This is a list of LGBT characters in modern written fiction. The historical concept and definition of sexual orientation varies and has changed greatly over time; for example, the word "gay" was not used to describe sexual orientation until the mid 20th century. A number of different classification schemes have been used to describe sexual orientation since the mid-19th century, and scholars have often defined the term 'sexual orientation' in divergent ways. Indeed, several studies have found that much of the research about sexual orientation has failed to define the term at all, making it difficult to reconcile the results of different studies.[1] [2] [3] However, most definitions include a psychological component (such as the direction of an individual's erotic desire) and/or a behavioral component (which focuses on the sex of the individual's sexual partner/s). Some prefer to simply follow an individual's self-definition or identity. See homosexuality and bisexuality for criteria that have traditionally denoted lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people.
Items listed here must have verifiable third-party sources commenting on the sexuality of the character(s) in question, and additional explanation may be necessary. Additionally, only notable/significant characters from a given work (which may have multiple LGBT characters) need to be listed here.
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.
| Characters | Work | Year | Author | LGBTQ+ identities in story | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amaro Aleixo | Bom-Crioulo | 1895 | Gay Bisexual | This story, which takes place in Brazil circa 1870, deals with an interracial same-sex relationship between Amaro, a formerly enslaved black man, and his white partner, Aleixo.[4] | ||
| Joseph Asten Philip Held | 1870 | Gay | Joseph and His Friend is considered to be the first gay-themed novel written by an American author. | |||
| Carmilla (AKA Millarca and Countess Mircalla Karnstein) | Carmilla | 1872 | Lesbian | Carmilla, published as part of the book, In a Glass Darkly, is considered the first lesbian vampire story.[5] [6] In this story, Laura, who lives with her father, meets Carmilla, and they form a close relationship, with Laura becoming ill as Carmilla draws nourishment from her. | ||
| Jacques Collin a.k.a. Vautrin a.k.a. Trompe-la-Mort | Père Goriot Illusions perdues Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes | 1835 1837–1843 1838–1847 | Gay | Appears in a total of five novels of Balzac's La Comédie humaine, two are cameo appearances; often considered the first openly homosexual character in French literature.[7] [8] [9] [10] | ||
| Basil Hallward Dorian Gray | The Picture of Dorian Gray | 1890 | Gay | 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.[11] [12] | ||
| Arthur Ravener Captain Dillington | A Marriage Below Zero | 1889 | Gay | A Marriage Below Zero is considered to be the first English-language gay-themed novel.[13] | ||
| Jack Saul | The Sins of the Cities of the Plain | 1881 | Anonymous | Gay | Jack is a male prostitute for other men, and also crossdresses; Sins is one of the earliest pieces of English-language pornography to explicitly and near-exclusively concern homosexuality.[14] | |
| René Teleny Camille de Grieux | Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal | 1893 | Anonymous; attributed to Oscar Wilde | Gay | Teleny and de Grieux engage in a passionate sexual/romantic affair; Teleny is one of the earliest pieces of English-language pornography to explicitly and near-exclusively concern homosexuality.[15] [16] [17] |
| Characters | Work | Year | Author | LGBTQ+ identities in story | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OrlandoMarmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine | 1928 | Virginia Woolf | Trans | The titular character lives for over 300 years as both a man and a woman, before marrying a non-binary captain near the end of the novel. In addition to a semi-permanent metamorphosis from man to woman, Orlando frequently chooses to present as one gender or another by intentionally changing attire, hairstyle and/or speech. | ||
| Francis Abernathy | The Secret History | 1992 | Gay | Francis is later revealed as a "mildly tormented homosexual," the only person who seems to have much of "a sexual existence" and is dressed for the part.[18] | ||
| Carol Aird Therese Belivet Abby Gerhard | The Price of Salt (a.k.a. Carol) | 1952 | Lesbian | A married woman, Carol Aird, meets and falls in love with Therese Belivet, which results in her sexuality being used against her and relinquishing custody of her daughter, while Therese comes out to herself after meeting Carol, while Abby is also a lesbian character.[19] Later made into a 2015 Hollywood film. | ||
| Akhenaten Smenkhkara | A God Against the Gods Return to Thebes | 1976 1977 | Bisexual | Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten is married to Nefertiti, but his romance with his brother Smenkhkara contributes to his downfall.[20] | ||
| Alexander the Great Hephaistion Bagoas | Fire from Heaven The Persian Boy | 1969 1972 | Bisexual Gay | Alexander the Great is involved in a romantic sexual relationship with Hephaistion, and then the Persian slave Bagoas, but is also married three times and fathers a son. | ||
| Brigham Anderson | Advise and Consent | 1959 | Bisexual | Married US senator Anderson is blackmailed over a secret wartime homosexual affair for which he is unapologetic.[21] [22] | ||
| Vanyel Ashkevron Stefen | The Last Herald Mage trilogy | 1989–1991 | Gay | In the series, Vanyel has two sexual relationships, both with male partners, as confirmed by the author, Mercedes Lackey.[23] | ||
| Pete Balkis | The Throne of Saturn | 1971 | Gay | Astronaut Pete harbors unrequited romantic feelings for his commander, Conrad Trasker. | ||
| Balthamos Baruch | His Dark Materials | 1995–2000 | Gay | Balthamos and Baruch are old gay men, with their characters poking at existing gay stereotypes in literature, with their relationship growing over the course of the book.[24] [25] | ||
| Renly Baratheon Loras Tyrell | A Song of Ice and Fire | 1991–2011 | Gay | Never explicitly stated in the novels, but Renly's sexual/romantic relationship with Loras is hinted at, and was later confirmed by author Martin; the TV adaptation makes it clear that they are lovers.[26] [27] [28] | ||
| Berdine Raina | Blood of the Fold Temple of the Winds | 1996 1997 | Lesbian | In these books, the two Mord-Sith are in a relationship with each other.[29] Berdine comes out as a lesbian in the third book of this series and says she loves Raina. This was later turned into a TV series, The Legend of the Seeker. | ||
| Frank Berry | The Hotel New Hampshire | 1981 | Gay | |||
| Molly Bolt | Rubyfruit Jungle | 1973 | Lesbian | Molly has numerous romantic and sexual relationships with other women.[30] She confronts the "hypocrisies of both heterosexual and homosexual societies." | ||
| Beebo Brinker Beth Ayers/Cullison Laura Landon | The Beebo Brinker Chronicles | 1957–1960 | Lesbian | These books focus on gay and lesbian love, sexual adventure, with a positive, "yet still complicated look at lesbian relationships," in all five of the books in this series.[31] In the first book, Odd Girl Out, a college girl named Laura gets seduced by Beth, and in the next book, I Am A Woman, Laura goes to a bar and meets a butch lesbian, Beebo Brinker, and talks about coming out to her father. The following book, Women In The Shadows, the relationship between Laura and Beebo continues, while Laura's first girlfriend returns in Journey To A Woman, leading to a "drama-laden lesbian love triangle" of Beebo, Beth, and Laura. The next book, Beebo Brinker looks back to the formative years of Beebo. | ||
| Anthony Blanche Sebastian Flyte | Brideshead Revisited | 1945 | Gay | Sebastian is a flamboyant aristocrat, with Charles Ryder having an infatuation with him, with both kissing in the film.[32] [33] At the same time, Anthony Blanche is "openly homosexual, sarcastic and decadent."[34] | ||
