Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Geneseo chapter.

Let’s be honest: a lot of us had crushes on characters before. A lot of us probably had crushes on characters that helped us while we were questioning, too. So what characters helped you realize you were queer?

Mia S.

There are just so many… and so many that I’m still remembering as I realize that I didn’t want to be friends with these characters or look like them, but to be dating them. Crazy! The staples in the list are definitely Shego from Kim Possible, Lavagirl from Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Vanessa from Phineas and Ferb, and practically every character from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Knowing that queerness exists as a kid would have really helped me avoid a lifetime of confusion, but that’s a conversation for another time.

Nina Fichera

I could name a few, haha! It’s a little bit of a blur when it comes to when I started figuring out my sexuality, but I think a couple eye-openers that I liked girls and guys were practically every character from the Percy Jackson series, but especially Annabeth and Percy themselves. Around that same time, there was Tohru, Kyo and Hana from Fruits Basket… Then when I started getting into Danganronpa, it was practically every character from that… I’m glad I already had some friends who had come out when I started questioning in junior high, because otherwise I would’ve been so much more confused.

Margaux Carmel

Like most other queer people, I can name so many characters that contributed to my Gay Awakening. My list consists of both Kim Possible and Shego from Kim Possible, all three Hex Girls from Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, and Meg from Hercules. But as a nonbinary trans person, I also have a list of characters that gave me gender envy as a child that I never quite understood until I came out as nonbinary! This list includes Danny Phantom from Danny Phantom, Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Milo Thatch from Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Abby Wendler

There are so many queer awakenings through out my childhood who were always identifed as characters I would love to be friends with. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise is a classic childhood dream “friend.” The Disney channel was stocked full of queer coded females. Selena Gomez playing Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place gave off strong bisexual vibes from her attitude to her bisexual bob hariut. She definitely confused me at a young age along with Kelsi from High School Musical. These characters were more than just pretty faces, they gave off queer energy that drew me in because… we would be great “friends.”

How about you? Can you think of any characters that helped you realize you were queer?

Mia Serritella

Geneseo '22

Mia graduated from SUNY Geneseo in the spring of 2022 after majoring in communication and minoring in cognitive science. When she was not chained to her schoolwork she enjoyed embroidering the mouse from Bear in the Big Blue House, playing the same three songs on the guitar, and prototyping inventions that didn't see the outside of her room.
Nina Fichera

Geneseo '24

Nina Fichera is the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus at Geneseo. She oversees meetings and writes about a variety of topics, such as music (especially K-Pop and Taylor Swift), her experiences as a hopeless romantic, what it's like for her as a writer, and other entertainment-based articles. Outside of Her Campus, Nina is currently a senior with a double major in English (with a Creative Writing concentration) and Adolescent Education (with an English concentration) as well as a minor in Human Development. She was the head fiction editor for the SUNY magazine Gandy Dancer in Spring 2023. In her free time, Nina adores writing to her heart's content, usually in the realm of fiction and fanfiction. She also loves cross-stitch, spending time with her friends, learning K-Pop dances, and reading.
Margaux Carmel

Geneseo '21

Margaux (they/them) is a senior Women and Gender Studies major at SUNY Geneseo. Outside of Her Campus, they work at Geneseo's Office of Diversity and Equity, is on the executive board of Pride Alliance, and is an active Safe Zone trainer. They love to write about diversity, mental health, and environmentalism, with the occasional goofy topic or two (or five). Margaux hopes to someday be the coolest gender studies professor you will ever have.