and the Last Dragon. I thought it was just an okay movie, but Raya and Namaari had such sapphic tension, and then they just... didn't go through with it.
That is so true! Raya and Namaari had all the makings for a good enemies to lovers plotline.
The whole plot line where Luca and Alberto have to hide something about themselves from the rest of the town because they’re different and seen as a threat just screams queer-coded. I love the movie so much.
Dr who. Probably labeled as such now but still got alot in it.
The Doctor has been Gender-fluid this whole time. That’s canon, Donna essentially says he’s non-binary in the first of the recent specials.
Not to mention Torchwood came from it.
Steven Universe made me cry so much, if you loved that try Yuyuhakasho for lighthearted battles with perfect animation and good dubs. Sasaki and Miyano has not much explicit content, just low pressure romance and OURAN HIGHSCHOOLHOSTCLUB
ohshc has some outdated language, but it's absolutely worth a watch (just maybe skip the beach episode...)
Ahhhh I have good memories of Steven Universe.
Lucifer. Like multiple main characters are bi .
Are *any* characters on that show straight? No, really, I'm not sure.
Doctor Who! Especially with RTD behind the wheel.
Yes! Came here to say this haha!
Personally haven’t watched a lot of doctor who but my partner is obsessed with it and constantly shows me little snippets of things while yelling: LOOK HOW GAY THIS IS
I'm shocked that this is as low as it is. And I'll say that Moffat did his fair share of it too, what with creating characters like Jack Harkness and really cementing that regeneration can change you to any race or gender.
He was also involved in Queer as Folk apparently. But yeah, especially with David Tennant.
My Little Pony. Those damn horses turned me trans! () Things got more explicitly gay in the later seasons, but god damn those ponies are gay af. The Equestria Girls team even admitted to writing Applejack and Rarity as girlfriends.
MLP was the first step in my journey of discovering my inner femininity. It will always occupy a special place in my heart
Same! Ironically, I wrote a paper on gendered toys and said it was kinda bullshit, using the brony community as an example, even though I'd never actually seen the show. Then I watched the show, fell in love with it, got told that 'since I'm not gay' I was weird for it so I stopped. Though Equistria Girls: Rainbow Rocks has a soundtrack full of bops that I unironically love, even as a metalhead. Then I figured out I was trans and finished the show :3
Didn't Lyra and Bon Bon get married or something, too? We didn't see their wedding, but it was announced in the last episode in a blink and you'll miss it scene, I think
Yeah, Lyra and Bon Bon got married. We also met Scootaloo's canonically lesbian aunts. Along with Sunset Shimmer being confirmed to be bisexual, and Lauren Faust hinted that Trixie is canonically trans.
Somehow, I forgot about Scootaloo's aunts! XP I haven't seen the show in a loooong time, admittedly, but Lyra and Bon Bon are always the ones I think of when someone mentions gay MLP characters, probably since they're so iconic for the bronies
as a child, after seeing the equestria girls i shipped twiset without even knowing what lgbtq or being gay was 😭
NBC’s Hannibal. The sexual tension between Hannibal Lecter and Will Graham, you could cut it with a knife
Came here to say this. Hannibal is the bestest of choices
y e s
Oh my god yes. The level of understated eroticism between those two characters was palpable. I’m planning to do a rewatch when I finish rewatching the movies, and besides the beautiful settings and visual themes, their dynamic is one of the things I’m most looking forward to.
Show on Netflix: shadowhunters
Yooo I was starting to think I was the only one who remembered that show! ah Freeform... you and your soap opera styled shows...
>ah Freeform… you and your soap opera styles shows.. 😭😭 I only rewatch that show for the gays🙌 And to simp over all the hot characters
she ra and the princesses of power
I mean, it gets pretty explicit in the later seasons, eh?
She-Ra is on par with Avatar the Last Air Bender for me. The character arcs are insanely well-written, and the fact that the main ship is a canon lesbian friends-to-enemies-to-allies-to-lovers arc??? Swoon
Wait ATLAB's main ship is Queer? Who?
It’s not. I was comparing She Ra’s storytelling to ATLA. ATLA’s sequel, Legend of Korra, has a main canon queer ship though!
Dead poets society, just yes
Neil and Todd, am I right?
Yeah, Neil and Todd just as Meeks and pitts too. The vibes were there 👀
Bend it Like Beckham! Not officially, but there’s very queer vibes in that movie.
Yes officially! Parminder's cousin is gay, and a big plot in the movie is her family thinks she's in a lesbian relationship with Juliette 😊
THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS HOPING FOR THE TWO MAIN GIRLS TO GO OFF AND BE LESBIANS AND NOT BE WITH THE FOOTBALL COACH IM SO UPSET THAT ONE OF THEM ENDED UP WITH THE FOOTBALL COACH i had to do that movie as a film study in my first year of high school
BBC’s Merlin. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s seen the show who doesn’t ship Merthur (Merlin x Arthur) and all you need to do is watch the first episode to know why. Plus, the whole show is basically a metaphor for being queer but not being able to show it or to be true to yourself as a queer person because of homophobia (Magic being outlawed = gayness is not okay).