| Patrick "Kitten" Braden | Breakfast on Pluto | 1998 | Trans | Braden is an Irish trans woman (and drag queen), with "transvestism...a defiant rejection of bigotry, labels, and borders" as one reviewer put it, with Braden refusing to confirm to sexual stereotypes and even flirting with a cop.[35] Later turned into a motion picture, another reviewer noted the prevalence of the "Irish Troubles", with Kitten wrongly arrested and charged after a "bombing in a London disco."[36] | ||
| Dave Brandstetter | Dave Brandstetter Mysteries | 1970–1991 | Gay | A private investigator, he has been called "one of the few convincing gay (male) characters in crime writing."[37] | ||
| Harlan Brown Billy Sive Vince Matti Jacques LaFont | The Front Runner | 1974 | Gay | The book has been called a "gay sports classic," with Harlan Brown described as a homosexual "who longed for romantic love that fully integrated hot sex." | ||
| Richard Brown Louis Waters Clarissa Vaughan Sally Seton | The Hours | 1998 | Gay Lesbian | 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.[38] 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. | ||
| Kitty Butler | Tipping the Velvet | 1998 | Bisexual | Has a sexual/romantic relationship with the main character and marries a man. | ||
| Nancy "Nan" Astley Florence Banner Diana Leathaby | Lesbian | Nan has sexual/romantic relationships with Florence and Diana; all three have also been with other women. | ||||
| Luis Carruthers | American Psycho | 1991 | Gay | Luis is in love with the male protagonist, but later marries Courtney.[39] | ||
| M. Charlus Jupien | Sodom and Gomorrah | 1921–1922 | Gay | This book, which has strong homosexual themes, first coming about in the Combray section of Swann's Way, where the daughter of the piano teacher and composer Vinteuil is seduced, and the narrator observes her having lesbian relations in front of the portrait of her recently deceased father. Critics have often observed that while the character of the narrator is ostensibly heterosexual, Proust intimates that the narrator is a closeted homosexual.[40] [41] There is much debate as to how great a bearing Proust's sexuality has on understanding these aspects of the novel. In response to Gide's criticism that he hid his actual sexuality within his novel, Proust told Gide that "one can say anything so long as one does not say 'I'."[42] In 1949, the critic Justin O'Brien published an article in the PMLA called "Albertine the Ambiguous: Notes on Proust's Transposition of Sexes" which proposed that some female characters are best understood as actually referring to young men.[43] This theory has become known as the "transposition of sexes theory" in Proust criticism, which in turn has been challenged in Epistemology of the Closet (1990) by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and in Proust's Lesbianism (1999) by Elisabeth Ladenson.[44] | ||
| Claudine Rézi | Claudine at School | 1902 | Colette | Bisexual | Claudine is unfaithful to her husband, Renaud, having an affair with her friend Rézi, who herself has a secrete liaison with Renaud.[45] | |
| Clay | Less than Zero Imperial Bedrooms | 1985 2010 | Bisexual | This is a coming-of-age story narrated by Clay, "a sexually ambiguous eighteen-year-old student", who tries to resume a relationship with the woman he loved in high school, but "leaves a party with a young man".[46] | ||
| Clarissa Dalloway Doris Kilman | Mrs Dalloway | 1925 | Lesbian | This novel tells the day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional woman in post–war times, and she is strongly attracted to Sally Seton,[47] with both sharing a kiss. Clarissa also recognizes that Septimus dies without revealing his homosexuality, perceiving his failure to speak out as "protecting her private lesbian passion," while Doris later encourages Clarissa to name, at least privately, her "lesbian desires."[48] | ||
| Septimus Warren Smith | Gay | Septimus is haunted by the image of his dear friend Evans, his commanding officer, with implied homosexual relations to them as noted by scholar Jean E. Kennard.[49] [improve source] Septimus later dies in the novel without revealing the secret: that he is gay. | ||||
| David Giovanni Jacques Guillaume | Giovanni's Room | 1956 | Gay | 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. | ||
| Nicholas Dawson | City of God: A Novel of the Borgias | 1979 | Gay | Nicholas has "a penchant for other men", including the gruff but handsome Stefano Baglione, a heterosexual man who has sex with Nicholas for money.[50] [51] | ||
| Nicolas de Lenfent | The Vampire Lestat | 1985 | Gay | While human, Nicolas shares a romantic sexual relationship with Lestat de Lioncourt. | ||
| The Vampire Chronicles | 1976–2014 | Bisexual | Lestat, Armand and most of Rice's male vampires have intense sexual and emotional attractions and relationships with both sexes.[52] | |||
| Edgar Deacon | A Dance to the Music of Time | 1951-1975 | Anthony Powell | Gay | Powell excavates the secret gay history in his earlier novels in the sequence and in the final volume, Hearing Secret Harmonies, a gay-themed exhibition of Deacon's work is a centerpiece.[53] | |
| Paul Denton | The Rules of Attraction | 1987 | Bisexual | In this book, set in Camden like Ellis's other books, Paul lusts for another character, Sean Bateman, saying he slept with him, while Bateman "never admits as much." This book ended up fortifying Ellis's reputation as a "nihilistic authorial presence who reports action but seldom comments on it." | ||
| Albus Dumbledore | Harry Potter series | 1997–2007 | Gay | Though not stated explicitly in the novels, author Rowling said in various interviews that the character is gay, creating controversy in the process.[54] [55] [56] [57] [58] | ||
| Elinor "Lakey" Eastlake | The Group | 1954 | Lesbian | Elinar is a lesbian and graduate from Vassar College in 1933, with the lives of the stories' protagonists involving the men in their lives. The Baroness is her lesbian lover, which her fellow seven female graduates realize when she returned from Europe.[59] It was later adapted into a film in 1966. | ||
| Alluvia (Alice) Fairfax Stella | Gut Symmetries | 1997 | Bisexual | Alice has romantic and sexual relationships with both Stella and Stella's husband Jove.[60] | ||
| Lucy Farinelli | Kay Scarpetta novels | 1994–2003 | Lesbian | Lucy has romantic relationships and casual sexual encounters with other women.[61] Lucy is not well accepted due to her suspected sexual orientation, has occasionally one-night stands, mostly with women and occasionally with men, but she is seduced by Carrie Grethen, early in her career, a relationship which haunts her and those close to her across several books. | ||
| Courtney Farrell Barry Cabot | Chocolates for Breakfast | 1956 | Bisexual | Courtney develops a crush on her female boarding school teacher, and later has a sexual relationship with Barry Cabot, her mother's bisexual friend who is in a relationship with a man.[62] [63] | ||
| Jack Forster | What Happened to Mr. Forster? | 1989 1995 | Gay | A sixth-grade teacher who is fired for being gay.[64] | ||
| Simon Foster Axel Nillson | A Fairly Honourable Defeat | 1970 | Gay | Simon and Axel are gay characters in this novel.[65] | ||
| George | A Single Man | 1964 | Gay | George is a gay character who is relatable to everyone.[66] | ||
| Joan Gilling Esther Greenwood | The Bell Jar | 1963 | Lesbian | The novel has a central relationship between Joan and Esther,[67] and it addresses the question of socially acceptable identity, examining Esther's "quest to forge her own identity, to be herself rather than what others expect her to be"[68] while highlighting the problems with oppressive patriarchal society in mid-20th century America.[69] There was the 1979 film adaption of the book, and a lawsuit by Jane V. Anderson, claiming that she was not a lesbian and did not have a relationship with Sylvia Plath.[70] | ||
| Jess Goldberg | Stone Butch Blues | 1993 | Trans | The narrative follows the life of Jess Goldberg, who grows up in a working class area of upstate New York in the 1940s to the 1950s, and explores her gender identity as a trans woman.[71] [72] [73] [74] | ||
