History Main / AmbiguouslyGay

* ''Animation/InfinityNado'': Pandora despite his [[DudeWhoLooksLikeaLady appearance]] and [[GenderBlenderName name]] is actually a boy who never really shows any interest in female characters in the series and is super close with the main character Jin.

* ''Animation/Infinity'': Pandora despite his appearance and [[GenderBlenderName name]] is actually a boy who never really shows any interest in female characters in the series and is super close with the main character Jin.

Compare HideYourLesbians, wherein the relationship between two characters is ambiguously gay. Frequently is combined with WordOfGay, for cases when the character's homosexuality remains ambiguous within the work itself for various reasons but is deliberate. If the hints are overt enough, it can overlap with TransparentCloset, and some types of HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday, in which the character's dubious sexuality is much more openly questioned. A similar trope is HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster for when the gay innuendo is used to define something supernatural, such as vampires or mutants.

A closely related trope is AmbiguouslyBi, which is similar to this trope but with bisexuality as opposed to homosexuality, and often involves a character who often shows explicit attraction towards at least one gender in canon. Compare and contrast with HomoeroticSubtext, which is about same-gender characters who may or may not be attracted to each other, but nevertheless have gay moments which are often lampshaded by the work itself. See also PseudoRomanticFriendship.

* ''Radio/RoundTheHorne'' has Julian and Sandy: a couple of out-of-work actors, though they could [[DoubleEntendre turn their hand to anything]]. In one episode they were lawyers, leading to the glorious line "We've got a criminal practice that takes up most of our time." (At the time, bein gay was still technically illegal in the UK.)

In other cases where the censors may not have permitted any overt implications of homosexual attraction, creators would sometimes utilize [[CampGay stereotypical]] [[ButchLesbian traits]] as a way of GettingCrapPastTheRadar and implying a character's homosexuality. For example a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide male character might lisp]], show [[AllGaysLoveTheater and have an interest in fashion and musicals]], have no apparent interest in the opposite sex, and live in a single-bedroom apartment with one of their "roommates". In modern sociological theory, these characters are described as being "queer-coded".

In other cases where the censors may not have permitted any overt implications of homosexual attraction, creators would sometimes utilize [[CampGay stereotypical]] [[ButchLesbian traits]] as a way of GettingCrapPastTheRadar and implying a character's homosexuality. For example a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide male character might lisp]], show [[AllGaysLoveTheater and have an interest in fashion and musicals]], have no apparent interest in the opposite sex, and live in a single-bedroom apartment with one of their "roommates". This particular permutation of Ambiguously Gay has largely become a [[TropeBreaker Broken Trope]] in domestic media due to contemporary media being more open to depiction of explicitly gay characters, many of whom [[StraightGay don't necessarily conform to stereotypes]]. However, it still lives on in some kinds of media aimed at international audiences, due to certain countries having more stringent anti-LGBT censorship than others.

A closely related trope is AmbiguouslyBi, which is similar to this trope but with bisexuality as opposed to homosexuality, and often involves a character who often shows explicit attraction towards at least one gender in canon. Compare and contrast with HomoeroticSubtext, which is about same-gender characters who may or may not be attracted to each other, but nevertheless have gay moments which are often lampshaded by the work itself.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH4n-2gvjRQ The New Generation]].

Perhaps you have a female character who is visibly touch-feely towards another female character, while being similarly open in rejecting the advances of any male characters who come her way. Or when the other male characters ogle the resident MsFanservice, this character hardly bats an eye, but he seems ''quite'' interested in what the WalkingShirtlessScene is doing. Other characters in the work may even question exactly which way this character swings, but never get an answer. The character's sexuality is simply never made clear within the work.

In other cases where the censors may not have permitted any overt implications of homosexual attraction, creators would sometimes utilize [[CampGay stereotypical]] [[ButchLesbian traits]] as a way of GettingCrapPastTheRadar and implying a character's homosexuality. For example a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide male character might lisp]], show [[AllGaysLoveTheater and have an interest in fashion and musicals]], have no apparent interest in the opposite sex, and live in a single-bedroom apartment with one of their "roommates". Older examples tend to almost exclusively be male, because back then they didn't really think lesbians existed. This particular permutation of Ambiguously Gay has largely become a [[TropeBreaker Broken Trope]] due to contemporary media being more open to depiction of explicitly gay characters, many of whom [[StraightGay don't necessarily conform to stereotypes]].

Not to be confused with HoYay, which is an AudienceReaction for fans interpreting interactions between two characters of the same gender as homoerotic.

Perhaps you have a male character who is visibly touch-feely towards another male character, while being similarly open in rejecting the advances of any female characters who come his way. When the other male characters ogle the resident MsFanservice, this character hardly bats an eye, but he seems ''quite'' interested in what the WalkingShirtlessScene is doing. Other characters in the work may even question exactly which way this character swings, but never get an answer. The character's sexuality is simply never made clear within the work.

In other cases where the censors may not have permitted any overt implications of homosexual attraction, creators would sometimes utilize [[CampGay stereotypical]] [[ButchLesbian traits]] as a way of GettingCrapPastTheRadar and implying a character's homosexuality. For example a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide male character might lisp]], show [[AllGaysLoveTheater and have an interest in fashion and musicals]], have no apparent interest in the opposite sex, and live in a single-bedroom apartment with one of their "roommates". This particular permutation of Ambiguously Gay has largely become a [[TropeBreaker Broken Trope]] due to contemporary media being more open to depiction of explicitly gay characters, many of whom [[StraightGay don't necessarily conform to stereotypes]].

Not to be confused with HoYay, which is an AudienceReaction for fans interpreting any interactions between two characters of the same gender as homoerotic, whether or not it's deliberately implied within the text and regardless of what sexual orientation the characters may have in canon.

In other cases where the censors may not have permitted any overt implications of homosexual attraction, creators would sometimes utilize [[CampGay stereotypical]] [[ButchLesbian traits]] as a roundabout way of GettingCrapPastTheRadar and implying a character's homosexuality. For example a [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide male character might lisp]], show [[AllGaysLoveTheater and have an interest in fashion and musicals]], have no apparent interest in the opposite sex, and live in a single-bedroom apartment with one of their "roommates". This particular permutation of Ambiguously Gay has largely become a [[TropeBreaker Broken Trope]] due to contemporary media being more open to depiction of explicitly gay characters, many of whom [[StraightGay don't necessarily conform to stereotypes]].

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'''[[WMG:[[center:This Trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1578414772054863300 under discussion]] at the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13222107430A61495000&page=1#1 Trope Repair Shop]].]]]]'''

This trope has taken slightly different forms throughout the past due to differences in censorship and what was permissible in the media. In many old films, characters were often given descriptions that may be perceived as code words for "gay". Such words may include "eccentric", "queer", "[[ConfirmedBachelor confirmed/lifelong bachelor]]" or other words that can just as easily mean their conventional definitions without subtext, hence why it's ambiguous.

This trope has taken slightly different forms throughout the past due to differences in censorship and what was permissible in the media. In many old films, characters were often given descriptions that may be perceived as code words for "gay". Such words may include "eccentric", "queer", "confirmed/lifelong bachelor" or other words that can just as easily mean their conventional definitions without subtext, hence why it's ambiguous.

This trope has taken slightly different forms throughout the past due to differences in censorship and what was permissible in the media. In many old films, characters were often given descriptions that may be perceived as code words for "gay". Such words may include "eccentric", "queer", "confirmed/lifelong bachelor", or other words that can just as easily mean their conventional definitions without subtext, hence why it's ambiguous.

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