There has been speculation and theories since Season One of Stranger Things that there may be a gay or lgbt character on Stranger Things. The character in question is Will Byers. Here are 7 Reasons why people believe Will Byers may be a gay character:
*The Stranger Things Bible
If you’re unfamiliar, the ST Bible is the original pitch book for the series (back when it was called Montauk). It’s what the creators of the show used to sell the show to various networks. Yes, it is real. The Duffer Brothers (The Shows creators) have talked about it before.
Click Link Below to read ST Bible (FYI - the website takes a long time to load):
http://www.zen134237.zen.co.uk/Stranger_Things/Stranger_Things_-_Bible.pdf
Now this pitch book includes everything from the first episodes script, to the setting details... and even the character descriptions. Most of them were fairly similar, with a few exceptions. but Will was not one of those exceptions. His description is actually extremely similar to the show. Check out Will’s description on Page 13 & 14.
The only part of Will Byers description that has not been yet shown in the show is the first sentence, but it’s safe to say that they didn’t change that part either, due to the amount of evidence proving so. This is a valid piece of evidence, because it proves that even at some point in the making of the show, the Duffers highly considered making Will canon gay. They considered it enough that they even included it in the pitch book. It was very clearly set early on that they wanted Will to be gay.
*Will’s Disappearance
This is a bit of the original pitch book script from when Joyce reports Will missing to Hopper. It’s fairly similar to the final script in season one, except they cut out a few lines:
Something I wanted to mention from this was the fact that Joyce even points out his clothes, that Lonnie called him that. Maybe it’s because Joyce knew Will didn’t run away. She knew something happened to him. Maybe she thought that his sexuality made him a target. Idk just a thought. The whole lonnie thing brings us into my next point...
*The Bullying
I’ll start first with Lonnie. According to Joyce, he constantly called Will the F slur. It’s not the only time Will’s been called this before. In fact, it seems like it’s public knowledge. Everyone at school knew about it, steve knew, even Troy’s dad knew. So obviously something big happened to spark this. There’s no way that it sparked from nothing. Will obviously did/said something that made Lonnie believe that he was gay. Lonnie tells his friends, his friends tell their kids... idk that’s just a theory.
Now onto the School Bullies in Season 1: Troy and James. They had a specific nickname for each of the kids. Mike was Frogface, Dustin was Toothless, Lucas was Midnight, and Will was queer/fairy. Each of the other boys have insults that fed off something true...
Mike kinda does look like a frog. Dustin actually didn’t have any front teeth. Lucas is black. So it’s pretty safe to say that Will’s was true as well. This was definitely the Duffers’ intentions. That wasn’t an accident. They could’ve given any other insult to Will. They could’ve made fun of his haircut, his family life, literally anything, but they chose gay slurs. Don’t you think that means something?
*The Snowball
This is where the major evidence kicks in. Basically, the fact that Will danced with a girl does not make him straight. In fact, Will didn’t even WANT to. When the girl asked him, he said “I don’t” and then changed his mind because MIKE TOLD HIM TO. If Mike wasn’t there by him, he would’ve said no. Also, he is super awkward for the entire dance. His arms are stiff, he’s as far as humanly possible from the girl. It’s even written in the script that it’s awkward. Also, if he were straight, the Duffers would’ve made HIM ask her to dance, or would’ve made them 1000x less awkward together.
The script above proves that Will didn’t want to dance with her, at all. It also definitely seems intentional to have Mike’s name right there. They could’ve just said “Mike is dancing with Eleven.”, but they made it look like a continuation of the last part. It flows perfectly, so yes, it was intentional and Will’s eyes were on Mike the whole time.
Another major clue is the song lyric choice. In the final few shots, all of the lyrics had a specific second meaning. “Every vow you break” played while the camera was on Nancy, because she broke a vow when she lied about loving Steve. “I’ll be watching you” was played on Lucas and Max, because Max calls Lucas a stalker. The title of the song “Every Breath you Take” was about the mind flayer, because he’s spying on them at the dance. “Every Smile You Fake” played on Will, while he was noticeably fake smiling. I don’t have a pic of it because Netflix won’t let me screenshot but you can rewatch that scene and see it. He even kinda looks like he wants to cry. Also, if he were straight, wouldn’t the girl have had a name?
*The Rainbows in a lot of scenes
In a lot of scenes, there’s a rainbow to be found somewhere. The rainbow is a famous symbol for gay pride. The rainbow poster, the hair clip, the Rainbow Ship, the bandaid (from the byers house)... All of those either relate to Will or the Byers.
*Will and Jonathan’s Conversations
They have two conversations like this in the entire show. I know we were robbed of more byers brothers content, but whatever. These two scenes parallel each other a lot. they’re almost identical. Both times, Will is a little down on himself and Jonathan gives him a big long speech about how being different/a freak is okay, even great. I’m sorry but this just screams “I know you’re gay and that’s perfectly okay and I still love you no matter what.” One of the lines in the first scene is “you shouldn’t like things just because people tell you you’re supposed to.”
that line also screams “you shouldn’t have to like girls just because that’s what society wants.”
*Everyone on the show has a relationship except Will
He’s never been shown having a crush on a girl, while every SINGLE character on this show has been shown having a crush on a girl, except Will. Don’t tell me it’s because he’s going through a lot. Nancy’s friend died, she still had a crush on Jonathan. Eleven just escaped a lab that was treating her like an animal for 12 years, she still had a crush on Mike. There have been plenty of flashbacks and times where he could’ve been shown liking a girl. He didn’t show any signs of romantic interest in the snowball girl. He just pretended to have fun so she wouldn’t be sad, even though she called him “Zombie Boy”. If the girl has a crush on will, no evidence whatsoever that he returned the feelings. He didn’t show any sign that he liked Max. The Duffer Brothers clearly favor the love storylines. If they wanted him to be straight, they wouldn’t they have made it so he had a crush on a girl, even though he was going through a lot?
*So what do you think? Do you believe Will is gay? Why or why not?