| Stephen Gordon Valérie Seymour | The Well of Loneliness | 1928 | Lesbian | This book, a candid novel about "coming to terms with a lesbian identity," was challenged as obscene, under the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, for its "frank portrayal of lesbianism."[75] Although the book has no language that is explicitly sexual, the lesbian themes were seen as a threat to the existing social order, seen as unpalatable, remained banned in the UK until 1959 when the Obscene Publications Act was amended. However, it was published in the U.S. in April 1929 when New York State courts agreed that "lesbianism in and of itself was neither obscene nor illegal," meaning the book was not either." | ||
| Lord John Grey | Lord John series | 1998–2011 | Gay | Lord John has sexual and romantic relationships with various men, though he has had sex with and married women to appease societal expectations of him.[76] [77] | ||
| Darvish Shayrif Hakem | The Fire's Stone | 1990 | Bisexual | Darvish is willing to have sex with anyone, whether men or women. | ||
| Maurice Hall Clive Durham Alec Scudder | Maurice | 1913–1914 (1971) | Gay | Maurice, Clive, and Alec are gay characters in this novel.[78] [79] | ||
| Vladimir Harkonnen | Dune | 1965 | Gay | Harkonnen's sexual preference for men is implied in Dune and Children of Dune (1976), and presented more explicitly in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.[80] [81] | ||
| Bill Haydon | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | 1974 | Bisexual | Has a girlfriend, a male lover, seduces Ann, the wife of George Smiley, and rumoured to be the lover of Jim Prideaux.[82] | ||
| Herewiss Freelorn The Goddess | The Tale of the Five series | 1979–1992 | Bisexual | This book is a fantasy with a "bisexual male protagonist whose main love interest is male", and is set in a world with normalized polyamory,[83] with bisexuality and polyamory seeming to "be the default".[84] | ||
| Harold Hutchins | Captain Underpants series | 1997–2015 | Gay | When the two protagonists Harold and George meet their future selves, Harold's marriage to a man is presented in a matter-of-fact way, which some critics praised.[85] | ||
| Jeanette | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | 1985 | Lesbian | This book is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl named Jeanette who grows up in an English Pentecostal community.[86] Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same-sex relationships, and religion. A television adaptation of the book was made and aired by the BBC in 1990, starring Charlotte Coleman and Geraldine McEwan, which won the Prix Italia in 1991.[87] | ||
| Sgt. Sean Jennison/Betty | King Rat | 1962 | Trans | A British POW plays the role of a female in a play, and ultimately starts living as a female full-time. | ||
| Kasia | The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma | 1932 | Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz | Lesbian | Kasia is a lesbian who is having an affair with Kunicki's wife, Nina. | |
| Annie Kenyon Liza Winthrop | Annie on My Mind | 1982 | Lesbian | This book is a retrospective by Liza, remembering her first semester at MIT, how she met Annie, struggled to recognize her lesbian identity, and they reaffirm their love for each other on the phone at the end of the book.[88] Due to these themes, religious fundamentalists burned a copy of the book, a Kansas superintendent removed it from school libraries, and a lawsuit ensued, with a judge ruling on the side the ACLU, ordering the book to be returned to library shelves. The book is well-regarded as "canonical lesbian-coming-of-age novel."[89] | ||
| Keren Vanyel | Arrows of the Queen | 1987 | Lesbian Gay | Keren, a minor character,[90] is life bonded to Ylsa and then Sherrill. 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.[91] | ||
| Joel Harrison Knox Randolph | Other Voices, Other Rooms | 1948 | Gay | Joel is an "effeminate adolescent," with the narrative showing him have a desire for his cousin, Randolph.[92] | ||
| Seregil i Korit Alec i Amasa Ilar i Sontir | The Nightrunner series | 1996–2014 | Bisexual | Seregil and Alec are committed lovers, but both have had experiences with women in the past; Ilar is one of Seregil's former lovers.[93] | ||
| Renee LaRoche | Along the Journey River | 1996 | Lesbian | Originally published in 1996, it is the first detective novel to have "an openly out Indigenous lesbian", the protagonist, Renee.[94] | ||
| Lark Becker | The Beauty of Men | 1996 | Gay | Lark and Becker are gay characters.[95] | ||
| North McAllister Amos Wilson and Joel | University series | 1990–1998 | Gay | North is a "tormented homosexual trying to keep his secret, but recklessly in love"; Amos is protagonist Willie Wilson's gay son, and Joel is Amos' lover.[96] [97] | ||
| René Suratt | Bisexual | René is protagonist Willie Wilson's nemesis, "a bisexual seducer of students".[98] | ||||
| Dirk McDonald Duck | Weetzie Bat Baby Be-Bop | 1989 1995 | Gay | Dirk McDonald and Duck are gay characters in this novel.[99] | ||
| Anna Madrigal Jake Greenleaf | Tales of the City series | 1978–2014 | Trans | Original character Anna is a transgender woman, and Jake (introduced in 2007's Michael Tolliver Lives) is a trans man.[100] [101] | ||
| Michael "Mouse" Tolliver Jon Fielding Ben McKenna | Gay | Michael is a tolerant gay man, as is Jon and Ben. | ||||
| Beauchamp Day DeDe Halcyon Day Mona Ramsey | Bisexual | While the original series featured gay and bisexual characters, in the Netflix adaption of this series, Shawna is an "explicitly bisexual character." | ||||
| Anthony Malone Andrew Sutherland | Dancer from the Dance | 1978 | Gay | A beautiful and enigmatic man, subsumed by the "gay social curcuit."[102] [103] | ||
| It | 1986 | Gay | Mellon and Hagarty are openly gay lovers. Mellon was the first of the 1984-85 killings that indicate the return of It. Phil and Tony Tracker are two brothers who are presumed to be gay by Eddie Kaspbrak's mother. Kasprak and Tozier are described as questioning their sexualities as children.[104] | |||
| Christopher Metcalfe | Now and Then | 1995 | Gay | The main character has a sexual/romantic relationship as a boy with another boy at school; later he has sexual and romantic relationships with other men.[105] | ||
| Paul Michel The Protagonist | Hallucinating Foucault | 1996 | Gay | Openly homosexual writer, said to have many male lovers, including relationship with male main character/narrator.[106] [107] | ||
| Luis Molina | Kiss of the Spider Woman | 1976 | Gay | Luis is a gay character in this novel.[108] [109] | ||
| Roberta Muldoon | The World According to Garp | 1978 | Trans | One of the story's main characters is Roberta, a trans woman and former player for the Philadelphia Eagles, and has a gender re-assignment surgery, becoming the bodyguard of Jenny and one of the best friends of Garp.[110] | ||
| Mr. Benson | Mr. Benson | 1983 | Gay | Mr. Benson is "a groundbreaking leatherman and S/M Top." | ||
| Myron | Myra Breckinridge | 1968 | Trans | An attractive young woman, Myra Breckinridge is a film buff with a special interest in the Golden Age of Hollywood, and still in the process of transitioning and unable to obtain hormones, Myra transforms into Myron, and due to a car accident, is forced to have her breast implants removed, later deciding to settle down with Mary-Ann.[111] [112] | ||
| Hélène Noris Tamara Soulerr | The Illusionist (Le rempart des Béguines) | 1951 | Bisexual | Tamara has a romantic relationship with both Hélène and her father; Hélène prefers men after the affair ends.[113] | ||
| Jeff O'Brien Lloyd Griffith David Javitz Eduardo Henry Weiner Luke West | The Men from the Boys Where the Boys Are Men Who Love Men | 1997 2003 2007 | Gay | Jeff is a gay character whose sexual identity is explored outside the confines of a relationship and what it means to "set boundaries for yourself and your partner." | ||
| Laurie Odell Ralph Lanyon Andrew | The Charioteer | 1953 | Gay | Laurie, Ralph, and Andrew are gay characters in this novel.[114] [115] | ||
