This is a list ofanimated series withlesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,intersex,asexual,genderqueer, andpansexual characters, along with other (LGBTQ) characters. This list includes fictional characters inanimated cartoons,adult animation, andanime. This page includes some of those on thelist of crossdressing characters in animated series.
These lists only includerecurring characters, otherwise known as supporting characters, which appear frequently from time to time during the series' run, often playing major roles in more than one episode, and those in themain cast are listed below. LGBTQ characters which areguest stars or one-off characters are listed on the pages focusing exclusively ongay,lesbian,bisexual, andnon-binary characters in animation, along withtrans,pansexual,asexual,non-binary, andintersex characters in fiction.
The entries on this page are organizedalphanumerically by duration dates and then alphabetically by the first letter of a specific series.
| Duration | Show title | Character debut date | Characters | Identity | Notes | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–1980 | The Rose of Versailles | October 10, 1979 | Queen Marie Antoinette | Bisexual | Marie enters a political marriage with King Louis XVI of France but falls in love with Count von Fersen. She is considered a love interest ofOscar François de Jarjayes,[1] though their relationship never quite goes beyond master and servant.[2][3] | Japan |
| Rosalie Lamorlière | She is the adopted daughter of Nicole Lamorlière,[4] attempting prostitution at one point to get money. She tries to kill Oscar's mother but Oscar stops her and soon takes her as an apprentice, earning Rosalie's admiration and love, as she opens his eyes.[4][5] She later ends up marrying Oscar's friend, Bernard Chatelet in the episode "A Funeral Bell Tolls in the Twilight". | |||||
| 1982–1983 | Patalliro! | April 8, 1982 | Jack Barbarosa Bancoran | Gay | He enjoys flirting with and seducing young boys, having the name of "Young Boy Killer".[6] Women have shown interest in him and he shows no interest, though he did show mild interest in Pataliro's mother Etrange. | Japan |
| 1983–1984 | Stop!! Hibari-kun! | May 20, 1983 | Hibari Ōzora | Trans woman | Assigned male at birth, Hibari looks and behaves as a girl, expresses interest in having breasts, and has become more feminine after Kōsaku starts living at her household.[7][8][a] She has demonstrated romantic interest in Kōsaku and is implied to have zero interest in women. | Japan |
| 1983–1986 | SuperTed | October 4, 1983 | Skeleton | Gay | Skeleton is one of Texas Pete's two henchmen. He is a living skeleton who is cowardly and behaves in a campy and effeminate manner. Skeleton has the ability to put himself back together after falling apart. He was confirmed to be gay in a 2014 interview with series creatorMike Young.[9][better source needed][10][better source needed] He also appears inThe Further Adventures of SuperTed. | United Kingdom |
| 1984–2021 | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | November 7, 1994 | Rusty | Non-binary/Gender-Neutral | Rusty is ananthropomorphicnarrow gaugediesel engine who works on the Skarloey Railway. Show developerBritt Allcroft had the intention of making Rusty a "gender-neutral" character, being neither male or female.[11] Initially, beginning with the character's debut inseries 4, dialogue and narration would avoid referring to Rusty with any gender specific pronouns. However, starting with theseries 9 episode "Tuneful Toots", Rusty would instead be referred to with masculine pronouns.[12][better source needed] | United Kingdom |
| 1985–1987 | Fight! Iczer One | October 19, 1985 | Cobalt | Lesbian | A combat officer who is in love with Sepia, a non-commissioned officer.[13] Cobalt is in a romantic relationship with Sepia, occasionally kissing her in this "classic of early anime."[14][15] | Japan |
| Sepia | Combat officer and ruthless warrior, who is in love with Cobalt, later becoming distraught after her demise.[16] She is in an intimate relationship with Cobalt.[14][15] | |||||
| Iczer-1 | Iczer-1 is Nagisa's partner, choosing her so she can awaken her power as a warrior.[17] She has a romantic and intimate relationship with Nagisa throughout the series.[18][15] | |||||
| Nagisa Kanou | Initially, she disliked Iczer-1, but eventually decides to fight with her, and protect her.[19] She and Iczer-1 eventually developed a romantic relationship.[18][15] | |||||
