Jenny and Vastra in ‘The Snowmen’.įocusing on the ‘T’ part of the acronym, the only actual transgender character in the television series (apart from the Time Lords, but I’ll get to that) is Cassandra. Any references to being LGBTQ+ in this way is noteworthy for solid representation without being the ultimate focus of the character, which helps to normalise LGBTQ+ people being a part of everyday life. But even aside from these more major characters, there are many side characters casually mentioned to be LGBTQ+, such as Sky Silvestry referring to an ex with she/her pronouns in ‘Midnight’, an old lesbian couple in ‘Gridlock’, Alonso Frame showing interest in Captain Jack in ‘The End of Time’, and Canton Delaware III explaining that he got kicked out of the FBI for wanting to marry a black man in the 1960s in ‘The Impossible Astronaut’. Other recurring LGBTQ+ characters include Jenny and Vastra (a human/Silurian lesbian couple), River Song (makes reference to having had a wife), Clara Oswald (hinted to be bisexual), and Bill Potts (the first openly lesbian companion). In the very first series, Captain Jack Harkness was immediately introduced as an omnisexual character who has an on-screen kiss with the Ninth Doctor in the Series 1 finale. James Mortimer’s article on RTD’s LGBTQ+ legacy on Doctor Who addresses the showrunner’s wholehearted incorporation of queer characters and contentment with sexuality that continued as a thread throughout the show to this day. Since the show came back in 2005, I think Doctor Who has been amazing at blurring the edges of sexuality and being quite gender fluid about the characters and relationships. Right before Series 11 aired (the first series involving Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor), Executive Producer Matt Strevens also made reference to queer sexuality and gender non-conforming themes in the show: Such vast space and time travel forges a space outside of typical perceptions and representations of sex and gender, e.g. ![]() Īlthough this is in reference to sexuality specifically, the term “sexlessness” could easily be applied to gender as well. I think, marvellously, if you’re gay, if you’re being quiet about it, if you’re an outsider, there’s a comforting sexlessness about Doctor Who. It’s no coincidence that Russell T Davies, a gay man, was at the helm of the 2005 reboot when asked about his sexuality and Doctor Who, RTD said : ![]() It provides comfort and reassurance, offering an environment that not only accepts but celebrates queerness in any form. ![]() This focus on spectrums of existence and outsiders to everyday life as we know it makes it easy to understand why many LGBTQ+ people latch onto the show. An array of aliens, planets, and even dimensions are just some of the ingredients that create such an eccentric and often heart-warming portrayal of all things weird and wonderful. At its core, Doctor Who feels like a queer television show.
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