| Gabriel Okimasis | Kiss of the Fur Queen | 1998 | Gay | The story slowly begins to focus on Gabriel's sexuality and when he confronts this new identity, he descends into "promiscuity and prostitution with constant flashbacks of the abuse he suffered at the hands of the priests."[116] [117] | ||
| Patrick | The Perks of Being a Wallflower | 1999 | Gay | Has a secret relationship with the closeted Brad.[118] | ||
| Margaret Prior Selina Dawes | Affinity | 1999 | Lesbian | Margaret, also called "Peggy" and "Aurora", is an unmarried woman from an upper-class family, becomes a visitor at the prison, and meets Selina, but she is a prisoner in her life, "dictated by gender rules and societal expectations, as Selina is in her physical cell."[119] This novel is set in a women's prison in London, explores the "Victorian world of spiritualism," and won the Somerset Maugham Award for Lesbian and Gay Fiction.[120] Like her first novel, Affinity contains overarching lesbian themes, and was acclaimed by critics on its publication, and later turned into a feature film. | ||
| Pyrrhus Philoctetes | An Arrow's Flight | 1998 | Gay | Pyrrhus, the 21-year-old son of Achilles, and Philoctetes, who has a magic bow, are gay characters.[121] [122] | ||
| Scratch, Winc | Nearly Roadkill | 1996 | and Caitlin Sullivan | Trans | Scratch and Winc are two lovers with ambiguous gender identity, with the plot is told through cyberchats and emails between each other, while the FBI is engaged in a nationwide manhunt to find them.[123] | |
| Danny Slocum | The Confessions of Danny Slocum | 1980 | Gay | Danny is the titular character, a gay athlete gay men, and is "sexually broken." | ||
| Milo Sturgis | Alex Delaware series | 1985–2017 | Gay | Milo is a gay character.[124] | ||
| The Narrator | Written on the Body | 1992 | Ambiguous | Narrator of unspecified gender who has sexual/romantic relationships with men and women. Some reviewers describe the narrator as a lesbian.[125] [126] | ||
| Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode Ruth Jamison | Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe | 1987 | Lesbian Bisexual | A friendship blossoms between Evelyn Couch, a middle-aged housewife, and Ninny Threadgoode, an elderly woman who lives in a nursing home, while her sister-in-law, Idgie, and her friend, Ruth, run a café. Idgie has a long-term romantic relationship with another woman.[127] At the same time, Ruth is married to a man and bears his child, but subsequently has long-term romantic relationship with another woman. Although it is not explicitly labeled as a lesbian relationship, every resident both knows about and accepts Idgie and Ruth's relationship, making lesbianism a theme in the novel,[128] while in the film adaptation, a story of Southern female friendship and love, Ruth had been in love with Buddy Threadgoode, Idgie's brother.[129] [130] | ||
| Aud Torvingen | The Blue Place | 1998 | Lesbian | Aud Torvingen, an 18-year-old coming to the U.S., who is the daughter of a rich diplomat, rents an apartment near Atlanta, and becomes an Atlanta cop, but falls into passionate encounters.[131] One of these encounters is with Julia. She remains a protagonist in the book's two sequels,Stay and Always, and becomes "one of the most human and intriguing lesbians in crime fiction." | ||
| Jack Twist Ennis del Mar | "Brokeback Mountain" (short story) | 1997 | Gay | 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.[132] [133] | ||
| Jaret Tyler Peggy Danziger | Happy Endings Are All Alike | 1978 | Lesbian | This young adult book is the first one with a "clearly lesbian main character," named Jaret Taylor who comes out in the book's first line: "Even though Jaret Tyler had no guilt or shame about her love affair with Peggy Danziger she knew there were plenty of people in this world who would put it down." Jaret, a future lawyer, endures hardship and discrimination but remains strong even as Peggy, her girlfriend, "wavers in the face of family and small-town prejudices." Scoppettone would go on to write a popular mystery novel series featuring a lesbian detective named Lauren Laurano. | ||
| Raymond Tyler, Jr. Basil Henderson | 1991 1995 1999 2001 | Bisexual | Raymond is torn between his girlfriend Nicole and his married male lover; Basil leaves his fiancée Yancey at the altar and pursues a gay lifestyle. | |||
| Dr. Ethan Urquhart | Ethan of Athos | 1986 | Gay | Obstetrician Ethan is from a future society on the planet Ethos where male homosexuality is the norm and most inhabitants have never even seen a woman in person.[134] [135] [136] | ||
| Clodagh Unwin Alice Meadows | A Village Affair | 1989 | Lesbian Bisexual | In this story, Alice Meadows questions her identity, having an affair with a lesbian woman named Clodagh Unwin, while she remains married, with her awakening depending on "a heart-wrenching choice between her lover and her family."[137] | ||
| Villanelle | The Passion | 1987 | Bisexual | In this book, Villanelle is an androgynous and bisexual daughter of a boatman from Venice who crosses paths with Henri, who also has an "ambivalent sexuality."[138] | ||
| Wes | The Arizona Kid | 1988 | Gay | Wes is a gay character.[139] | ||
| Patience White Sarah Dowling | Patience and Sarah | 1969 | Lesbian | This book, which captures "Lesbian-feminist consciousness" in the U.S. in the 1960s, is not only a love story of Patience and Sarah but also became important in the "lesbian literary-political tradition," with Miller's experience as a woman and lesbian shaping the book itself.[140] | ||
| Jim Willard Ronald Shaw Paul Sullivan | The City and the Pillar | 1946 | Gay | Jim, Ronald, and Paul are gay characters in this novel.[141] [142] | ||
| X Andrew Joe | Boy Culture | 1995 | Gay | X (narrator's pseudonym) has sexual and romantic relationships with Andrew, Joe and other men. | ||
| Kochan | Confessions of a Mask | 1949 | Gay | This novel tells the story of Kochan's childhood and adolescence in imperialistic Japan, where he struggles with his closeted sexuality, masculinity and keeping up his mask of heterosexuality.[143] |
| Characters | Work | Year | Author | LGBTQ+ identities in story | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aisling "Ash" Kaisa | Ash | 2009 | Lesbian | This story tells the classic Cinderella story, but Ash falls in love with a beautiful woman, rather than a prince, named Kaisa, who saves her "from her oppressive new existence."[144] The twist to this story is described by some as important, especially for "those looking for a girl romance." | ||
| Apollo Piper McLean Hemithea Josephine Lavina Asimov Poison Oak | The Trials of Apollo series | 2016–2020 | Rick Riordan | Bisexual Lesbian | Apollo was the god of the Sun, archery, healing, and prophecy and is bisexual.[145] Piper initially dated Jason Grace, a male, but near the end of the series was found kissing a girl by Apollo, proving that she is bisexual. Hemethea and Josephine left the Hunters of Artemis to pursue a romantic relationship with one another and are the current caretakers of the Waystation. Lavina is a Roman demigod at Camp Jupiter who is a lesbian, and she ends up with the tree nymph poison oak. | |
| Chuck Bass | Gossip Girl | 2002–2011 | Bisexual | In this series, Chuck was bisexual, although this was never explored in the Gossip Girl TV show, which creator Joshua Safran said he regretted.[146] | ||
| Darla / "Chardonnay" | Final Destination: Looks Could Kill | 2005 | Nancy A. Collins | Lesbian | ||
| Tori Beaugrand | Quicksilver | 2013 | R. J. Anderson | Asexual | Tori, an engineer, hacker, and friend, is asexual, an important part of her life, as she mediates on an attempt to have a sexual relationship.[147] Her friend Milo wants their relationship to be sexual but he respects the sexual orientation of Tori. In a post on Livejournal, the author explained how Tori being asexual "adds a layer of complication and delicacy to her relationships with her parents and her best (male) friend," Milo, while explaining some of her choices.[148] | |
| Ben | The Darkest Part of the Forest | 2015 | Gay | Ben is a gay brother of the book protagonist, Hazel, and he also loves the sleeping prince.[149] | ||
