Random Characters You Didn't Realize Were Icons Of LGBTQ+ Pop Culture (16 items)

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  (#5) Li Shang

  • Mulan II, Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's 'Mulan', Mulan

  From Mickey Mouse to Ursula, Disney's canon has been subtly rainbow-shaded for decades, despite lacking enough actual LGBTQ+ characters. One of the more openly LGBTQ+ characters queer Disney fans have discovered is Mulan's Li Shang, the burly Captain who — according to @cece on Twitter — gives Mulan "the exact same look even when he thought she was a man."

  The importance of "bisexual icon" Li Shang was especially felt when it was revealed that Disney had decided to cut the character from its live-action remake, sparking an online backlash with calls to boycott the film. 
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  (#13) Lara Croft

  • Revisioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

  Lara Croft is one of gaming's few female icons. Back in 1996, the rare chance to play as a woman was exciting for both straight male and female gamers. For LGBTQ+ players, it was especially significant.

  "Even back in the days when straight men wasted hours hunting for the nude cheat code that never was, the impact of Tomb Raider was still inextricably linked with the queer community at large," writes David Opie for Into:

  Lara has always been a strong role model for queer men and women alike, but the 2013 reboot added another layer to this, transforming our hero into a outsider forced to overcome seemingly impossible odds. This survivor narrative draws explicit parallels with the often harsh process of coming out that enabled LGBT[Q+] fans to empathize with Lara like never before.
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  (#6) Storm

  • X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Superhero Movie, Marvel Universe, Earth-11052

  The X-Men, a group of mutant superheroes who "protect a world that fears and hates them," were intentionally created as a metaphor for the fight for civil rights. "The main objective was to show that bigotry is a terrible thing," said co-creator Stan Lee. Openly queer characters like Northstar, Iceman, and Mystique have led the way for Marvel to become more inclusive over the years.

  Before then, Storm — a character with strong bisexual subtext — was often the one that LGBTQ+ readers gravitated towards. Andrew Wheeler writes for Comics Alliance:

  Storm's transformation from elemental goddess to mohawk leather punk is one of the queerest stories ever told in comics, because it's a story about liberating oneself from other people's expectations and finding a greater strength through letting go (30 years before Elsa).
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  (#2) Ariel

  • Disney's House of Mouse, The Little Mermaid, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, Disney Princess Party: Volume Two, Mickey's Fun Songs: Beach Party at Walt Disney World, The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, Mickey's PhilharMagic, The Little Mermaid, The Little Mermaid, Disney Princess

  The Little Mermaid has its fair share of certified LGBTQ+ icons, from Ursula, who was inspired by drag superstar Divine, to Sebastian, the young mermaid's "gay best friend." But the titular, feisty heroine holds special significance to a particularly marginalized group.

  Writing for Marie Claire, Lindsey Romain says Ariel's story is the perfect analogy for the trans experience: "Ariel feels trapped in a body that's foreign to her... She surrounds herself with friends who are also considered outcasts. She's repressed by the expectations placed on her, and oppressed when she lashes out against them."

  "Ariel was always my favorite Disney princess. I always strongly identified with her, probably because we're both trans women," transgender comic Shon Faye concurs. "I mean, I'm just transgender, whereas I guess Ariel is trans-species, but you know, getting here wasn't an easy ride for either of us!"
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  (#11) Mystique

  • Epic Movie, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: The Last Stand, X2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men, Marvel Universe, Earth-11052

  Though you wouldn't know it from any of the X-Men movies in which she's appeared, Mystique has been bisexual since the early '80s in the Marvel comics. The shapeshifting mutant has bedded her fair share of men, but her longest relationship is with another female mutant named Destiny, a fact that writer Chris Claremont was editorially forced to skirt around at the time.

  Together, the pair are an even rarer thing in superhero comics: same-sex parents, adopting the teenage runaway Rogue. Mystique's fluctuating form also makes her important to those who identify as gender fluid, non-binary or trans. 

  "Mystique was born female and possesses a female gender identity, but neither defines her," J. Skyler says on ComicBookBin. "She is as comfortable adopting a masculine persona and living as a man as she is in her natural form — an atypical mindset in a world where sex and gender so rigidly define all cultures and our perception of one another." 
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  (#8) Shego

  • Kim Possible

  If you grew up in the early '00s, your Saturday morning cartoon schedule likely included watching Kim Possible's heated battles against her evil green lookalike Shego. As it turns out, the henchwoman's strength, sensuality, and sassiness resonated with a lot of young queer girls.

  "Throughout the show, the sexual tension between the teenage crime fighter and her main nemesis is palpable," Vice's Kari Paul says. "Also, Shego got her powers after being hit by a RAINBOW COMET. Need I say more?"

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