History Main / RainbowLens

** The phase in season 1 when Horse was struggling with her changing character design (and embarrassing new magic tail) draws some pretty obvious parallels to the body dysphoria that many trans kids experience as they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hu5LJBbRtA enter puberty.]] (Though Horse eventually makes peace with the new body shape that was forced on her.) And there also are a few lines in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJn1ZllzYpY reprise of "Who Is She?"]] (TW: suicide!) that resonate with some trans people who are in the middle of transitioning. (On the level of the show's plot, this song is about Horse forgetting her Rider's face after being stuck in Centaurworld for a while, the same way that memory decays a few years after your loved ones died, if you don't have photos of them. But [[WordOfGod the writer]] said that this song was also meant to be about Horse losing connection with ''herself''.)

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' had [[Characters/StarTrekTheOriginalSeriesSpock Spock]], who grew up bullied for things he can't control and had to make conscious choices about which part of his nature to embrace. Replace "being a HalfHumanHybrid with an alien parent" with "being gay" and the subtext becomes obvious. With this in mind, it probably shouldn't be a surprise that Spock is half of '''''the''''' original SlashFic pairing.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' had Spock, who grew up bullied for things he can't control and had to make conscious choices about which part of his nature to embrace. Replace "being a HalfHumanHybrid with an alien parent" with "being gay" and the subtext becomes obvious. With this in mind, it's probably shouldn't be a surprise that Spock is half of '''''the''''' original SlashFic pairing.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' had Spock, who grew up bullied for things he can't control and had to make conscious choices about which part of his nature to embrace. Replace "being a HalfHumanHybrid with an alien for a father" with "being gay" and the subtext becomes obvious. With this in mind, it's probably shouldn't be a surprise that Spock is half of '''''the''''' original SlashFic pairing.

* There is a prominent theme or implication that the way the character presents themselves to others is "not their true self"

* In ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', Veth's story is easy to interpret as a transgender allegory, complete with eventually making the transition from her cursed goblin form back to her original halfling self. It also helps that she is a female character with a male voice actor.

* In ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', Veth's story is easy to interpret as a transgender allegory, complete with eventually making the transition from her cursed goblin form back to her original halfling self.

* [[{{Applicability}} While many have always read]] the basic storyline of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' as queer regarding the hiding a part of your identity from those around you, others find that ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' especially resonates, with the spider-people sensing others like them being reminiscent of 'gaydar,' and Miles asking his father if he really hates Spider-Man, just like queer people often ask their families how they really feel about LGBTQ+ people and issues before coming out.

** The original ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' is often interpreted as an allegory for same-gender romance in the 19th century. The mermaid has feelings for someone she's not allowed to, she literally can't speak of her feelings (i.e. "the love that dares not speak its name"), and the prince ultimately rejects her to be with someone more "conventional," his fiancée princess. Andersen is thought to have written ''The Little Mermaid'' out of a similar experience in his life: he fell in love with a man he could never have, both because the man was already engaged and because back then, same-sex relationships were taboo.

* The original ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' is often interpreted as an allegory for same-gender romance in the 19th century. The mermaid has feelings for someone she's not allowed to, she literally can't speak of her feelings (i.e. "the love that dares not speak its name"), and the prince ultimately rejects her to be with someone more "conventional," his fiancée princess. Creator/HansChristianAndersen himself was bisexual, and is thought to have written ''The Little Mermaid'' out of a similar experience in his life: he fell in love with a man he could never have, both because the man was already engaged and because back then, same-sex relationships were taboo.

* Many fans interpret Erika from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' as a lesbian since her Gym has only female-exclusive Trainer classes (namely Lasses and Beauties) and [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Ash Ketchum]] had to crossdress in order to be able to challenge her Gym.

** ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': ''Go West, Young Meowth'' can be interpreted as a transgender allegory. Meowth defies the expectations of his species by learning how to walk and talk like a human being, only to be shunned as a freak by the one he was trying to impress. In the end, one of the reasons he sticks with Team Rocket even though they're not only criminals but [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain loser criminals]], is because they actually accept him for who he is. Notably, this episode was [[http://awesomedbycomics.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-was-extremely-saddened-to-learn-of.html reportedly the reason]] why Meowth's voice actor, the late Creator/MaddieBlaustein, came out as transgender.
** ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'': Ruby is an effeminate CampStraight boy who [[TheRunaway runs away]] from home because his father Norman supposedly doesn't like him being a Pokémon Coordinator (which is a feminine thing) and would prefer if he battled instead. To make matters worse, when Norman finds Ruby he [[AbusiveParents physically assaults him]], though it also turns out that [[spoiler:Norman was fine with Ruby being a Coordinator]]. To explain, Ruby [[spoiler: enjoyed battling and was more rough as a youth, but after an incident involving Sapphire, he believed he traumatized her and he turned to Coordinating. In a twist, Sapphire also believed her tender nature got Ruby hurt and became much more tomboyish as a result.]]

* After the cooldown of the massive race civil rights movement in the 60s and 70s, the entire ''ComicBook/XMen'' franchise is seen as one huge metaphor for gay people (as opposed to the original more racism-focused premise). Mutant powers are expressed during one's teenage years, sometimes mutants are obvious at first glance while other times they're not, and it can happen to literally ''anyone'', regardless of race or social status. This leads to the point of extreme LampshadeHanging, as Mutants who can pass for human are sometimes referred to be "in the closet", their greatest opposition are conservative Christians who think their mere existence is sin, and there's an ever-present movement to cure them of their condition.

** Taken to its logical extreme in ''Dark Avengers-X-Men: The Beginning'', where it's revealed that the San Francisco neighborhood known as the Castro is a mutant neighborhood instead of a gay community like in real life. Vote no on Prop X and all that.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' has Isabela, Mirabel's [[AloofOlderBrother older sister]] and the family's "perfect golden children". Slated for engagement to the most handsome man in town, Isabela is furious when Mirabel ruins the proposal dinner and refuses to accept her younger sister's insincere apology. Frustrated with Isabela because they need to make up to keep their enchanted house from falling down around them, Mirabel calls Isabela out on being a "spoiled, selfish princess" who's never had any real problems, and that she can still marry the man she wants. Isabela angrily retorts that she didn't ''want'' to marry him, but was merely acting out of obligation to her family, especially Abuelita. Her [[IAmBecomingSong subsequent musical number]] has her revealing that she feels stifled and overwhelmed by the expectations placed on her, and a yearning to be free to discover and express herself how she sees fit. The film ends with her remaining gleefully single with multi-colored hair.

* ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge'' is about a teenage boy with the unisex name Jesse who has to fend off the advances of Freddy Krueger, who spends the film trying to possess his body. While Jesse has a female LoveInterest, he is otherwise heavily coded as gay throughout, while the gym teacher Coach Schneider is a DepravedHomosexual who is killed with ''towel snaps''. Most of the people who worked on the film have stated that its gay allegories were absolutely intentional.

** In ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', Angel's status as a mutant is a clear sexual orientation metaphor. The film begins with his anti-mutant father walking in on him trying to cut off his wings as a child to hide his mutation. His father throws himself into developing a "cure," which his son is supposed to be the first to test. At the last minute, he decides he doesn't want to be cured and flees, seeking refuge at Xavier's school, where he is surrounded by other mutants for the first time and learns to be proud of his status as a mutant.

** [[CuteAndPsycho Neopolitan]], as revealed in ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'', was raised as Trivia Vanille by her abusive parents, who forced her to hide her imagination and personality. She eventually left, changing her appearance and name to the Neopolitan seen in the show. She also dislikes synthetic voice modulators that might let her communicate easier since the artificial voice feels too distant from who she is, not unlike vocal dysphoria. All in all, Neopolitan comes across as an allegory for being trans.

* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', Akane initially becomes Ranma's fiancee because she "doesn't like men", thus "it's a chance he's half-girl". Then she reluctantly becomes a SecretKeeper of his GenderBender status, and that's why she gets enraged when Nabiki reveals to the class that they are fiancees, as she doesn't want to be seen as a "pervert", that is, implicitly, non-straight. Her interactions with female Ranma are ambiguous, as she often seems jealous but for no valid reason (Ranma being a straight guy, he isn't likely to become a rival for Akane in any way), and in the original manga, she sometimes distinctly blushes when she gets physically or emotionally close to female Ranma, just like with Dr. Tofu or male Ranma. More generally, her experience with female Ranma echoes common queer themes: self-discovery, fear of being outed, inability to express affection publicly, confronting homophobia (including internalized homophobia), etc. Some related CharacterDevelopment can be seen through the series, as by the Mariko Konjo arc, she doesn't seem to care anymore about what people will think of her, and it works. Relatedly, she has been read as a possible closeted bisexual (or at least as a bisexual allegory) by parts of the fandom (and not just for SelfFanservice reasons), most notably (and infamously) on Wikipedia.
* ''Anime/UruseiYatsura'': Ryuunosuke's endless distress over her father forcing her to crossdress and present as a man when she really just wants to be allowed to be feminine has been compared to the real-life family dynamics trans youth face when trying to present as their gender. Ryuunosuke's father flat-out denies her true gender and refuses to buy her feminine clothes. [[AmbiguouslyGay Ryuunosuke has also been interpreted as a young lesbian]] due to her aversion of men and closeness with women. She even agreed to date Shinobu and Benten!

* ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' was often written, intentionally or not, as similar to a transgender person, particularly during the Creator/JohnByrne and Creator/DanSlott runs. To recap: Jennifer Walters is a shy, insecure attorney who transforms into She-Hulk, a confident and sassy Green Glamazon. She-Hulk spent a good 20 years or so never once changing back into Jennifer, saying she is just happier as She-Hulk. There was a comic where her father was unable to deal with how drastically different her She-Hulk persona was from the daughter he raised and admitted ([[ExactEavesdropping while she was eavesdropping]]) that he just wants his daughter back. Later on, she got a job at a law firm where her boss forced her to be Jennifer again, and she was very much not okay with it, but grinned and bore it anyway. Her boyfriend John Jameson also has trouble dealing with her as She-Hulk, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything since he fell in love with]] ''[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Jennifer]]'', [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything not She-Hulk]]. It's not difficult to see the parallels to someone who was born a specific gender but found they were much happier as the opposite, and then had to deal with the fallout of that decision in their personal life.

* ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'': Wiccan (who is gay) attempts to tell his parents that he has superpowers, they misunderstand and assume he's trying to come out to them, and tell him that [[TransparentCloset they knew]] and that [[OpenMindedParent they accept him]].

* In ''Fanfic/TheSerpentsVow'', Seto is rather afraid of coming out as an alien to his friends, and violently reacts to a former acquaintance of his trying to force him back into being his subordinate, explicitly because of his ability to produce youngs. Even if his friends fully accept him, Stargate Command is awkward around him for being "unusual" -- and this is in the Don't Ask Don't Tell era. Also, the fact that he's sexually female yet is extremely defensive of his male body has been noticed: the author staunchly maintains the Goa'uld are genderless and Seto merely wants to keep the only body he has ever owned, but it didn't stop the readers to see the character as a trans man.

* ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'': Arthur's an effete-looking man with a passion for makeup and performance and relies on medication to handle the stresses - both seen and unseen - of his existence. His own parents don't love him, adults gets creeped out when he hangs around children and a celebrity that he once idolised publicly mocks Arthur just for being himself. Also, when Arthur asks to be referred to as "Joker", Murray slips a few times and calls him "Arthur", which isn't too far removed from the concept of dead-naming.