| Sadie Kane Walt Stone Anubis | The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles) | 2012 | Rick Riordan | Polyamorous | Sadie had crushes on both Walt and Anubis who also liked her. In The Serpent's Shadow they merge bodies but still keep separate thoughts. Both Walt and Anubis are still aware of everything around them so when Sadie starts dating, she is essentially in a polyamorous relationship. | |
| Elizabeth Bennett Caroline Bingley Charlotte Lucas | Gay Pride and Prejudice | 2012 | Lesbian | In this story, which takes the original text of Pride and Prejudice, tweaking it and rewriting passages to "queer-up the story," Caroline Bingley has a crush on Elizabeth Bennett, while Charlotte Lucas never thinks “highly either of men or matrimony."[150] | ||
| Goran Beviin Medrit Vasur | series | 2006–2008 | Gay | Married couple from the Star Wars Legends continuity, although it was subtle enough that some fans did not pick up on this, misinterpreting it, because they not explicitly noted as gay.[151] [152] Traviss, in a post on her website, described them as a gay couple in a same-sex marriage, saying it was important for Star Wars to have "its first gay characters," writing that these characters are gay as a detail rather than a major plot point because it is just a normal part of their lives.[153] | ||
| Brandon Angel | Freakboy | 2013 | Trans | The protagonists of the story, Angel and Brandon, are struggling to find their identity and where they fit in.[154] | ||
| Cade Dylan | The Love Interest | 2017 | Cale Dietrich | Gay | Caden is gay, while Dylan is either gay or bisexual.[155] [156] | |
| Calixte Tzara Thyon Nero Ruza | Strange the Dreamer series | 2017–2018 | Laini Taylor | Lesbian Bisexual Gay | Calixte and Tzara enter a long-term lesbian relationship with each other at the start of the series, while Thyon Nero has never been romantically or sexually attracted to a woman, but finds himself drawn to Ruza, who seems to reciprocate his interest, making them both gay or in Ruza's case at least bisexual.[157] | |
| Jason Carrillo Kyle Meeks Nelson Glassman | Rainbow Boys | 2001 | Gay | Kyle is infatuated with Jason, a popular boy at the school, and Kyle establishes a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school, while Jason realizes he likes Kyle, even as Nelson is attracted to Kyle, his best friend.[158] | ||
| Riley Cavanaugh | Symptoms of Being Human | 2016 | Genderfluid | Riley is the daughter of a prominent Southern Californian politician, navigates being genderfluid "and experiencing panic attacks," while running a blog, and even Andie Gingham, a trans girl, reaches out to her for advice.[159] | ||
| Emily Christina | Being Emily | 2012 | Trans | Never comfortable with being seen as a boy, they originally hide themselves as a girl, until they can no longer stand it anymore, with a psychologist later helping them in the coming-out process.[160] | ||
| Clariel | Clariel | 2014 | Asexual, aromantic | The protagonist "stands out for her assured asexuality" as she does not see the appeal of sex, wanting to live alone in the woods as a forest ranger.[161] But at her current age her parents try to push her to marry a man who is the son of "an unpleasant political ally." | ||
| Cooper Clay Kris Greene Mikhail Powers | One of Us Is Lying | 2017 | Gay | Cooper was a promising baseball star who was accused of steroid use by one of Simon Kelleher's post, but it was later revealed that the original post was edited. This post revealed that he was gay and in a relation with Kris Greene. Later, Mikhail shows anger about it, since he is also gay and was forced out of the closet, as Bronwyn Rojas remembers. | ||
| Click | Roving Pack | 2012 | Trans | This is a story of "transgender gutterpunks" as one reviewer calls it, with Click, and the other young protagonists fighting for "the right to have a future, and, furthermore, the future they themselves choose."[162] This story focuses on youth near Portland, many of which are parentless, homeless, and "without mooring." | ||
| Mia Corvere Ashlinn Järnheim | Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle series) | 2017 | Bisexual Lesbian | Mia Corvere, is an infamous assassin and fugitive slave, is fleeing from the Blades of the Red Church and Luminatii legion, with her family wanting her to die and her mentor in hands of her foes.[163] She works with many individuals, like her lover, Ashlinn, to find out the "final answer to the riddle of her life." | ||
| Fever Crumb | Fever Crumb Series | 2009–2011 | Bisexual | Fever first falls in love with the male Arlo Thursday, and later with the female Cluny Morvish.[164] | ||
| Anne Damer | Life Mask | 2004 | Lesbian | This book is set in late 18th century London, telling the story of three women caught in a love triangle, one of whom is Anna, whose "lesbian side" is not realized until the end of the book.[165] | ||
| Ambassador Dannyl Tayend of Tremmelin | The Black Magician trilogy | 2001–2003 | Gay | Dannyl has relationship with his assistant, Tayend of Tremmelin, who is referred to in the novel as a "lad."[166] | ||
| David/Daniela | The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy | 2012 | and Suzy Malik | Trans | David is granted a wish by the story's protagonist, Tulip, to live as a girl named Daniela.[167] [168] | |
| David/Kate, Leo | The Art of Being Normal | 2015 | Trans | David is a 14-year-old kid who struggles with their gender identity which most of his fellow students do not understand, and neither do his parents, becomes isolated until he meets Leo Denton, who becomes one of his fast friends.[169] | ||
| Nico di Angelo Will Solace | Camp Half-Blood Chronicles | 2013–2023 | Mark Oshiro (The Sun and the Star) | Gay Bisexual | Nico is gay, and Will is bisexual as revealed in The Sun and the Star. They become a couple in between The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo with The Sun and the Star revealing the history of their relationship and exploring it more. Nico is also revealed to have had a crush on Percy Jackson and was previously extremely closeted. In turn, Will is depicted as having a crush on the goddess Persephone.[170] [171] | |
| William Day | Where the Dead Wait | 2023 | Gay | William Day is a closet gay in love with Jesse Stevens during two expeditions to the Arctic.[172] | ||
| Ella | Just Girls | 2014 | Trans | Ella is a fully-transitioned, but closeted, trans woman who deals with a lot of transphobia while she explores her gender identity with a cisgender lesbian named Jess Tucker.[173] | ||
| Emily | The Butterfly and the Flame | 2005 | Trans | This book focuses on Emily, a trans girl in her teens, who is in a relationship with a boy, the son of the person who owns the farm their family lives on.[174] | ||
| Emras | Banner of the Damned | 2013 | Sherwood Smith | Asexual | In this book, there are a variety of sexual orientations, with Emras choosing to be asexual. Despite the problematic element that she can decide her own sexual orientation, she realizes that this "choice" is actually a "way of being." | |
| Tamar Kir-Bataar Tolya Kir-Bataar Jesper Fahey Wylan Van Eck Nina Zenik Hanne Brum | Grishaverse | 2012–2021 | Lesbian Bisexual Gay Asexual Pansexual Trans | Tamar is lesbian and married to a woman, Nadia Zhabin. Tolya is asexual - when asked about his lovers, he says he isn't interested. Jesper is bisexual, and Wylan is gay; they begin dating each other by the end of the duology. Nina has also been confirmed to be pansexual.[175] Hanne is trans, expressing unhappiness about their female body and feeling more comfortable when ending up in a man's body.[176] | ||
| Alex Fierro Magnus Chase | Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor | 2016 | Rick Riordan | Genderfluid Pansexual | Alex is Magnus Chase's love interest. She is genderfluid and identifies as either a girl or a boy depending on the present moment, changing pronouns as appropriate. She goes by she/he pronouns, but has specified she uses she/her unless she says otherwise. Magnus' crush on her regardless of gender means that he is most likely pansexual, but also possibly polysexual or bisexual.[177] | |
