Queer Representation in Webcomics

Presented by Kate, one part of the duo named AstroBio Babes, which hosted multiple panels at Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA), this panel explored queer representation specifically in media. Kate, who is queer herself, went over a short history of queer representation from as early as 1868 to today, discussed why visibility matters, and offered a list of webcomics featuring queer themes and characters that she would recommend.

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History of queer representation in media

To start things off on Kate’s exploration of queerness in media, Karl Kertberry was the first person to publish the word “homosexuality” back in 1868. In 1870, a book called Joseph & His Friend was published, featuring the special attachment between two men. Was this gay? Or was this “male spirituality” (a direct quote)? About 26 years later, test footage from the Dickson Experimental Sound Film—where they were trying to record sound and movement for the first time on film—showed two men dancing closely. But there are doubts that this is true gay representation on film; men, especially when going on long tours, would often entertain themselves by dancing with each other. Beyond these iffy instances of representation, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Germany produced many examples of queer media—the first gay and lesbian magazines and the first pro-gay and pro-lesbian films. Unfortunately, with the takeover by the Nazis, Germany reverted these sentiments, and it wasn’t until the 1950s that we see the “homophile years” when many lesbian-centric books were published, such as The Price of Salt and Spring Fire. In the 60s, a lot of queer content was released via periodicals, comic strips, and magazines because these were less expensive and easier to publish than books or films. And this sentiment seems to continue on today, with queer representation through webcomics.

But while we’ve seen an increase in representation over the years, it’s obvious we still have a long way to go. GLADD releases a yearly report which analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series regulars and looks at the number of LGBTQ+ characters on cable networks and streaming services. Kate went over a few of the statistics reported, including the fact that 88.6% of characters were straight in 2022 and The CW was the broadcast network with the highest percentage of queer characters (though we all know that The CW’s representation of queer people hasn’t been the best, so take that with a grain of salt). But if you want to see the full report, you can access it here.

Why visibility matters

The point here is, and the question Kate asks is, why does visibility matter? Kate uses herself as an example—she didn’t know what asexuality was until she was in college. I’m sure a lot of us have a very similar experience; I know I do. And a big part of why that happened was because of the lack of representation and the large prevalence of the heterosexual, nuclear family—mom, dad, and kids.

In a large part due to the lack of representation we see, Kate warns about “the burden of representation.” This essentially means that, for any marginalized group, the pressure on the individual to represent the whole is greater. For example, Kate was very open about being queer during a job interview and, a week later, was asked to run the pride club.

And the thing that LGBTQ groups have been guilty of until relatively recently is this idea of the “model minority.” Essentially if you were not a white, gay, middle-class man, your version of queerness was less desirable and less able to be put out in the public. If you didn’t fit in that box, they didn’t care. Once again, we’re making progress, but still have a ways to go, especially when we still see a lot of queer, problematic tropes in media, such as the gay best friend, the fact that every queer character has to have a sad backstory or tragic ending, the bi-erasing bisexual, the unsettling gender reveal, and general queer baiting.

But in the end, what’s beautiful about queer culture and people is that we make the rules for ourselves; we are valid, and we know we matter. So, when you’re looking at any piece of media, including webcomics, some things to think about when it comes to queer representation are: who created this media, what is the purpose, whose voices and interests are being represented, and, more importantly, whose is being left out? What do the images and narratives being deployed say about queer people? Are they trying to feed into those existing tropes and problematic stereotypes? Or are they trying to break those barriers? If the representation in question features humor, are queer people in on the humor, or are they the joke? Just food for thought.

Webcomics featuring queer themes

But as mentioned earlier, periodicals, magazines, and comics have historically been easy ways for queer creators to get their stories out into the world. So, in our modern digital age, the equivalent that we see a lot of queer representation passed through is webcomics. So here’s Kate’s list of webcomics to check out: