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List of fictional gay characters

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This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

For a listing of yaoi anime and manga, see List of yaoi anime and manga. For history of homosexuality in U.S. films, see History of homosexuality in American film.

This is a list of gay characters in fiction, i.e. characters that either self-identify as gay or have been identified by outside parties to be gay, becoming part of gay media. Listed characters are either recurring characters, cameos, guest stars, or one-off characters, some of which may be gay icons. This page does not include gay characters in anime, Western animation, feature films or television.

For fictional characters in other parts of the LGBTQ community, see the lists of trans, bisexual, lesbian, non-binary, pansexual, aromantic, asexual, and intersex characters.

The names are organized alphabetically by surname (i.e. last name), or by single name if the character does not have a surname. If more than two characters are in one entry, the last name of the first character is used.

Graphic novels

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Main article: List of graphic art works with LGBT characters
Characters Title Years Notes Country
Corinthian The Sandman 1989–2015 The Corinthian is a nightmare created by Dream. He has two additional mouths in place of his eyes, which he covers with sunglasses. In The Doll's House, he goes AWOL from the dreamscape and becomes a serial killer who invites men to have sexual relations with him, then murders them. Corinthian then removes the eyes of their victims and eats them using his eye-mouths. Neil Gaiman has stated that the Corinthian is homosexual in The Sandman Companion, wherein the first Corinthian consumed eyes only of boys. The second Corinthian is featured with a boyfriend as written by Caitlin R. Kiernan in the Dreaming.[1] England
Dads of Charlotte "Charlie" The Witch Boy 2017 They are the dads of Charlie, a tomboy.[2][3] They appear in all three graphic novels as recurring characters[4][a] and are the only explicitly LGBTQ characters shown in the graphic novels.[5][6][7] United States
The Hidden Witch 2018
The Midwinter Witch 2019
Iceman All-New X-Men 2002–present All New X-Men #40 (2015) contains the pivotal moment where Iceman/Bobby Drake (as a younger version of himself) is informed by Jean Grey that his thoughts reveal his homosexuality. The scene plays out with Bobby wondering why his older self (the one in present-day X-Men comics) dated women for so long; he ponders bi-sexuality before being told, unequivocally, that he is in fact gay.[8] United States
Jayesh "Jay" Lucifer 2000–2006 Jay is a friend of Jill Presto. Jay is interested in a man named Karl, unaware that Karl is a homophobic neo-Nazi.[9] Jay asks Karl out, after being encouraged by Jill. Afterwards, Karl and other men and beat Jay up in a dark alley.[10] United Kingdom
Kevin Keller Veronica 1989–2011 First appearance: Veronica #202 (2010). Kevin was first eyed by Veronica who did not realize he was gay. He has since become a part of the gang.[11] United States
Andy Lippincott Doonsbury 1970–present First appearance: 1976. Andy Lippincott was the first openly gay character to appear in a mainstream comic strip.[12]
Midnighter Midnighter & Midnighter 2006–2008 & 2015–2016 Midnighter is one of DC Comics' most prominent gay superheroes and his relationship with Apollo is one of the most prominent gay relationships in DC Comics.[13]
Apollo
Northstar Uncanny X-Men 1963–2015 First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120 (1979). Northstar was the first openly gay superhero in the Marvel Comics universe.[14]
Lawrence Poirier For Better or For Worse 1979–2008 In 1993, Lawrence Poirier's coming out generated controversy, with readers opposed to homosexuality threatening to cancel newspaper subscriptions.[15] See also: For Better or For Worse#Lawrence comes out. Canada
Thomas Werner Thomas no Shinzō 1974–1975 Set in a German boys boarding school, the story relates how, after Thomas' suicide, an upper classman, Yuri, finds a love letter Thomas wrote to him, and then meets a new student, Eric, who looks just like Thomas.[16] Japan
Julusmole Bayhan ("Juli" or "Yuli")
Eric Fruehling
Andrew Wells Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics 1998–present Andrew realizes he is gay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten.[17] United States