| 1986–1989 | Dragon Ball | January 14, 1987 | General Blue | Gay | A canon gay character and Nazi, who is series antagonist,[20] having an entire saga focused on him. He also makes an appearance inDragon Ball GT. He is attracted to Trunks/Future Trunks.[21] | Japan |
| 1989–1990 | Alfred J. Kwak | December 24, 1989 | Ollie de Ooievaar | Trans man | Ollie is one of the protagonist's close friends. At the start of the series he is referred to with female pronouns, but after a timeskip he starts using male pronouns. This is never directly addressed during the series. In 2013, the series creator,Herman van Veen, confirmed Ollie as a trans man, saying "I thought it was a nice idea...He now flies through life as a man, but maybe one day he will become a woman again."[22] | The Netherlands |
| 1989–present | The Simpsons | December 17, 1989 | Patty Bouvier | Lesbian | Patty officially came out in a 2005 episode, "There's Something About Marrying", which was one of the episodes that carried the occasional warning of content that might be unsuitable for children.[23] She is identical to her sister, Selma, but is a lesbian, and is a recurring character.[24] Like Dewey and Smithers, she is a recurring gay character. In "Livin La Pura Vida", Patty had a new girlfriend named Evelyn, voiced by lesbian actressFortune Feimster.[25] Series creatorMatt Groening said that the staff wanted to out Patty as gay because portraying her as a "love-starved spinster [...] seemed old" on the show.[26] | United States |
| Dewey Largo | Gay | Mr. Largo is the school's music teacher, whose last name is also an Italian word for a slow, broad, musicaltempo.[27] A recurring gag in episodes such as "See Homer Run", are allusions that Largo is gay. A later episode, "Flaming Moe", confirmed that Largo is gay and was in a relationship with an older man, also named Dewey.[28][29] Mr. Largo broke up with Dewey in the season 30 episode "Werking Mom". As of season 33, he is dating another man named Geoffrey. | ||||
| January 21, 1990 | Waylon Smithers | Smithers is a semi-closeted gay man.[30][31] Waylon Smithers and Patty Bouvier ride a float called"Stayin' in the Closet!" during Springfield's annual gay pride parade in a 2002 episode, "Jaws Wired Shut". In a 2016 episode, "The Burns Cage", Smithers officially comes out as gay.[32] Mr. Smithers' relationship with Mr. Burns has long been arunning gag onThe Simpsons, and during theBill Oakley/Josh Weinstein era,Al Jean andDavid Silverman called Smithers "Burns-sexual",[33][34] but later the writers started to enjoy writing about Smithers and Burns' relationship in Season 2,[35] and in September 2015, it was confirmed by Jean that Smithers would come out to Mr. Burns in "The Burns Cage".[36] In "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire", Smithers had a new boyfriend named Michael de Graaf, voiced byVictor Garber, a gay actor.[37] | ||||
| November 21, 2001 | Brunella Pommelhorst | Transgender | Mrs. Pommelhorst is the gym teacher who announced his intention to take time off and return as "Mr. Pommelhorst, the shop teacher" in the episode "My Fair Laddy", although she later returned as the same.[29][31] | |||
| April 13, 2003 | Grady | Gay | They are a stereotypical gay couple[29][31] who later break up, with Julio later married to Thad, shown in episodes such as "Three Gays of the Condo". Julio is known in later seasons for being Marge's recurring hairdresser. Grady is voiced by gay comedianScott Thompson while Julio has been voiced by gay actor Tony Rodriguez since 2021.[38] | |||
| Julio Franco |
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 1990s changed significantly from those in previous decades. Some of the most prominent series during this decade which featured LGBTQ characters wereSailor Moon,South Park,Revolutionary Girl Utena,King of the Hill,Cardcaptor Sakura andFuturama.Revolutionary Girl Utena andSailor Moon featured prominent LGBTQ characters, which some called among the most important anime of the 1990s.[39]Revolutionary Girl Utena influenced the creator ofSteven Universe,Rebecca Sugar, calling a series which "plays with the semiotics of gender" which really stuck with her.[40] Additionally, during this decade,Family Guy andSpongeBob SquarePants premiered, with LGBTQ protagonists in both shows, although it was only implied in the latter show.Benjamin Gluck’s short film,Man’s Best Friend, also featured an openly LGBTQ pink dog.
