LNH/Meta: Queer LNHers

[Adrian J. McClure]

This is of course by no means a comprehensive list queer LNHers or
LNHers in queer relationships; I just thought that instead of focusing
on the failures and legacy of one particular writer (and I'm a huge
part of why this has been the case, and I'm sorry for that), we should
focus on the issue of representation of various sexualities in our
stories and see if it can inspire us to do better.

Note that assigning an orientation to many of these characters and
their relationships is somewhat reductive. Again, this is mainly to
provoke thought. (Also, not all these people are technically LNHers,
but whatever.)

Also assigning asexuality under the rubric of "queer" is somewhat
controversial, probably. There are a lot of arguments about what
"queer" encompasses. But for simplicity's sake I will.

Frat Boy  (Classic) (gay or bisexual)
Outfielder Boy (Classic) (gay)
Lunchbox Lass (Classic) (bisexual)
Groundswell (Classic) (lesbian)
Pantra (LNH20) (maybe bisexual? It's not clear if she's attracted to
woman or if she just flirts with them sometimes to keep them off
balance)
Kid Enthusiastic (LNH20) (asexual and heteroromantic)
Deductive Logic Man (Classic) (asexual and homoromantic or biromantic)
Aeneas Romulus Boddy (Classic) (straight man in an asexual romantic
relationship with another man)
Ultimate Ninja (Classic) (asexual and aromantic)
Kid Kirby (Classic) (asexual and aromantic)
Locked Room (Classic, LNH20) (pansexual)
Green (Classic, LNH20) (non-gender binary)
Tori (LNH20) (non-gender binary)
Private Eye (LNH20) (straight trans man, though I haven't had a chance
to establish this yet)
Professor Penumbra (LNH20) (very fluid)
Constellation (Classic) (Composite being consisting of a man who
becomes romantically involved with another man who may or may not have
become a woman depending on how you look at it)
Chaos Theory (Classic) (Chaos entity of some sort, with everything
that implies)
Masterplan Lad (Classic) (An alien being whose sexuality is probably
hard to understand on our terms, but he demonstrated an attraction to
Chaos Theory, so)
Multiple Personality Lass (Classic) (Composite being in a biologically
female body with at least one lesbian and at least one male component,
in a relationship with a woman)
Jenny Everywhere (Classic) (Extremely complicated)

And one I'm not certain whether or not to include on this list:
Fearless Leader (Classic) (His lack of sexual interest in Ripping
Dancer and his lack of other relationships, apart from a brief
flashback, is conspicuous. He could be gay, asexual, or just kind of
repressed or not interested in sex and romance.)

Possibly we could consider a lot of other characters who are focused
enough on one aspect of their lives that it largely rules out romantic
interaction, such as Mainstream Man and Knife Fight Dude, as asexual.

Adrian (And as you'll find out in issue 50, there's one more character
who belongs on this list)