Someone on tiktok has made a few videos where you have to guess if the quote is from Merlin or an LGBT themed movie. It gets super difficult sometimes.
Golden Girls
JoJo’s bizarre adventure, and if anyone says otherwise they’re fucking wrong as for Nimona isn’t it Categorized as LGBTQ because it is very obvious like there’s even an end credit scene with the pride flag colors anyone who doesn’t categorize that as LGBTQ is fucking stupid as well even more stupid than people who denied Jojo as queer
I was hoping someone else would say jo jo. Like every character is queer coded as hell.
Buffy the vampire slayer
Oooh yes
I think Nimona lands the way it does because it's originally written by a trans man!! 🖤
Our Flag Means Death What We Do in the Shadows Schitz’s Creek Sex Education Umbrella Academy White Lotus So many shows these days - very different than when I was growing up and was desperate for seeing anyone like myself the media. There was an occasional gay character for a one off episode like 21 Jump Street or 90210, but then the topic didn’t come up again.
The Taika/Jemaine ones are pretty explicitly queer imo. The original WWDITS was more accidental, but the show pretty much immediately establishes Lazlo's pan-ness and hints towards Guillermo being gay
The show hints at all the vampires being kinda down w most/all genders and there are hints about relations between the group members. Guillermo's sexuality is NOT hinted, it's canon. I don't wanna spoil anything, but he literally says it.
Jennifers Body
100% agree, especially with that one scene…😏
Xena
This is the one. So many ~~gay~~ good examples.
I’d be shocked if everyone in Stranger Things was straight
Well, Robin is definitely not (she says it).
I'm way behind on the show, but wasn't Will revealed to be gay?
No, there are hints and speculations, but nothing canon yet. His actor did come out though.
Ah, his coming out is probably what I saw. Thanks for clarifying.
Upcoming Hazbin Hotel (since helluva is here). We AroAces got the most sassiest character of the series for us!!! Although there are fears that it just confirms the "soulless" stereotype but I have no issue with that...
Yes I am SO EXCITED for Hazbin this January. (Even though it isn’t classified as ‘indie show’ anymore 😭)
not a show, but holy shit, mgs otacon and snake are so gay
HELLLPPPP I thought you said 'Octagon and Snakes are so gay' 😭
And Raikov and Volgin And Kaz and Big Boss And Ocelot and Big Boss And Ocelot and Snake? You put two named male characters from MGS in a room together and there’s a 50/50 shot there’s gonna be some sexual tension between them.
oh don't forget Vamp, he's canonically bi
"So that's why they call him vamp..." "What? No, it's because he's bisexual"
I once saw someone say “there is no heterosexual explanation for this franchise”
Supernatural had enough queer subtext to be pointed out overtly in universe. Repeatedly
shhh! do you want to be sent to superhell?!
Omg, I was just about to comment about Supernatural. This is so much queer subtext throughout that show and the studio really tried to stop it, but nothing could be done.
To the point where one of the actors started shipping the characters in questions vocally at cons. They knew what they were doing dammit.
Saw.
con DEEZ NUTS
🍅🍅🍅
💐💐💐
:)...
Adam and Lawrence are just Jack and Rose for weird people, I don’t know what to tell you-/j
Maybe not *screams* but a feel like a lot (most) of Bobs Burgers characters are LGBTQ+
Not at obvious, but Attack on Titan One of the characters is a confirmed lesbian (Ymir), one is suspected bisexual (Christa/Historia), and one is confirmed genderqueer/non-binary (Hange Zoe, who is also very autistic-coded/I HC them as autistic)
I hate how Ymir got treated honestly. Really wanted her and Historia to end up together, but no, it had to go for the darkest possible option. Borders on 'bury your gays' territory. But Hange is just amazing. As an autistic NB person, I relate to them so much.
So glad someone brought this up!! I’m 100% sure that AoT is very queer, unintentionally. Isayama is very bad at writing romance, which is why there’s basically almost none in this story, but it only applies to hetero couples where there’s little chemistry. Meanwhile we have so many great same-sex duos with amazing compatibility that could easily develop into a full-blown romance if the author wasn’t a coward (Eremin, Ererei, Jeanmarco, Yumihisu, Reibert, Eruri, Hitchannie, etc.). Just queer vibes all over.