Literature

[edit]
Main article: List of LGBT characters in modern written fiction
Characters Work Author Year Description
Achilles The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller 2011 Achilles is gay, showing no interest in girls, while Patroclus is bisexual, saying he would fall in love with Briseis if not for Achilles.[18]
Assorted characters Tales of the City series Armistead Maupin 1978–2014 While the original series featured gay and bisexual characters who "kissed on camera and had sex in bathhouses,"[19] in the Netflix adaption of this series, Shawna is "explicitly bisexual character."[20]
Brysen Black Wings Beating Alex London 2018 Brysen is a teenager on a quest to hunt down a giant, monstrous black eagle. Throughout the book, he shows exclusive romantic interest in men.[21]
David Giovanni's Room James Baldwin 1956 David, a protagonist of the book, escapes death from the guillotine since his "homosexual urges were experimental in nature" while the narrator is cited as a gay character as well.[22] Other gay characters include Giovanni, Jacques, and Guillaume.
Dino The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried Shaun David Hutchinson 2019 Dino is a curmudgeonly and bookish Puerto Rican teenager who discovers that his estranged best friend July has risen from the grave. Dino also has a boyfriend. [23][24]
Wylan Van Eck Six of Crows duology Leigh Bardugo 2015–2016 Jesper is bisexual, and Wylan is gay; they begin dating each other by the end of the duology, while Nina has also been confirmed to be pansexual.[25]
Alucard Emery Shades of Magic trilogy V.E. Schwab 2015–17 Rhy is bisexual while Alucard is gay. They had a fling three years prior the events of the books. Victoria Schwab actually stated multiple times that in her eyes none of the characters are straight, but that is not mentioned in the series.[26][27]
Jack Forster What Happened to Mr. Forster? Gary W. Bargar 1989 A sixth-grade teacher who is fired for being gay.[28]
1995
Dorian Gray The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Dorian is ambivalent about his homosexuality, meeting with male prostitutes, and proposes to a woman in an effort to suppress his homosexuality.[29][30]
Basil Hallward In this novel, Basil has a "repressed homosexuality" while Dorian has his own ambivalence, meeting with male prostitutes, even proposing to Sybil Vane in an attempt to suppress his homosexual feelings.[29][30]
Basil Henderson Invisible Life E. Lynn Harris 1991 Basil leaves his fiancée Yancey at the altar and pursues a gay lifestyle.[22]
Just As I Am 1995
Abide With Me 1999
Any Way the Wind Blows 2001
Joel Harrison Knox Other Voices, Other Rooms Truman Capote 1948 Joel is an "effeminate adolescent," with the narrative showing him have a desire for his cousin, Randolph.[31]
Oshima Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami 2002 Oshima is a 21-year-old intellectual gay trans man who is a librarian and owner of a cabin in the mountains near Komura Memorial Library.[32] He becomes the mentor of Kafka as he guides him to the answers that he's seeking on his journey.
Rafi The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried Shaun David Hutchinson 2019 Rafi is a kind-hearted and handsome but deeply insecure Pakistani-American teenager. He is also transgender and has a boyfriend.[33][34]
Randolph Other Voices, Other Rooms Truman Capote 1948 Randolph is a cousin of Joel, and a person that Joel has romantic feelings for.[31]
Richard The Hours Michael Cunningham 1998 In this novel, which has strong parallels with Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, Clarissa rejects a relationship with Richard, a gay man, for the love of her life, Sally, who is invigorated by this love.[35] Louis is also Richard's former lover, with Richard later taking his own life, while Clarissa comes to a full realization of her own identity.
Louis
Jack Twist "Brokeback Mountain" (short story) Annie Proulx 1997 Jack and Ennis have a long term sexual and romantic relationship despite both being married to women and fathering children. Jack also has sexual relationships with other men and a woman, while Ennis does not. Critics have described both men as gay or variably Jack as bisexual and Ennis as heterosexual.[36][37]
Ennis del Mar
Vanyel Arrows of the Queen Mercedes Lackey 1987 Lackey, in making this book, took a stand, refusing the demand of an editor that Vanyel be "straight, or single, or not in the story," and, as such, he is a gay character.[38]

