Top 10 LGBTQ+ Characters & Couples: Part 2
Guest contributor Graham Ergot concludes his countdown.
Yesterday I began my list of my top 10 favorite LGBTQ+ characters in Doctor Who, in honor of the recent declaration of marriage equality here in the United States, and today I will be concluding that list, starting at number 5:
5. River Song
4. The Doctor
Over the last nearly 52 years (Day of the Doctor was over a year and a half ago!?), our favorite Time Lord’s sexuality has never been explicitly stated on-screen, similarly to River Song, and I like it that way. Sure, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it would be nice to have a character as well-written as the Doctor to be confirmed to not be straight, but I am also content that since it has never been confirmed for sure how he identifies, any fan can have their own headcanon regarding his sexual orientation in order to fit their desire for an ideal hero and role model. Additionally, different incarnations seem to be very different when it comes to sexuality; from pansexual to asexual to anything in between, with 13 incarnations of the Doctor, there’s a hero tailored for anyone and everyone.
3. Captain Jack Harkness
I’m sure I’ll get backlash for not putting this beloved man at #1, but since I have never entirely loved this character, he earns spot #3 as I recognize how important of a character he is, whether or not I find him overrated. Additionally, while sometimes he can seem like a walking stereotype of omnisexuals (those who can be attracted to someone regardless of sex or gender identity), he is still a very strong and well-written character, especially considering that he is from a society in the 51st century which has social norms that we likely could not possibly understand (this idea also applies in a way to Time Lords, and Gallifreyans in general, who likely do not have the same idea of sexuality and gender identity as we do, thus making it difficult to fit them under the neat title of LGBTQ+).
2. Canton Everett Delaware III
Oh Canton, my Canton. What a great character, made even better by Mark Sheppard’s acting. Among other things (humorous, brave, confident, smart; I could keep going), Canton was hands-down one of the most badass characters this show has ever featured. I mean, seriously, just his few final lines in Day of the Moon should be enough to prove this:
Nixon: This person you want to marry. Black?
Canton: Yes…
Nixon: Hmm. I know what people think of me, but perhaps I’m a little more liberal-
Canton: …He is.
I, along with many fellow DWTV fans who absolutely adore the Series 6 opener in which he appeared (looking at Supermoff in particular), are actively rooting for his return, as he was a strong and well-developed character even after appearing in only one story. Perhaps he is this high on the list only because I want him back so badly, but here he is anyway. Deal with it!
Honorable Mentions
Lady Cassandra
Actually, this first example isn’t actually all that honorable. As is explained in quite some depth in this article, Lady Cassandra is one of the more poorly handled LGBTQ+ characters. While she is technically the first known transgender character in the show (it only took about 41 and a half years!), her many surgeries as a MTF trans person stereotype her quite a bit and her delight at taking over the Doctor’s cis-male body is far OOC and more than a bit offensive. Of course, I’m sure Russell T. Davies did not intend it that way, but rather it seems more like he forgot that she was trans in the first place, which is… maybe worse. And, while he may not have intended her to be offensive, she is offensive, and that’s obviously not good.
Alonso Frame
While we are only aware of his lack of heterosexuality for a very short amount of time, Midshipman Frame is an extremely likeable and brave character who we may see again if Torchwood ever returns to TV, considering the reveal that he is not straight comes with some affectionate attention from Captain Jack Harkness himself.
Luke Smith
Unfortunately, along with Elizabeth’s Sladen premature death in 2011, we lost more than just a brilliant actor and a fun TV show; we lost Luke Smith, Sarah Jane’s son who in the future of the Sarah Jane Adventures would’ve come out as gay, and would have been a relatable LGBTQ+ role model for children. Of course, there’s no reason why he couldn’t make an appearance on Doctor Who, but it’s less than likely.
Sky Silvestry
As with a few other examples on this list, I love Sky Silvestry partially due to the fact that her sexuality isn’t made a big deal out of; in today’s society, it is important that members of the LGBTQ+ community publicly ‘come out of the closet’ (when/if they feel ready) because our society is deeply routed in homophobic and heteronormative ideas, and the coming out of friends and family members starts dialogue that is necessary for change to take place. In Doctor Who, however, in the far future at least, it has been shown time and time again that times have changed and everyone seems to be extremely accepting of fellow humans, no matter what. She doesn’t quite make my top 10, however, as we don’t really get much time with Sky herself; after a few minutes of screentime, shared with the rest of the characters on board the bus, she is possessed by the Midnight Entity, and we never get her back.
Missy
As my favorite incarnation of the Doctor’s arch-enemy, how couldn’t I include her? While she probably should’ve made at least the top 10, I decided to keep her in the honorable mentions because the article on transphobia I linked earlier in regard to Lady Cassandra does a great job of explaining why Missy is just a great character, at least when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation. Missy is a living breathing example of the idea that has been mentioned throughout the Moffat Era, on and off screen, that gender is fluid on Gallifrey. I won’t go too much into her, in part because I’m running close to the word count and in part because of that powerful article on transphobia in Doctor Who I previously mentioned has already been written, but what I will say is how thankful I am for such a character to exist and how civil many fans, at least on this site, have been. While I know many people are not yet in favor of having an actress play the Doctor, I hope over time Missy is able to change the minds of said apprehensive fans. In addition to her crossgender regeneration, she also kisses the Doctor and offers to do the same to Clara, implying that she, whether or not this is true of all Time Lords, is not entirely straight. Though, it’s not like there hasn’t been subtext hinting at this in the past.
1. Madame Vastra & Jenny Flint
Two of my favorite characters of all time, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint have appeared in, so far, five episodes between Series 6 and Series 8, and while their apparent absence from Series 9 is very upsetting to me, I have high hopes that they will one day return. Even better, if the Paternoster Gang were to get their own spinoff series, Vastra and Jenny would make perfect role models for a whole new generation of children and would expose them to homosexuality and the LGBTQ+ community at a very early age. The fact that they are very well-loved by younger audiences is what really boosts them to #1, as while a character like Jack Harkness has appeared in more episodes in Doctor Who alone, not counting his 41 episodes in Torchwood and his upcoming audio series, Vastra and Jenny are much more oriented towards younger viewers and seem to be more appropriate choices for characters when it comes to educating and exposing children to the crucial ideas of sexuality and finding one’s self. They balance each other very well, and while on her own, Jenny is a very strong character, the reason why I lumped these two together into one spot is because Jenny seems to be even stronger and more comfortable with herself when around Vastra, who isn’t afraid to out them both to ignorant Victorian London civilians just to get a laugh out of their reactions. One of my favorite quotes from the show in general is the following from The Snowmen:
“Good evening. I’m a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife.”
In Conclusion
Along with much-supported LGTBQ+ celebrities, including Doctor Who’s very own John Barrowman and Matthew Waterhouse, I am beyond grateful that my favorite show of all time and space is becoming more and more representative of our changing times. I realized that I was gay back in January 2012 and without this show, I’m not sure how much longer it would’ve taken for me to realize that; this realization came not long after Series 6, which had queer characters like Canton Everett Delaware III, River Song, The Doctor, The Thin One, The Fat One, Vastra, and Jenny (6 of these 7 appeared in a single episode together!), all of which definitely helped me find and love myself. Last Friday was a good day, a day that will go down in the history books, and I will always remember it. Thank you for reading Part 2 my very first article, and remember, be respectful in the comments! Here’s to many more years of representation!