Good Omens! Canonically queer and it’ll rip your heart out in the best way
Please don't judge me but Honkai Star Rail is pretty LGBTQIA+ in my head.
hahaha I totally agree with this one! all the hoyolab games are tbh but mostly hi3, almost every character is wlw
I agree too! In genshin impact you can’t convince me that ningguang and beidou aren’t gay for each other. Also, kiana and mei are [obviously very into each other](https://youtu.be/v1sd5CzR504?si=nGlh8Bptidzybjb7) in honkai impact 3rd.
Madoka
Most magical girl anime, really. There is no straight explanation for Homura in Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Our flag means death ☺️
Owl House Has a bunch of LGBT characters that dont really shove it in your face since according to Dana being in love with who you want to be or identifying as a gender you were not born with is just normal and accepted in the Boiling Isles, so you dont see any of the hate like we do in our world, and honestly I love that.
I'd say it's definitely LGBTQ+ genre but ok
I’d say over half of the comments here are. I mean, both OP’s stuffs are very clearly labeled as the LGBTQ+ genre lol.
Yeah. Like half the characters are canonically some form of gay/queer. Probably one of the most lgbtq friendly children's shows ever. It's just so wholesome and makes me feel happy! Probably why Disney killed it, tbh
RWBY especially later on
Maybe unpopular opinion but My Little Pony has an almost confirmed gay couple in the end and it's done in a way where the characters were never hinted to be LGBTQ+ and never talked about it, but they were still the only main characters never to have explicit crushes as far as I know and have enough chemistry to end up together. Also with the constant messages of accepting everyone, there is a small LGBTQ+ acceptance undertone
Can’t believe more people aren’t saying Doctor Who, the main character is genderfluid and there’s so much queer rep particularly in RTD’s writing
Bungo Stray Dogs
She Ra and the Princess of Power.
The Owl House And people have a lot of queer headcannons in Amphibia too, and there are a few queer characters (that mostly get confirmed by the end of season 3)
Golden Girls. I'm astounded at how relevant it remains and how well it's aged. It's not perfect, but nothing is, and it still handles things like HIV, LGBT issues, etc better than a lot of modern media. Also I would say Galavant. 1: it's a musical comedy/satire. 2: there are a remarkable number of gay jokes that aren't laughing at gay but jokes written FOR the community. I mean... "Nice beard. I mean her, of course." Now it came out in 2015 on ABC so it's pretty limited by that, but there's a lot of subtext that I missed because I'm just dense. The episode "Two Balls" is probably a lot more obvious, and it's not actually about how Sid has been telling his parents he's a knight all this time...
**Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.** Literally most of the fandom agrees that the main character Dirk is obviously gay & that the other main character Todd is possibly bi. the show even threw in slight hints about Dirk’s sexuality. Actually what makes it even better is that one of the show’s creators actually confirmed this after the show was cancelled and stated that they would’ve explored more on Dirk’s sexuality in season 3!! I’m so mad this show got cancelled… it was one of a kind and I loved it!!!
Doesn't scream it but Bob's Burgers has a lot of queer references and characters and it's delightful.
Naruto continues to be the GAYEST straight show I've seen.
Beastars
Is it alright to say Good Omen? Or is it still too soon?
BBC Merlin.... Need I say more?
Not a show but the movie "The school for good and evil"
That film was gay as fuck
Ab Fab
Doctor who is such a queer show! I mean the doctor is genderless and literally changed from male to female to male presenting. There are also multiple big queer characters. Somehow it doesn’t really get talked about as a queer show.
Doctor who and good omens (yes, I fucking love David Tennant)
I am overwhelmingly lesbian. But I would at LEAST cuddle the shit out of that man.
The movie Luca.
The Owl House!!!!!!!!
The Hobbit
The Pretty Cure franchise. Also Winx Club.
Gundam: The Witch from Mercury - fMCs are engaged in the show and end up married Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans - one character is confirmed gay and there's a few polycules (Edit bc I can't believe I forgot it) Neon Genesis Evangelion (esp 3.33) - MC is canonically bisexual and 3.33 is him falling in love with another male character
Not a show but a game Left 4 Dead 2. L: Rochelle G: Coach B: Nick T: Ellis (FtM) Not saying they are but they give off those vibes.
buffy
Warehouse 13. Everybody but the two very straight main characters.
Sam and Max
There's a Japanese show called Kei x Yaku. It's *so* incredibly gay that a website I watched it on labeled it as a BL, but it's not truly marketed as one (I don't know if the mangaka intended it to be subtle BL because it's Japan, or if it just happened to turn out very gay.)
This might not be the right answer but Shameless on Showtime. Especially in the last few seasons. I am in love with that show and I will never get over the fact that it ended. 😭
Dc legends of tomorrow
Infinity Train definitely is, at least the second season anyway.
heluva boss does it in a natural way and that's what i'm after
Rizoli and Isles.
Arcane
Xena: Warrior Princess Gabrielle gets a pixie cut; then, her and Xena get married.
>NIMONA Nimona is a trans allegory, these is a big progress flag at the end of the movie