Video games

[edit]
Main article: List of video games with LGBT characters
Characters Series / Title Year Notes Developer
Barnaby Billie Bust Up Upcoming The upcoming musical platformer Billie Bust Up features a kooky, ghostly owl named Barnaby. In an official Twitter post for pride month, Barnaby is illustrated with flags that reveal he is gay and on the asexual spectrum. [39].[40] Giddy Goat Games
Damien Bloodmarch Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator 2017 In this visual novel and dating sim, Damien Bloodmarch is a gay trans man.[41] Game Grumps
Bubbles Angry Birds 2 2015 Bubbles is an optimistic young spot-breasted oriole who loves Halloween. Although incredibly small in stature, he has the ability to drastically increase in body size, similar to the defense mechanism of a pufferfish. In the pride-themed "Better Together" microtransaction, the player can buy him an outfit that includes a gay male pride flag balloon.[42] Rovio Entertainment
Gay cop The Longest Journey 1999 This computer game features Fiona and Mickey, a lesbian landlady and her long-time lover. The game also features and a gay cop, with gay characters seen as normal and well adjusted secondary characters.[43] Funcom
Eladus Guild Wars 2 2012 This MMORPG game includes the sylvari race of plant-like humanoids who don't reproduce sexually. As such, they do not base their relationships upon reproduction, but rather love, sensuality, and finding beauty in one another.[44] Eladus and Dagdar are two young male sylvari in a gay relationship. The player is able to encounter and save Eladus and Dagdar from the Knight Bercilak the Green in an optional quest. ArenaNet
Dagdar
Saied Circuit's Edge 1989 This DOS Interactive fiction and role-playing game includes a variety of gay and transgender characters,[45] including a trans woman named Yasmin with a gay man named Saied alleged to be Yasmin's former lover.[46] Westwood Studios
Variety of characters
Percy Billie Bust Up Upcoming The upcoming musical platformer Billie Bust Up features a friendly shopkeeper cat named Percy. In an official Twitter post for pride month, he's illustrated waving a gay male pride flag.[47][48] Giddy Goat Games
Trevor Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh 1996 In this interactive movie, point-and-click adventure, Curtis is the protagonist, who is a close friend with his gay co-worker, Trevor. The two almost kiss later in the game.[49][50] Sierra On-Line

Webcomics

[edit]
See also: List of webcomics with LGBT characters and Gay Comix
Characters Name of comic Years Notes
Eric Bittle Check, Please! 2013–present This comic by Ngozi Ukazu centers around a gay protagonist on a college hockey team.[51]
Jo's dads Lumberjanes 2014–2020 Jo is a trans woman of color with two dads and acts as an "expert on what it means to be a Lumberjane" to the fellow campers.[52][53]
Multiple characters Unsounded 2010–Present This webcomic by Ashley Cope features multiple gay characters.[54]
Jeff Olsen Kyle's Bed & Breakfast 1998–present This comic by Greg Fox covers controversial LGBT topics such as marriage equality, HIV/AIDS, body fascism and conversion therapy.[55][54] This story features various LGBT characters, such as Jeff Olsen, a gay man with HIV, Mark Masterson, a gay scholar, and Kristian Janson, a Jamaican gay man.[56]
Mark Masterson
Kristian Janson
Other characters
Dirk Strider Homestuck 2009-2016 In this webcomic by Andrew Hussie, Dirk Strider states he is only attracted to guys.[57] He also dates Jake English, a bisexual guy, for a couple months.
Rudy Strongwell Rain 2010–2022 This comic by Jocelyn Samara and DiDomenick features a trans girl, Rain, as the main character and other LGBT characters,[58] like a gay man named Rudy Strongwell, and a gay couple (Trevor Kurz and Frank Johnson).[59]
Trevor Kurz
Frank Johnson