| Gabe (Elizabeth) | Beautiful Music for Ugly Children | 2012 | Trans | A DJ and lover of music, he hides his true identity as a trans boy in public, only being himself (Gabe) on air. He is forcibly outed, dealing with much backlash, but is supported en masse by his listeners.[178] | ||
| Joanna "Jo" Gordon Mary Carlson | Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit | 2016 | Jayde Robin Brown | Lesbian | In this sweet teen romance, Joanna, an "evangelical lesbian in a small Southern town," and Mary meet each other, as Joanna struggles to figure out her identity, but never considers it sinful.[179] Even though Joanna and Mary are White, "the rest of their friends display considerable diversity," with one reviewer hoping it will help people "bridge the gap between faith and sexuality."[180] | |
| Will Grayson Tiny Cooper | Will Grayson, Will Grayson | 2010 | David Levithan | Gay | One of the book's co-prostagonists, named Will Grayson is gay and is "struggling with coming out," while the other is a major character in a "one-man gay-freedom-day band named Tiny Cooper."[181] | |
| Basilton Grimm-Pitch Simon Snow | Carry On | 2015 | Gay Bisexual | Basilton and Simon are in a romantic relationship, in this book which borrows themes from Harry Potter, with Simon as bisexual and Basilton as gay, with some reviewers saying the book engaged in bisexual erasure.[182] [183] | ||
| Nick Guest Wani Ouradi Leo Charles | The Line of Beauty | 2004 | Gay | Nick is a graduate of Oxford University who has a love affair with a council worker before he falls in love "with a cocaine-addicted millionaire."[184] | ||
| Rosemary Harper Sissix | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | 2015 | Becky Chambers | Lesbian Bisexual | Rosemary Harper and Sissix are both either lesbian or bisexual as the two women enter a relationship with each other over the course of the novel.[185] In her review, Casey Stepaniuk describes the book as "like Star Trek but with lesbians and more aliens." | |
| Sage Hendrix | Almost Perfect | 2009 | Trans | This story follows the relationship between Sage, a trans girl in her teens, and Logan, a straight man, who becomes more accepting and supportive of them.[186] [187] | ||
| Ijeoma Amina | Under the Udala Trees | 2015 | Chinelo Okparanta | Lesbian | Ijeoma and Amina fall in love with each other as children and keep loving each other way into adulthood.[188] | |
| Wilma Irrling | Die Wilden Hühner und die Liebe | 2003 | Lesbian | Wilma is one of the five main characters. She falls in love with Leonie, a girl from her theatre group and eventually comes out to her friends.[189] | ||
| J | I Am J | 2011 | Trans | J, who lives with his parents in a Manhattan apartment, and struggles with his gender identity.[190] | ||
| Jackdaw | I Am Princess X | 2015 | Gay | [191] | ||
| Jackson | Call Me Home: A Novel | 2015 | Megan Kruse | Gay | [192] | |
| Jared Nathan | The Rest of Us Just Live Here | 2015 | Patrick Ness | Gay Bisexual | Jared is gay, while Nathan is either bisexual or gay. They start seeing each other over the course of the novel.[193] | |
| Holland Jeager Cece | Keeping You a Secret | 2003 | Lesbian | In this coming out novel, Holland is intrigued by a student transferring to her school who "wants to start a Lesbigay club at school."[194] In the process, Holland faces homophobia, and begins a relationship with Cece, adjusting to her new sexuality quickly.[195] | ||
| Jo Lara | Ukiah Oregon series | 2001–2004 | Lesbian | In this series of books, Jo and Lara are the mothers of Ukiah Oregon, the story's protagonist. In the first book, Alien Taste, it is revealed that Ukriah was raised first by wolves, then by Jo and Lara.[196] Jo and Lara also appear in the three other books in the series, Tainted Trail, Bitter Waters, and Dog Warrior, but only as minor characters. | ||
| Josh | Holding Still For As Long As Possible | 2009 | Trans | Josh is a trans man and EMT who struggles with his identity.[197] | ||
| Jude Willem JB Caleb | A Little Life | 2015 | Gay Bisexual | JB and Caleb are gay. Willem is bisexual and has had relationships with women prior to his relationship with Jude. Jude is implicitly stated to be asexual, given that he does not enjoy engaging in sexual activities and does not understand the appeal of sex, even when he is in a healthy relationship with Willem.[198] | ||
| Suruga Kanbaru | Monogatari Series | 2006–present | Nisio Isin | Lesbian | Kanbaru's first arc in Bakemonogatari revolves around her unrequited love for Hitagi Senjougahara. | |
| Carnival | 2006 | Lesbian Gay | This story revolves around two spies sent to steal alien tech from Amazonia, a "planet ruled by man-enslaving lesbians" like Claude and Maiju.[199] Additionally, the two spies, Vincent and Michelangelo are homosexuals from a world with "regressive and repressive mores."[200] | |||
| Grady (Angela) Katz-McNair | Parrotfish | 2011 | Trans | Angela, a teenage trans girl, transitions from a man to a woman, deals with a bully who wants to humiliate her, and struggles with her new identity.[201] | ||
| Kevin | Guardian of the Dead | 2011 | Karen Healey | Asexual | Although he is not the protagonist, Kevin is a key part of the book, and he comes out as asexual to his friend, and the book's heroine, Ellie Spencer. This conversation is handled delicately, with Ellie offering support to Kevin when remembering how her sister, a lesbian, has a tough time trying to tell her parents. Unfortunately, as one reviewer puts it, he does not explore his asexual identity much after this point. | |
| Daja Kisubo Rizuka fa Dalach "Rizu" Lark | The Will of the Empress | 2005 | Lesbian | Daja is the main character who begins a relationship with Rizu, while Lark (a more minor character) is in a long-term lesbian relationship.[202] In this story, the relationship between Daja and Rizu ends sadly, making the point you should choose your chosen family over "a partner who's not good enough for you." | ||
| Denise Lambert | The Corrections | 2001 | Bisexual | In this novel, Denise begins affairs with both her boss and his wife,[203] and though the restaurant is successful,[204] she is fired when this is discovered. | ||
| Alec Lightwood Magnus Bane Raphael Santiago Lily Chen Helen Blackthorn Aline Penhallow Kieran Mark Blackthorn Michael Wayland Diana Wrayburn Woolsey Scott Anna Lightwood Ariadne Bridgestock Charles Fairchild Alastair Carstairs Thomas Lightwood Matthew Fairchild Hypatia Vex Claude Kellington Kit Rook Ty Blackthorn | The Shadowhunter Chronicles | 2007–present | Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Asexual Pansexual Genderqueer | Alec is gay and Aline is a lesbian, and they are two of the first openly homosexual Shadowhunters. Alec eventually marries his longtime boyfriend Magnus Bane, a bisexual warlock who has had many relationships with both men and women. Raphael, Magnus's close friend, was confirmed to be asexual and aromantic by Cassandra Clare. Lily, Raphael's second in command, is pansexual and secretly in love with Raphael, although this does not stop her from having flings with Anna Lightwood and Helen Blackthorn. Helen, Aline's wife, her younger brother Mark and his ex-boyfriend Kieran are all bisexual and of faerie descent, with Clare describing faeries as, "being, in general, bisexual". Michael, the parabatai of Alec's father Robert, was a closeted bisexual who developed feelings for Robert but later married Eliza Rosewain. Diana is the series's first openly transgender character. Woolsey, one of Magnus's ex-lovers, was gay. Anna, a distant relative of Alec, was a genderqueer lesbian who despite her womanizing nature has never been able to move on from her first love Ariadne Bridgestock, who is a closeted lesbian. Ariadne enters a lavender engagement with Charles, a closeted gay man, to hide her own homosexuality even though Charles is in love with Alastair, another closeted gay man. Alastair later develops feelings for Anna's gay cousin Thomas Lightwood, who reciprocates his feelings. Matthew, Charles's younger brother, is bisexual. Hypatia, one of Anna's ex-lovers, is bisexual. Claude is bisexual and has had sexual relationships with both Matthew and Hypatia. While it is yet to be confirmed that Kit and Ty are queer it is heavily implied that the two have romantic feelings towards one another, with Kit most likely being bisexual (as he is of faerie descent and seems to also display attraction to women) and Ty most likely being gay (as he only shows attraction to Kit). | ||
