LGBTQ Roll Call

[neo_prodigy]

With June being LGBTQ Pride, I couldn't think of a better time to do a Roll Call celebrating exceptional LGBTQ characters in comics.


While there have been a number of LGBTQ characters, most of them at best have been relegated to minor characters and at worst deplorable homophobic queer minstrel shows.
And don't get it conflated.

Visibility is not progress.

If it were then the Rawhide Kid and Northstar would be progressive trailblazing characters.

 So no, this isn't just my list of queer comic characters.

This is a salute to the elite characters who have provided me with a more than a few OH HELL YEAH! moments.
A list of characters and made me proud to be a comic book geek and an LGBTQ.

Also, if you haven't already, feel free to check out my recent post on No_Scans discussing Queer Tropes to better understand where I'm coming from on this.


That being said: ROLL CALL!!!!!!!

 

Batwoman










Jack Harkness










Ianto Jones










The Question (Renee Montoya)











Ozymandias




Black Cat



Daken



Destiny



Mystique




Rictor & Shatterstar 

 


 

 



And by the by: The Greeks/Romans/Spartans were like TOTALLY GAY!!!!! (nsfw)


Victoria Hand





Richie Foley/Gear









Dani Baptiste





Tim Gunn

He's awesome and must therefore be included.



Catwoman (Holly Robinson)



Lafayette Reynolds



Scandal Savage



Hulkling



Karolina Dean



Wiccan



HE"S GAY HONEY!!!! Stop trying to recruit. Straight people: Always trying to push their heterosexual agenda on us God-fearing gays. ;D




Xavin







Achilles







DAYUM is my boyfriend sexy!!!!

Go ahead. It's okay to look.

THAT"S CLOSE ENOUGH.

I'm gonna need you to back away from my man, right the hell now.

Satsu













(Ultimate) Colossus









Not sure if the live-action movie version featured 616 Colossus or Ultimate Colossus.

It really doesn't matter because you're a fool if you think I"m about to pass up a chance to partake in some Grade-A beefcake like one Daniel Cudmore.








Willow Rosenberg

















Tara MaClay













John Constantine







Xena






The Midnighter



Apollo & The Midnighter







Now, I'm willing to bet there are some gems out there that myself and others may not be aware of and/or should (re)consider checking out.

So if you have any recommendations of awesome exceptional prominent LGBTQ characters in comics then by all means, sharing is caring. Please post them away in the comments.

 

Comments

[curlyjo1]

Forgive my confusion, but Xena? When was that shown?

[bluefall]

Certainly not in the comics. Absolute abyss of absent subtext, there. More het in an arc of Dark Horse X:WP than a whole season of the show. The Topps series were a little better but still well short of the bar set by the India or Ring arcs or even Day in the Life.

[alienist]

Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was left ambiguous, but it definitely had an impact on the lesbian community. And I think the series finale might sale right past 'subtext'; Lucy Lawless thinks so, anyway.

[mona]

Wooo, all my favorites are on here! Love this post. :D

[neo_prodigy]

Thank you.

[stolisomancer.insanejournal.com]

I think you may be a couple of months premature in putting Dani Baptiste on the list. It's going to depend on what she winds up doing about Finch.

Of course, the fact that she has to figure it out at all may justify her inclusion.

[bluefall]

I really can't decide if I admire Finch's patience and persistence, or just want to shake her and shout "I've been down that road, girl, let me tell you, get out now."

[neo_prodigy]

Yeah that's what I had in mind with her.

[lyraeinne]

Awesome, awesome post. :P

And I'm remind yet again that I'd actually do pretty much anything to see a real, non-robotic, non-alien, non-dehumanized asexual character in comics. Really, anything. Visibility may not be progress, but it would sure as hell make me feel better.

And, speaking of which! Where the heck is Rorschach? :P

[stolisomancer.insanejournal.com]

Even if you favor the interpretation of his actions that makes him out to be a self-loathing homosexual, which I've always found a bit specious, Rorschach is hardly a sex-positive character.

[alienist]

Oh, I so wish.

I kind of see Tim Drake as a biromantic asexual, but I doubt they'll go there.

[big_daddy_d]

I'm not homosexual myself but most gay characters become instant favs of mine. Chief among them being Renee Montoya, Dani Baptiste, Victora Hand, Lafayette (although I didn't like his portrayal in season 2), and becoming a Midnighter fan.

[neo_prodigy]

That's what I love about these characters is that I think they're awesome period and would be fans of them regardless. The fact that they HAPPEN to be LGBTQs just make them 8 kinds of awesome.

[kingrockwell]

Renee is the best, you can't help but love her!

[stoicheion]

Uh, what about Mikhaal Tomas from Starman?

[neo_prodigy]

Does he have a featured story arc worth recommending.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Forgive me if this is a little off-topic, but has the terminology for this sort of thing changed recently, or have I just not been paying attention? Last I checked, it was 'LGBT' - where'd the 'Q' come from? I know what the other letters mean, but what's the 'Q' stand for?