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Irvine, Alex (2008), "The Dreaming", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The Vertigo Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 64–65, ISBN 978-0-7566-4122-1, OCLC 213309015
  2. ^ Labrise, Megan (November 2, 2017). "Molly Knox Ostertag". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Ostertag, Molly (October 30, 2017). "Halloween Q&A: Molly Ostertag on 'The Witch Boy'". SmashPages (Online). Interviewed by Alex Dueben. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Molly Ostertag (w, a). The Witch Boy, p. 147/3 (2017). United States: Graphix.
  5. ^ "The Hidden Witch [Review]". Kirkus Reviews. September 2, 2018. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2020. Ostertag's sophomore effort is every bit as wonderful as its predecessor....its approachable and diverse cast that...[includes] same-sex relationships.
  6. ^ Pennington, Latonya (May 17, 2018). "The Witch Boy Is a Heroic Tale That Proves Magic Has No Gender". Pride.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020. Furthermore, the world of The Witch Boy casually mentions that a secondary character [Charlie] has two dads, so it's possible for other queer characters to exist.
  7. ^ Cardno, Anthony (August 5, 2019). "The Hidden Witch by Molly Ostertag [Review]". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Original X-Men Member Comes Out As Gay In New Marvel Comic". ComicBook.com. April 21, 2015. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Carey, Mike (June 2000). Lucifer. Vertigo.
  10. ^ Carey, Mike (July 2000). Lucifer. Vertigo.
  11. ^ "Kevin Keller". Archie Comics. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Booker, M. Keith (2010-05-11). Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels [2 volumes]: [Two Volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 246–. ISBN 9780313357473. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  13. ^ Whitbrook, James (July 1, 2015). "Midnighter is The Best Portrayal of a Gay Superhero in Mainstream Comics". io9. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  14. ^ Misiroglu, Gina (2012-04-01). The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes. Visible Ink Press. pp. 112–. ISBN 9781578593958. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  15. ^ "The Lynn Johnston Interview, Hogan's Alley #1, 1994". 1994. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  16. ^ Duggan, Anne E. (2013-10-15). Queer Enchantments: Gender, Sexuality, and Class in the Fairy-Tale Cinema of Jacques Demy. Wayne State University Press. pp. 115–. ISBN 9780814338544. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  17. ^ Gage, Christos, Nicholas Brendon (w), Megan Levens (p). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten" Love Dares You, Part I, no. 11 (January 21, 2015). Dark Horse Comics.
  18. ^ Haynes, Natalie (September 29, 2011). "The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  19. ^ Rorke, Robert (May 9, 2019). "The original Tales of the City was a gay rights trailblazer". The New York Post. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Gilmour, Paisley (June 10, 2019). "How Netflix's new series Tales of the City gets being queer so right". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  21. ^ London, Alex (September 25, 2018). Black Wings Beating. Macmillan. p. 432. ISBN 978-1250211484.
  22. ^ a b Meloy, Kilian (September 24, 2007). "Influential Gay Characters in Literature". AfterElton.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2014.Also see page 2 and
  23. ^ MacGregor, Amanda. "Book Review: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson". SLJ.
  24. ^ "Q&A With Shaun Hutchinson". ReadMoreCO.
  25. ^ "Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)". Queer Books for Teens. December 10, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  26. ^ Flood, Alison (August 16, 2017). "Authors voice fury at Russian publisher cutting gay scene from novel". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Bendix, Trish (August 16, 2017). "Russian Publisher Cuts Gay Love Scene Out Of Best-Selling Novel". NewNowNext. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  28. ^ Webunder, Dave; Sarah Woodard (Winter 1996). "Homosexuality in Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction: An Annotated Bibliography". The ALAN Review. 23 (2). doi:10.21061/alan.v23i2.a.7. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  29. ^ a b Horan, Patrick M. (1997). The Importance of Being Paradoxical: Maternal Presence in the Works of Oscar Wilde. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-8386-3733-3.