| Ronan Lynch Adam Parrish Kavinsky | The Raven Cycle | 2012–2016 | Bisexual | Adam shows a romantic interest in the female protagonist during the first two books, but then develops a relationship with Ronan Lynch.[205] | ||
| Rhy Maresh Alucard Emery | Shades of Magic trilogy | 2015–2017 | Gay Bisexual | Rhy is bisexual prince 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.[206] [207] Lila has also been described a genderfluid pickpocket. | ||
| Maxine | Maxine Wore Black | 2014 | Trans | Maxine is a lesbian trans girl who is a high school dropout and a babysitter, and cannot afford gender reassignment surgery, while in a romance with a cisgender woman.[208] | ||
| Melissa | George | 2015 | Trans | Melissa is a transgender girl whom the world sees as a boy named George.[209] | ||
| Aristotle Mendoza Dante Quintana | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe/Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World | 2012 | Gay | Early in the novel Dante reveals he's attracted to boys and as the novel progresses, falls in love with his best friend Aristotle. At the end, Aristotle accepts his own love for Dante and they begin a relationship.[210] In the sequel, both Aristotle and Dante explicitly identify as gay while in the first book, aside from being in love with Dante, Aristotle's exact sexuality was never specified. | ||
| Russel Middlebrook Min Wei | Geography Club | 2003 | Gay Bisexual | Russel is a gay man, while Min is a bisexual character in this novel. | ||
| Henry "Monty" Montague Felicity Montague Percy | The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue | 2017 | Mackenzi Lee | Bisexual Asexual | Henry Montague is bisexual and has romantic feelings towards Percy. His sister Felicity is asexual.[211] | |
| Mordred Lancelot | Mordred, Bastard Son | 2006 | Gay | Sympathetic Mordred and an exiled Lancelot fall into a romance.[212] | ||
| Jonathan Morgan | All the White Spaces | 2022 | Ally Wilkes | Trans | A trans man who joins an expedition to Antarctica in 1920.[213] | |
| Moff Delian Mors | 2015 | Lesbian | Mors, the first LGBT character in the Star Wars canon, was introduced in this book, is an Imperial officer who makes mistakes, is very capable, and happens to be a lesbian as well, with those who included it saying that Star Wars should be diverse, apart from stories about "straight, white males". Reviewers for the New York Daily News stated that while her sexuality is not a major concern in the novel, suggesting that "homophobia isn't an issue in the Empire," and something that the Imperial Army does not worry about, even as they fight the Rebels.[214] | |||
| Nancy Kade | Every Heart a Doorway | 2016 | Asexual Trans | Kade is a classmate of Nancy, who has an asexual crush on them.[215] | ||
| Newt | The Maze Runner (book series) | 2009-2016 | Gay | In the maze runner, they have to escape the maze, and try not to die from a deadly virus. In the movie adaptation Newt was played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster. | ||
| Izumu Niounomiya | Zaregoto Series, Ningen Series | 2002–2005, 2004–2010 (respectively) | Nisio Isin | Trans | Izumu and his sister Rizumu work as a team of professional killers. | |
| Phèdre nó Delaunay Moirin | Kushiel's Legacy series | 2001–2011 | Bisexual | Phèdre and Moirin are bisexual characters in this novel. | ||
| Jeff O'Brien Lloyd Griffith | Where the Boys Are | 2003 | Gay | Jeff and Lloy are gay men in this novel. | ||
| Nora O’Malley | The Girls I've Been | 2020 | Bisexual | Nora is a con artist who is caught in a bank robbery with her ex-boyfriend and girlfriend.[216] | ||
| Luna (Liam) O'Neill | Luna | 2004 | Trans | The story follows the life of Luna, who keeps her trans identity secret originally, pretending to be an average 16-year-old senior boy named Liam in the daytime.[217] [218] [219] [220] Later she considers transitioning and fights for her right to be the person she feels that she was meant to be, helped by her sister, Regan, in the process. | ||
| Oshima | Kafka on the Shore | 2002 | Trans Gay | 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.[221] He becomes the mentor of Kafka as he guides him to the answers that he's seeking on his journey. | ||
| Benji Ovich | Beartown series | 2017–2018 | Fredrik Backman | Gay | Benji is a gay hockey player who "has an awakening".[222] | |
| Paul, Noah, Tony Kyle "Infinite Darlene"/Daryl Heisenberg | Boy Meets Boy | 2003 | Gay | Paul and Noah are in love with each other and Tony is also gay; Paul's ex, Kyle, is bisexual and Daryl/Darlene is a cross-dresser.[223] [224] | ||
| Patroclus Achilles | The Song of Achilles | 2011 | Madeline Miller | Gay Bisexual | Achilles is gay, showing no interest in girls. Patroclus is bisexual, saying he would fall in love with Briseis if not for Achilles.[225] | |
| Emi Price Ava | Everything Leads to You | 2015 | Nina LaCour | Lesbian | In this novel, Emi Price finds a letter written to a recently-dead film icon, leading them to Ava, his granddaughter, who Emi is smitten with, and hopes for "new love with Ava."[226] | |
| Millie Quint Flora Baird | Her Royal Highness | 2019 | Rachel Hawkins | Bisexual Lesbian | The story centers on the developing romantic relationship between Millie and Flora.[227] [228] | |
| Reese | Detransition, Baby | 2021 | Trans woman | Male main character who has a sexual attraction to Hector. | ||
| Richie | The Slap | 2008 | Gay | Reese, a trans woman, PR executive, and former partner of Amy | ||
| Sal | Mask of Shadows duology | 2017–2018 | Genderfluid | Sal is genderfluid and signals by that day's clothing whether they want to be called "he", "she", or "they".[229] | ||
| Lisbeth Salander | Millennium series | 2005–2007 | Bisexual | Lisbeth has gender ambiguity, specifically "a mix of attributes within her identity as a woman" and she has various bisexual "relationships, sex with friends in non-exclusive relationships, recreational sex."[230] | ||
| Shori | Fledgling | 2005 | Bisexual | The novel tells the story of Shori, a 53-year-old member of the Ina species, who appears to be a 10-year-old African-American girl, biting a construction worker named Wright because she finds his scent irresistible, and they begin their relationship.[231] | ||
| Jerico Soberanis | The Toll (Arc of a Scythe trilogy) | 2019 | Genderfluid | Jerico is a "hypercompetent, genderfluid sea captain" who is given space to shine in the novel.[232] | ||
| Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda | 2015 | Becky Albertalli | Gay Lesbian Pansexual | There are multiple LGBTQ+ characters in this story. For instance, Simon is a closeted gay teenager in love with his pen pal 'Blue', who is also a closeted gay teenager. Simon later discovers that Blue is his classmate Bram Greenfeld and the two start dating. Cal is Simon's bisexual classmate who initially shows an interest in Simon, but later dates Simon's younger sister Nora. Peter is an older guy who flirts with Simon at a gay bar and Carter is the gay older brother of Simon's classmate Martin. Leah and Abby, two of Simon's best friends, are both bisexual but do not come out until the sequel novel Leah on the Offbeat, when they start dating each other. Cassie, Abby's cousin and a major character in the novel The Upside of Unrequited, is a lesbian and Mina is her pansexual girlfriend. Cassie also has two mothers, Nadine, who is a lesbian, and Patty, who is bisexual. Julian, a former crush of Cassie's twin sister Molly, is gay and dating Carter Addison. | ||