[neo_prodigy]

Q usually stands for queer and/or questioning generally covering other people's sexualities that may not fall in the other categories.

Both LGBT and LBGTQ are legitimate acronyms but I use LGBTQ for posts like this to make it clear that I want to be inclusive.

[adamant_ink]

Love this idea! Agree with pretty much every one of your choices, except for Daken (he's a dangerous stereotype, imo). Renee is my fave, of course :P

I feel bad that Northstar couldn't make the list, but I understand why. God help me, I liked the character. I liked that he always had his own opinion. I liked that he didn't take crap from anyone. I liked that he called people out on their bullshit, even if they were his teammates or his friends or even his sister. But he's been so poorly written that I think his character's actually regressed. Whatever spitfire personality he had has been reduced to bland stereotype, probably to make him "less offensive" and "more palatable". I'm shocked at how whitebread and normative he seems nowadays, being pulled in as the vacuously smiling PR face of the X-men, when originally in Alpha Flight he was the "rebel". Blergh. :(

[neo_prodigy]

To be honest, I'm kind of two minds about Daken. On one hand, I definitely get where folks are coming from about the bisexuality issue. I've only read Bendis's handling of Daken (and his appearance in Dark Reign) and he did a decent job but I wouldn't be shocked if other writers have fucked up royally with the character.

On the other hand I think for me the whole pheromone aspect that is so integral to his powers and he uses said power to manipulate his enemies, makes sense to me. And from a strategic standpoint as a villain, using the pheromones and the sexuality as a weapon to manipulate his foes. I think if he was a superhero, I would feel differently but as a villain, he's been a lot of fun.

And I won't lie, part of me enjoys the fact that the son of Marvel's resident Mary Sue is "the gay son" and no doubt fucking up the sensibilities of all of the homophobic fanboys out there.

I will say if I had seen Daken poorly handled by other writers, I might feel differently.

But the next fan's mileage may vary.

[wasabi.livejournal.com]

Peter Milligan's run on X-Force (which eventually evolved into X-Statix) was not just brilliant satire but actually had three gay characters. First there was Bloke, who was promptly killed off during his first mission; but later came Phat and Vivisector, who actually hated each other at first but over the series' run managed to develop a mutual attraction and then -- even more interesting -- break up but continue together as team members until the end of the series.

[alienist]

What I've read of the earliest Northstar is actually pretty decent, but yeah, the bad definitely seems to outweigh the good, there. Hopefully that will change - I don't think he's unsalvageable, and I'm always for rehabilitating rather than discarding.

As for the list, well, you've got most of the characters I really know, but I'll toss in someone rather obscure: Izzy Sinclair, from the Eighth Doctor comics.

[adamant_ink]

Agree about Northstar. Lots of great stuff there, if only they'd bother to actually write him in character again and not treat him as a repository of gay stereotypes. I mean, friends with Pixie and Dazzler? Really? Dangit, Marvel :(

[turtlefu]

1 - Does anybody else notice that DC has a really good track record for portraying capable, non-sexualized, fully developed female characters who just happen to be lesbians? Their sexuality is significant enough to be a part of their character, but it does not completely define them as characters. Yes, Kate Kane is the GAY Batwoman, but also the red-headed, ass-kicking, capable, independent Batwoman. (Holly Robinson, Question, Batwoman, Scandal Savage)
2 - How in the world can you not put Northstar on this list while also putting in offensive stereotypes Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness. They are not fully developed characters, they are characters with their sole personality trait being GAY. Northstar had a personality, and as a reader of Alpha Flight, I noticed that he was portrayed (early on, in Bryne's run) with a lot of depth, but the ongoing character assassination did ruin him by other writers. Read this quote by Bryne: here
3 - Tokenism. Brian K. Vaughan has a tendency to put in at least one character who is gay in almost every one of his works. To increase diversity. To me, it seems like tokenism, but BKV is a good enough writer to make fully developed characters. Likewise, Allan Heinberg is openly gay, which makes me think he might've written in Hulkling and Wiccan as gay "to increase diversity", but he too is also a really good writer that created some good stories. Both avoided the potential disaster for creating gay characters just for diversity. Also, Xavin may be one of the only transgendered characters in comics, so there's that.
4 - Some of these are dubious or inconsequential. Black Cat, John Constantine, Gear, Ozymandias and Xena are either gay in creators minds but not canon, gay, but never, ever mentioned, or gay because the fans made it so. They are not a proper representation of a gay character because it's not even part of their character.
5 - Daken has never really been portrayed with a sexuality, hasn't he? He did kiss a man, but only to manipulate him and another woman. He doesn't seem to express and sexual or romantic feelings, just manipulations.
6 - Victoria Hand is AWESOME. She's gay, in a way that she (was) in a stable relationship with a woman, but she is fully capable as a character in her own right.
Basically, to me, a gay character needs to be identifiably gay, but not so much that it consumes that. Gay characters need to be shown as PEOPLE first. I have high hope, because we already have several extremely positive, gay characters.
But I still dislike Torchwood. People only like Cap. Jack because he's campy.