For a further understanding of how these LGBTQ characters fit into the overall history of animation, please read theHistory of LGBT characters in animated series: 1990s page.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 2000s changed significantly from the previous decade. In 1999,Simpsons andThe Critic producerMike Reiss who hoped to do something "good for the gay audience" producedQueer Duck, the first animated TV series withhomosexuality as a predominant theme.[41][42] The show became relatively influential after premiering online onIcebox.com, then later shown onShowtime starting in 2000, and was received well by some in the LGBTQ community. While LGBTQ characters appeared in shows such asThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,Red vs. Blue, andThe Boondocks, the ongoing show,American Dad, which premiered in 2005, had an LGBTQ character as a protagonist, Roger. While the gay news anchors Greg Corbin and Terry Bates were recurring characters in the show, Roger, a space alien who lives with the Smith family, has an ambiguous sexuality.[43][44][45]
For a further understanding of how these LGBTQ characters fit into the overall history of animation, please read theHistory of LGBTQ characters in animated series: 2000s page.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in animated series in the 2010s changed significantly from the previous decade; especially in Western animation.[46] One of the shows cited as being the most influential for this change in representation isSteven Universe, created byRebecca Sugar and aired onCartoon Network. AsGLAAD put it in their 2019-2020 report, the show continues to "go above and beyond when it comes to inclusive storytelling."[47] The series,She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, developed byND Stevenson, included LGBTQ characters,[48][49] premiered in November 2018.Voltron: Legendary Defender, which aired from 2016 to 2018, attracted controversy for its depiction of LGBTQ characters,[50] especially killing off a gay character,[51][52] with some saying the show was following a stereotype known as "burying your gays"[53][54] The 2014-2017 animated adult sitcom,Bojack Horseman, was one of the first mainstream pieces of media to feature an asexual main protagonist,Todd Chavez, where he questions his sexual identity at the end of the 3rd season, and embraces his asexuality in Season 4.[55] The 2010s also included LGBTQ characters in animated series, such asMarceline the Vampire Queen andPrincess Bubblegum inAdventure Time,[56]Korra andAsami inThe Legend of Korra,[57] and Mr. Ratburn and his husband fromArthur.[58]Harley Quinn andPoison Ivy appeared in the first season ofHarley Quinn from 2019 to 2020, but their romance was not expanded until seasons 2 and 3 in 2020 and 2022.[59]
For a further understanding of how these LGBTQ characters fit into the overall history of animation, please read theHistory of LGBTQ characters in animated series: 2010s page.
The depiction of LGBT characters in animated series in the 2020s changed from the 2010s, accelerating like never seen before, especially when it came to Western animation.The Owl House featured some of the first LGBTQ protagonists in a Disney show,[60] whileKipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts had a prominent gay relationship not previously seen in animation.[61] Inadult animation,Magical Girl Friendship Squad andHelluva Boss broke ground, with the former including a lesbian protagonist[62] and the latter including one bisexual character and one pansexual character. However, in 2020,She-Ra and the Princesses of Power andSteven Universe Future, both of which had various LGBTQ characters, ended.[63][64] In anime, LGBTQ characters appeared in various productions, such asAdachi and Shimamura,[65]Assault Lily Bouquet,[66] andMy Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!.[65]
For a further understanding of how these LGBTQ characters fit into the overall history of animation, please read theHistory of LGBT characters in animation: 2020s page.
Major Bancoran of the British Intelligence Department, also known as "Bishonen Killer," is his bodyguard. Hidden in a beautiful appearance, he saves Patalliro...Patalliro, who is flirting, flirting, moss, moss, and full of vitality, runs through somewhere in the world today.
There is only one male character on broadcast television counted as bisexual: Roger the Alien on Fox's animated series American Dad!..Another animated Fox program, American Dad!, features a bisexual alien named Roger as a series regular, and gay couple Terry and Greg as recurring characters.
The only LGBT characters on the Fox network are found on their animated comedies, where several gay recurring characters make occasional and usually brief appearances, including Waylon Smithers and Patti Bouvier on The Simpsons, and news anchor couple Greg and Terry on American Dad!
Cartoon Network's Steven Universe continues to go above and beyond when it comes to inclusive storytelling, so much so that it earned the GLAAD Media Award in Outstanding Kids and Family Programming at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Have you ever seen an American, animated series, aimed at all audiences -- featuring a superhero-type character, no less -- who's openly portrayed as LGBT? Well, now you can name one. And that's a start.
Luz and Amity began as rivals, but The Owl House has slowly built up a friendship between the two girls. Once Luz learned that they share many of the same interests, she has tried to befriend Amity. Since then, their relationship has continued to grow, with more clues being dropped that feelings could be brewing. While fans are aware of Amity's feelings for Luz, they will have to wait and see if and when Luz makes her feelings known as well.
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