| April Spink Miriam Forcible | Coraline | 2002 | Lesbian | April, a retired burlesque dancer who may know about magic and fairies, and another retired burlesque actress, Miriam, are lovers. On multiple occasions, Neil Gaiman, who wrote the novel the movie is based on, stated that they are an elderly couple and are together,[233] [234] [235] [236] [237] relating to the many lesbians he put in his other works like Sandman, , Neverwhere, American Gods, and Miracleman.[238] He also confirmed that this was reflected in the movie,[239] noting a review on the movie adaptation in 2009,[240] stating that they had been called "thespians" in a Coraline musical in 2007,[241] and stated that he did not call them a couple in the text because he wanted readers to have the same experience he had "with the couple that Spink and Forcible were based on."[242] | ||
| Dana Stevens | Trans-Sister Radio | 2000 | Trans | Dana, the protagonist of this book, is a Vermont professor who is prepared to have a gender reassignment surgery to transition from male to female, leading Allison Banks, a teacher who has been divorced, to be even more attracted to Dana.[243] | ||
| Corny Stone Luis | Modern Faerie Tales trilogy (Tithe, Valiant, Ironside) | 2002–2007 | Gay | In this story, there are a number of LGBTQ+ characters. For one, Corny Stone is the gay brother of the childhood friend of the story's protagonist, Kaye Fierch, who tries to straddle the Faerie and human worlds.[244] Luis is also gay, which the author confirmed, and has a relationship with Corny.[245] [246] Reportedly, in Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie, Ruth is Val's lesbian best friend. | ||
| Noah Sweetwine Brian Connelly | I'll Give You the Sun | 2014 | Gay | Noah is shown to be gay from the beginning, and later starts a relationship with Brian who is also gay. | ||
| Taako Taaco Lup Taaco Kravitz Hurley Sloane | The Adventure Zone graphic novel series | 2018–present | Gay Lesbian Trans | Taako is one of the three main characters, and canonically a gay man. In the books it has not yet been explicitly been stated, but in The Adventure Zone Podcast, he is confirmed to have a gay relationship.[247] The third graphic novel, Petals to the Metal, features two secondary female characters named Hurley and Sloane who have a relationship/feelings for each other.[248] The Hurley-Sloane lesbian couple survived to the end of the story, surviving a near-death experience, while Taako got a boyfriend (the Grim Reaper, known as Kravitz) and Lup, Taako's sister, is a trans woman. | ||
| Tamaru | 1Q84 | 2009–2010 | Gay | Tamaru is a gay character.[249] | ||
| Mike Tate | Whatever: or how junior year became totally f$@ked | 2016 | Bisexual | Mike has a girlfriend who breaks up with him and he becomes close with a "classmate who used to torment him."[250] [251] | ||
| Ryan Thomson | The Sidekicks | 2016–2017 | Gay | Ryan is a gay man in this "super gay book" and is set at an "all-boys, sports-centric school."[252] | ||
| Tommy Ozzie Calvin | At the Edge of the Universe | 2017 | Gay | Ozzie had a long-term relationship with Tommy before he vanished. Calvin is gay.[253] [254] | ||
| Danny Tozer/Dreadnought Sarah Callisto/Calamity Kinetiq | Nemesis series(Dreadnought, Sovereign) | 2017 | April Daniels | Trans Lesbian Bisexual Genderqueer | Danny is a transgender lesbian who, when given the powers of the world's greatest superhero, also gained the feminine body she wanted. Calamity is a bisexual graycape(masked vigilante in contrast with professional hero). Kinetiq is a genderqueer Iranian-American superhero who had been working upstream for a couple years prior to the story.[255] | |
| Sue Trinder Maud Lilly | Fingersmith | 2002 | Lesbian | Sue and Maud have a sexual/romantic relationship with each other.[256] | ||
| Various | The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard (anthology) | 2012 | and Riley MacLeod (editors) | Trans | This book brings together 28 stories which focus on the experiences of trans people.[257] | |
| Various | A Safe Girl to Love | 2014 | Trans | The story's protagonists, and many other unnamed characters, are all trans women, but this detail is not the main factor in their connections between each other, as they work to determine what paths are ahead for themselves in their lives.[258] | ||
| Sinjir Rath Velus | 2015–2017 | Gay | Sinjir Rath Velus is a gay imperial officer, raising the question of what life "is like for gay men and women in the Empire."[259] [260] | |||
| Seth Wearing Gudmund | More Than This | 2013 | Patrick Ness | Gay Bisexual | Seth is gay and secretly dated Gudmund until they got outed. Gudmund appears to be bisexual or in denial of his homosexuality.[261] [262] | |
| Felicity Worthington | Gemma Doyle Trilogy | 2003–2007 | Lesbian | Felicity is an "alpha girl", who becomes friends with the protagonist, Gemma, and has an "obsession with power", and has a tortured lesbian relationship with Pippa.[263] Felicity is revealed to be either bisexual or a lesbian (although most likely lesbian as she seemed to use men as a cover-up) in the last book when she shares a passionate kiss with Pippa, before leaving the corrupt Pippa behind forever. | ||
| Alice Chu Selwyn Kane Greer Taylor Victoria Morgan Sarah William | Legendborn | 2020 | Tracy Deonn | Lesbian Bisexual Nonbinary Gay | Alice, the best friend of the protagonist Bree, is a lesbian. Selwyn, one of Bree's love interests, previously had a crush on Nick, another of Bree's love interests, and has had sexual relationships with both men and women. Greer, Bree's friend, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. Victoria is bisexual as she once had a one-night stand with Selwyn but is now dating Sarah, who is a lesbian. William, another of Bree's friends, mentions that he has a boyfriend. | |
| Aaron Soto | More Happy Than Not | 2015 | Adam Silvera | Gay | Aaron Soto is a sixteen-year-old dealing with his father's suicide, his own recent suicide attempt, and his growing feelings for a boy and accepting his sexuality despite having a girlfriend and seemingly homophobic friends. He tries to "forget" that he's gay by suppressing his memories through a procedure at Leteo. | |
| Griffin Jennings Theo McIntyre Jackson Wade | History is All You Left Me | 2017 | Adam Silvera | Griffin is a gay teenager dealing with OCD and the recent loss of his ex-boyfriend, Theo. He then meets Theo's current boyfriend (before he died), Jackson. In the end of the book, Griffin and Wade are dating. | ||
| Mateo Torrez Rufus Emeterio | They Both Die at the End | 2017 | Adam Silvera | Gay Bisexual | Although Mateo's sexuality is never outwardly discussed in the book, he is presumed to be gay. Towards the end of the book he kisses Rufus, who is a bisexual teenager. | |
| Arthur Seuss Ben Alejo | What If It's Us Here's To Us | 2018 2021 | Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli | |||
| ReeseAmes/Amy | Detransition, Baby | 2021 | Torrey Peters | Trans | Reese is a trans woman who has relationships with both men and women, significantly Amy. Through flashbacks, the book shows Amy living as a trans woman, while presenting as Ames in the present after detransitioning.[264] [265] Ames still considers himself a trans woman after his official detransition and did so because of the threat of violence and hardships from living as a trans woman.[266] In both the past and present, Ames is shown dating women. | |
| Renarin KholinShallan Davar Jasnah Kholin Ral-Na | The Stormlight Archive series | 2010-present | Brandon Sanderson | GayBisexual Asexual Trans | Renarin is gay, and is implied to be attracted towards Rlain, a non-human male character.[267] The author has stated that this will be explored further in later entries of the series. Shallan is Bisexual, although this is barely explored in the text.[268] Jasnah is asexual and heteroromantic, with a neutral opinion towards physical intimacy.[269] Ral-Na is a minor character who initially appears as a woman but is later shown having changed his body into a male one using magic.[270] | |
| Andrej "Tschick" Tschichatschow | Why We Took the Car | 2010 | Wolfgang Herrndorf | Gay | Tschick reveals his homosexuality to the main character Maik after they went on a roadtrip to Romania. To hide his homosexuality, Tschick took on a personality that he thought was very "male".[271] |