[neo_prodigy]

1. I think it depends on which writer is on which book. Both DC & Marvel have done some awesome things in regards to LGBTQ characters. Both have royally failed something fierce.

2. Myself and others have already explained the reason why that walking queer minstrel show isn't included, and why Jack and Ianto should be. Don't agree that's your business but ultimately it's my list and I get to put who I want on my list. And avatars of straight privilege don't get recognized on my list.

3. If gay characters are being included for diversity but are being done right and great stories are being told, that's not a bad thing. And in the cases of Wiccan, Hulkling, Karolina and Xavin, they handled them with the same care as they did the cis-gendered heterosexual characters.

4. I think the evidence is there but we can agree to disagree. But this whole they have to be identifiably gay bullshit just reeks of straight privilege. Seeing as we live in a world where you still get kicked out of the United States army for being an LGBTQ or risk having kids cartoon be canceled for having a visibly gay character, invisibility is part of the LGBTQ experience.

5. You might wanna read the comments a do a bit more research on Daken.

6. I agree with you on Victoria Hand. Definitely co-signed.

"Cap. Jack because he's campy."

Not true. I personally like him because he's a dark and complex character despite the dashing charm. I like him because he's a badass that does what needs to be done.

If Torchwood is not your thing, so be it, but please don't summarize for the rest of us why we like our fandom.

(frozen) The Privilege of Visibility

[neo_prodigy]

I'm sitting here shaking my head as I'm reading the insulting, privileged and homophobic bile that's being spewed from some (not all obviously) of the members on this post.

"That character is not out and visibly gay so therefore they're not authentically gay."

Being visible is a privilege that many of us don't get to have. Being invisible IS part of the LGBTQ experience because in this society, too often that's the only means of survival.



Because being visible, gets you fired from your job. Being visible means you get met with violence. Being visible gets you killed.

Don't believe me then go ask Duanna Johnson, Emille Griffith or Matthew Shephard (sp?) what being visible gets you.

Being visible gets you kicked out of your house. Being visible led to my friend's ex boyfriend committing suicide because his parents couldn't accept that he was gay.

Being visible means you get rebuked and attacked or denigrated because in large part to avatars of straight privilege, queer minstrels like Northstar and Rawhide Kid.

Being visible in this society catches you unholy hell especially if you aspire to be more than society's punchline.

So it should be no surprise that this bigotry translates into the media. We live in a world that about flipped its shit when it was suspected that a teletubby might've been gay.

We live in a world that won't allow gay characters on children's cartoons.

We live in a world that queer representation in the media is abysmal at best and the little that is shown is usually relegated to sidekicks, minor characters queer minstrel shows, and walking avatars of straight privilege (as another member called out).

That's like making the argument that there are no gays in the United States military because none are visibly out. Nevermind the fact of a little thing called Don't Ask Don't Tell.

It's been well-documented here how comics have failed minorities more times than we can count be it on issues regarding POCs, women, the disabled, and of course LGBTQs. So of course most creators are going to be fighting a losing battle presenting compelling three-dimensional lgbtq characters in leading and prominent roles and of course the only way for them to present it is through subtext.

You cannot criticize creators of a kids cartoon show about not having visible lgbtq characters when the FCC won't allow them to air the show in the first fucking place.

Let's not forget that Harry Potter, while a best selling series, also caught flack and was unjustly accused of turning children on to witchcraft. What the fuck do you think was gonna happen if it had been revealed that it was a gay sorceror turning children on to witchcraft? And how many times have we seen companies cave in to bigots?

Many of us are invisible because we're not under obligation to share our orientation with the world and heterosexual IS NOT the default orientation.

Many of us remain invisible because it's the only means of survival.

So You don't get to qualify whose authentic or not when their identity can get them killed.

Fiction that makes it through a homophobic system IS progressive.

Do check your privilege and refer to the resources provided on this forum.

And if you're NOT an LGBTQ spewing this bullshit then you ESPECIALLY need to seriously and expeditiously need to shut the fuck up and sitcho ass down!!!!!!!!

(frozen) Re: The Privilege of Visibility

[changeling81.livejournal.com]

Dude, please cut the straight, cis-gendered people a little slack. There's more than one perspective on the cultural visibility of marginalized groups and also on the social politics of the closet. And LGBTQQs don't have a singular perspective with a hive-mind to which you have direct, unmediated access either. A lot of gay and straight people might have the same polar opposite viewpoint than you.

I read every comment on this post and haven't seen anybody try to stop you from expressing yourself. Sensitive subjects are sensitive, but it helps to open dialogue if you don't immediately label an opposing perspective as privileged or oppressive bullshit.