  30. ^ a b Garber, Eric; Lyn Paleo (1983). "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. G. K. Hall. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-8161-1832-8.
  31. ^ a b Richards, Gary (2005). Lovers And Beloveds: Sexual Otherness In Southern Fiction, 1936–1961. LSU Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8071-3051-3.
  32. ^ Mitchell, David (January 8, 2005). "Kill me or the cat gets it". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  33. ^ MacGregor, Amanda. "Book Review: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson". SLJ.
  34. ^ "Q&A With Shaun Hutchinson". ReadMoreCO.
  35. ^ Young, Tory (2003). Michael Cunningham's The Hours: A Reader's Guide. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 37-40. ISBN 978-0-8264-1476-2.
  36. ^ Phillips, Richard; Diane Watt (2000). De-Centering Sexualities: Politics and Representations Beyond the Metropolis. Routledge. pp. 2–5. ISBN 978-0-415-19465-5.
  37. ^ Rood, Karen Lane (2001). Understanding Annie Proulx. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 187–190. ISBN 978-1-57003-402-2.
  38. ^ Cheeseman-Meyer, Ellen (November 3, 2014). "Follow Your Arrow: Let's Talk about Vanyel". Tor.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  39. ^ Romano, Sal (August 16, 2023). "Musical 3D platformer Billie Bust Up to be published by Humble Games". Gematsu. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  40. ^ "It's #PrideMonth🏳️‍🌈 💖 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜". Twitter.
  41. ^ Gray, Leighton [@graylish] (21 July 2017). "yes!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2020 – via Twitter.
  42. ^ "We are Better Together!". angrybirds.com.
  43. ^ Winkie, Luke (April 18, 2014). "From a pink dinosaur to "Gay Tony": The evolution of LGBT video game characters". Salon. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  44. ^ "ArenaNet: The Sylvari Soul – Angel McCoy on Writing the Sylvari - Page 2 - News, Interviews & Articles - Guild Wars 2 Guru - Page 2". Guild Wars 2 Guru. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  45. ^ Shaw, Adrienne (August 29, 2015). "Sexuality and gender in Circuit's Edge". LGBTQ Video Game Archive. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  46. ^ Flanagan, Jack (May 16, 2014). "The complete history of LGBT video game characters". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  47. ^ Romano, Sal (August 16, 2023). "Musical 3D platformer Billie Bust Up to be published by Humble Games". Gematsu. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  48. ^ "It's #PrideMonth🏳️‍🌈 💖 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜". Twitter.
  49. ^ Shannon, Lorelai (1997). "Phantasmagoria 2 Overview Memorial". Anthony Larme. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  50. ^ Cobbett, Richard (February 20, 2011). "They did it first". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  51. ^ Lawson, Emma (April 6, 2016). "Baking, Bros And Beyonce: Should You Be Reading 'Check, Please'?". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016.
  52. ^ GLAAD's Entertainment Media Team (December 25, 2015). "The Most Intriguing LGBT Characters of 2015". GLAAD. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018.
  53. ^ Rude, Mey (August 26, 2015). "In Lumberjanes Issue #17, Jo Comes Out As Trans and It's So Awesome". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020.
  54. ^ a b Grabowy, TJ (2012-09-17). "Strip Tease: 7 Queer Web Comics You Should Be Reading". Queerty. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  55. ^ Palmer, Joe (October 16, 2006). "Gay Comics 101". AfterElton.com. p. 3. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
  56. ^ "Meet the Cast of Kyle's B n B !!!". Kyle's Bed & Breakfast by Grey Fox. June 16, 2020. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  57. ^ "==> ==>". Homestuck. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10.
  58. ^ Kirichanskaya, Michele (April 10, 2017). "10 Must-Read LGBTQIA+ Webcomics". ComicsVerse. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017.
  59. ^ Samara D., Jocelyn (June 20, 2013). "Characters". Rain webcomic official site. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.

Notes

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  1. ^ One or both of Charlie's Dads are also featured on pages 32, 33, and 34 of The Hidden Witch as Aster has dinner with them, and later on pages 92, 125, 127, 129, and 137. Also, they appear either individually, or together, on pages 18, 19, 20, 21, 39, 58, and 59 of The Midwinter Witch.
[edit]
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