Current mood:	curious
Entry tags:	movies, multi-fandom

The Gayest Non-Gay Female Characters of Film and Television.
What I mean when I say 'gayest non-gay' is a character that is never officially declared gay, but gives a viewing audience good reason to question their sexuality. They may even be textually and overtly straight. They may be paired frequently with male love interests. The subject of sexuality or romance may never even come up. But there's something about her, a lack of chemistry with male love interests, a mannerism, the way she carries herself, ambiguous subtext, or perhaps the clothes she wears on a regular basis. She may not be gay according to the official record, but there is definitely something very, very gay about her.

So, I'm going to start the list with my own picks, and these are just names I've been thinking about the last few days. I know there are more, and I expect you all to pitch in. No need to raise your hand. Just call out the answer. :)

Janis Ian, Mean Girls - When they wedge her character into an awkward and sudden relationship with Kevin G. at the very end of the movie, it always makes me balk. I realize that one of the pillars of Janis' character is that she will never get over Regina convincing everyone she was a lesbian and ruining her life, but it would fit the character much better if it turned out that maybe Janis really wasn't in love with Regina at any point, but she still likes girls.
Missy Pantone, Bring It On - Okay, what? Even though being called a "dyke-y loser" was a mean thing to say, it wasn't altogether off-base. Missy seems...kinda gay. Drawing tattoos on herself? CHAIN WALLET? And she seemed really excited to find out that Les was gay, and then she became good friends with him, almost like she was happy to have an ally. And there is no male love interest, not even a hint. Make of it what you will. :)
Haley Graham, Stick It - Speaking of Jessica Bendinger movies, this is another one with a main female character whose sexuality remains a mystery. The only time romance even comes up for Haley is when she is asked if one of her guy friends is her boyfriend. She responds with a fervent "eww!" She essentially dresses like a guy most of the time (baggy clothes, baseball hats, skater shoes, and not a single pink item of clothing to be seen), her gymnastics leotard being the only notable exception to that rule. She even acts kind of like a dude sometimes, which isn't surprising because she seems to only have guy friends. When the movie ends, I always imagine she goes on to compete in collegiate gymnastics and ends up falling madly in love with her soccer player roommate who may or may not be tall, leggy, and blonde. I've said too much. :)
Emily Prentiss, "Criminal Minds" - I feel like we've discussed this one to death. ;) The clunky giant watch, the obvious subtextual chemistry thing with J.J., the ambiguity surrounding her personal life, and the way she carries herself all indicate that she might, in fact, be gay. Or at least in denial. :)
Sara Sidle, "CSI" - I think this is mostly Jorja's fault, but even if it is, it doesn't ultimately matter. What Jorja Fox does with the character is the character, and Sara has never, ever had an ounce of romantic chemistry with any of her male love interests, and especially not with Grissom, though they play it up like it's the tragic romance of the century. But watch Sara and, say, Catherine? There's actually substance there.
Olivia Benson, "Law & Order: SVU" - I can only echo and emphasize what most of you have already pointed out: gayest non-gay in the history of ever. It doesn't matter how many Regularly Scheduled Hetero Signposts they throw at me. Her walk, the way she speaks and acts, her look, the eyebrow-raising lines they give her, the chemistry with other female characters like Alex Cabot and Casey Novak--all of this adds up to a character who is clearly homosexual, no matter what Dick Wolf likes to pretend.
Lil, Coyote Ugly - It's been a while since I've seen this movie, but obsidian179's reasoning was so good that I'm just going to include it here: "While the only Coyote in the film that gets to have any kind of love interest at all is Violet (not counting Cammie's mentioned but never shown boyfriend), Lil certainly seems to let her get away with a lot, doesn't she? From what she says, Violet was supposed to have one chance, and that's it. Yet, despite screwing up again and again, she stays. Lil's the kind of woman who can out tough guy the tough guys - if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about - and really doesn't dress or act "feminine" at all. During Kevin's second appearance in the bar (where no boyfriend was supposed to be), even Lil mentions that she's fired girls for a lot less then what Violet did. (And do we mention that Kevin was only there because he was upset that Violet never showed up to meet him - costing him a very expensive comic book... look, I didn't write the movie, okay? - because Lil wouldn't let her leave? Sure, that could be because it was a busy night... but really? That's it? Shyeah, right.) And then she goes to offer Violet her job back later. And after realizing that 'Jersey' isn't going to be coming back, she even calls the dillhole Kevin to get him to go to Violet's show. Yeah, those last two could be her just being a friend to a young woman that reminds her of herself a bit... But I don't quite buy it. ;)"
Juliette Paxton and Jess Bhamra, Bend it Like Beckham - The gay non-gay is even central to the plot! Everyone thinks Jess and Jules are gay, and I don't blame them. Good-looking coach aside, I think that once they get to Santa Clara U. without him, they end up with each other. :)
Sofia Curtis, "CSI" - I can't believe she wasn't immediately on the top of my head when I started thinking about this. It took me literally about ten seconds of seeing her for the first time on CSI to decide that yes, she is very, very gay. The swagger, the clothes, the attitude. SO GAY.
Sarah Connor, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" - I just bought the first season and have been watching the series before it starts again next week, and...wow. I think it's a combination of the legendary Sarah Connor mythos and Lena Headey, but damn. I can't even watch Sarah and Cameron in the same room without losing my mind. I think I just have a hard time taking a badass, gun-toting woman like Sarah Connor as being 100% heterosexual. Can't do it.
Jordan Cavanaugh, "Crossing Jordan" - She's kidding herself if she thinks she's straight. Lisa, Lu...and just the fact of Jill Hennessy. Gay.
Faith, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - Oh, Faith is absolutely a gay, gay, scary gay non-gay. The sexual tension with Buffy is breathtaking. And she has that kind of swaggery, masculine walk down, too.
Jo Polniaczek, "The Facts of Life" - Oh my god, who were they kidding? Who? Was anyone fooled? She rode a goddamn motorcycle! With leather! Jo was SO GAY. Everything about her was gay. Except for the part where she supposedly wasn't. HA.
Paris Geller, "Gilmore Girls" - I always loved Paris dearly, and part of what I loved about her was the strange relationship she had with Rory. I used to count the number of times the idea of Paris kissing Rory was brought up on the show. And then it actually happened, and that sealed it for me. No one can talk me out of the conclusion that Paris was always secretly in love with Rory. Not ever. :)


So, those are the best ones I've got so far. I want to hear your ideas!

ETA: In my own defense, since many of you were horrified that several of your favorites did not make the initial list, this was merely a starter list. Just to get the ball rolling. I did not forget about Olivia Benson, for heaven's sake! ;)

Addison? Really? I don't get the 'gay non-gay' vibe from her at all. And now I see that it's just me. Odd.

I think I really need to start watching Army Wives. Just the commercials alone look pretty damn gay.

Dude, Reyes? She was totally gay, through and through. But Scully is not gay. Scully and Mulder's love is forever. And that's that. :P