* The original ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' is often interpreted as an allegory for same-gender romance in the 19th century. The mermaid has feelings for someone she's not allowed to, she literally can't speak of her feelings (i.e. "the love that dares not speak its name"), and the prince ultimately rejects her to be with someone more "conventional," his fiancée princess. Creator/HansChristianAndersen himself was bisexual, and is thought to have written ''The Little Mermaid'' out of a similar experience in his life: he fell in love with a man he could never have, both because the man was already engaged and because back then, same-sex relationships were a taboo.
* [[spoiler:Tip]] from ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' is a popular example of this trope, which analyzers and future ''Literature/LandOfOz'' adaptations have toyed around with. He was born [[spoiler:a girl]] but was [[spoiler:magically transformed into a boy and raised as male]]. Later on, he learns the truth and is turned back [[spoiler:into his true form, Ozma]] (which, depending on his VagueAge, occurred in pre-adolescence or adolescence). All the genderbending makes it popular to reinterpret [[spoiler:Ozma]] through a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} lens. In ''Series/EmeraldCity'' he specifically identifies as male even on being turned back, so he's more clearly written as a trans boy and relieved after gaining an ability to change his form.

* The ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' episode "I Never Ate For My Father" treats vegetarianism like a combination of drug use and homosexuality.

* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': Many in the fandom's LGBTFanbase have interpreted Av-Matoran, and Takua in particular, as a UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} allegory. They're the only type of Matoran who can be either gender, and can also use their light powers to change their color, essentially choosing their gender presentation.[[note]]Technically, one could argue that ''each element'' is its own "gender", though the Matoran only use the two familiar gendered pronouns, at least in the real-life media using TranslationConvention.[[/note]] Takua lived most of his life believing he was a Ta-Matoran, despite his mask being the wrong color, and feeling that he didn't quite belong. In the ''Mask of Light'' movie, [[spoiler:Jaller's dying words to him are]] "You were always different," after which he accepts his true identity and becomes the Toa of Light.

* In ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'', the Aquato family's reactions to learning Razputin is psychic closely resembles the aftermath of a ComingOutStory. Augustus is [[OpenMindedParent unexpectedly supportive]] and prompted into his own LateComingOut. Donatella is "trying to be broad-minded" but wishes her son and husband would [[HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster "hide [their] shame where no one can see it]]." Frazie is terrified of being ForcedOutOfTheCloset by her brother out of desired solidarity. And Dion is disgusted Raz would openly flaunt his "unnatural" nature and insists their dad is [[GayRomanticPhase just going through a phase]].

---> Help me, I think I'm far too gone
---> And my reflection has become an unfamiliar someone
---> So close, but I think I'm stuck in place
---> I don't deserve you now that I forgot your face
* Danny Fenton from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' is scared and confused when the accident turns him half-ghost and spends most of the series trying to keep the truth from getting out. Only his friends know this about him and refuse to tell anyone out of not wanting to be a freak. This is especially the case for his parents, who are ghost hunters and possess a zealot to dissect/hunt them (and granted, most ghosts are troublemakers that Danny has to stop from terrorizing the town.) When his parents ''do'' find out, they are more shocked and appalled at themselves that their son had to go to such lengths to keep this secret from them. The whole thing reads like a ComingOutStory for a teenager who realizes that they are LGBT+, some reading him as [[TransTribulations transgender or non-binary]] due to his conflicting nature as half-human, half-ghost.

** Ms. Martian is, [[CaptainObvious well]], a martian, meaning she's a {{Shapeshift|ing}}er. She modeled her physical appearance after the main character of her favorite TV Show (named Megan), and dislikes her actual appearance because she's afraid people - even her friends - might hate her or fear her for it. It's very difficult not to read it as an allegory for Gender Dysphoria. She says when she saw Megan in the show, "something just clicked", and adds that it was what allowed her to remain happy during her otherwise sad childhood. There's a few more layers, though, as Megan is not only pretending to be human but also [[spoiler: pretending to be Green. She's actually a White Martian]]. Veers into SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson when Psimon enters her mind and we get to see what M'gann sees herself as.
---> '''Psimon:''' Must you even lie to yourself within your own mind?