I’m a Villain-Coded Queer

Adopting the aesthetics of evil as a gesture of queer pride.

Much has been written about the problem of queer-coded villains. For most LGBTQ people, our first glimpses of self-recognition in media are also major vectors of shame. Many writers have explored how these glimpses harm us, how they taught us to associate our identities and desires with danger.

Comparatively little, however, has been written about being a queer person and choosing to villain-code yourself. This is a phenomenon I have witnessed in dozens of lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, and asexual friends over the years, and one I experience personally as well. Looking like a bad guy is a huge part of queer aesthetics and fashion. It’s a powerful form of LGBTQ defiance. It’s a way to co-opt the horror and stigma that society has foisted upon us, to render it glittery and glamorous.

Villain-coded queer people cover ourselves in black and adorn our clothes with spikes; we cover our eyes and lips in dark shades and glare at everyone we presume to be straight on the bus. We long for capes, vampire teeth, and red contacts that suggest demonic possession. We admire the glamorous, comfortable lives of fictional gay supervillains, who live on the fringes of…