Today I Learnt: What Is Queer Coding?

Ever since Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 has been out, the audience has gone berserk . But the show's new series has raised a lot of questions and one of them is Will's sexuality. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has no love interest in the show yet which has sparked rumours about him being gay.

While the actors, including Noah himself, have left it upon the viewers to decide the sexuality of the character, the showrunners said Will's sexuality will be addressed by the end of the season. Whatever may be the case, Will sure does seem queer coded.

Queer coding is the act of using subtext to code a character in media as queer. The process of queer coding entails applying characteristics associated with queerness to a character, without ever confirming it. Like many narrative devices, queer coding is not inherently positive or negative. The way queer coding is applied determines whether it is negative or positive.

History of Queer Coding

The idea of queer coding might be a product of the strict regulations dictating how queer characters were portrayed. The Motion Picture Production Code, popularly known as Hays Code was a set of industry guidelines for self-censorship of content. It was adopted in 1930 and began being rigidly enforced from 1934 to 1968. It was applied to most United States motion pictures released in that period. According to the code, films could not portray “perverse” subjects such as homosexuality. This led to the portrayal of queer coded characters that were never stated to be explicitly queer.

The Celluloid Closet is a documentary focusing on the history of how motion pictures portrayed queer characters. It was one of the first instances that presented the idea of queer coding to the public. The documentary interviews people connected to the Hollywood industry and discussed various film clips and the treatment of LGBTQ+ characters.

Queer Coding In Media

Directors would tell actors to play their characters as queer, even though they were not explicitly stated to be queer in the film. Characters possessed certain characteristics that are usually associated with queerness such as style, mannerisms, or phrases.

Tropes surrounding LGBTQ+ people became the norm in popular media. The Sissy Villain Trope is a trope where male villains are given traditionally feminine traits such as flamboyant mannerism, delicate voice, and amazing fashion sense. Disney villains often use this trope for their villains such as Scar from The Lion King and Hades from Hercules. The male villains are portrayed as more feminine and flamboyant than the heroes. Since queerness in men is often associated with femininity, the queer coding sends a message that queer men are villainous and less ‘manly’.

Popular Examples Of Queer Coded Characters

Villainous sea witch Ursula from The Little Mermaid is based on drag queen Divine and is one of the most popular examples of a queer coded character. Ursula’s fashion sense, figure, eyelashes, and love for jewellery were inspired by Divine.

His Infernal Majesty referred to as HIM is a demonic villain on Powerpuff Girls. HIM dresses in pink tulle, skirt, and high heel boots. HIM’s dressing style and flamboyant nature is coded as queer, effectively coding him as queer.

Xena: Warrior Princess was a popular fantasy television series that acquired a cult following over the years. The titular character Xena (played by Lucy Lawless) was queer coded. Xena was never confirmed to be queer in the television series but was portrayed as having masculine interests and demeanour. Add that with her general disinterest in men and her intimate relationship with Gabrielle (played by Renee O’Connor), the character is heavily queer coded.

Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship was supported by both the cast and the creators, which is why it is not considered a negative example of queer coding. In an interview, Lawless revealed that she believed that Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship was “definitely gay”.

Ryan Evans from the High School Musical franchise is another popular example of a queer coded character. Director Kenny Ortega based Ryan’s character on his own adolescence saying “I see a lot of myself in Ryan. Yeah, I knew I was gay in high school, but I didn't tell anybody". After the franchise ended, one of the writers David Simpatico described Ryan as “coded gay”.

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