http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WordOfGay

This entry is trivia, which is cool and all, but not a trope. On a work, it goes on the Trivia tab.

Gore Vidal, Palimpsest , Palimpsest "I was driving over the speed limit on the Taconic Parkway when a state trooper stopped me. He recognized me from television; gave me a warning instead of a summons; then asked, 'That guy in Suddenly, Last Summer ; he was a queer wasn't he?' I said yes, and had it not been for the all-powerful Roman Catholic Legion of Decency, the audience would have been let in on the secret."

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When Word of God explains that a character was actually LGBTQ outside of the series, choosing to keep them Ambiguously Gay (at most) in the actual story.

This may be because of Media Watchdogs, local laws preventing stories with gay characters from being sold, or fear of backlash. It can also be due to Conservation of Detail. On the other hand, most readers will assume a character is heterosexual when their orientation isn't developed in text. Thus, this may be a publicity appeal to a gay audience while not upsetting that part of the audience who feels uneasy about this. Or it could just be one big publicity stunt.

To LGBT fans and allies, it can come off as a cop-out: Saying "Oh, guess what? Bob, whom we never hinted about in the slightest? Totally gay!" after the series is safely over is not an adequate substitute for having the courage to actually include LGBT characters. Others, however, don't really mind since it allows the character to be seen for more than just their LGBT status, and avoids stereotypical portrayals or the character being defined by being LGBT and nothing more. It also works well for a series that isn't focused on romance of any kind.

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There is an inversion of this trope, Word of Straight, mainly associated with Queer Media works. This is where a character whose orientation is undefined, under-defined or assumed to be gay, is revealed by the creator to actually be straight. And if the creator doesn't think it's appropriate to ship the character with anyone, there can even be Word of Ace (i.e. that they're asexual).

A Relationship Reveal is often another way to out an ambiguously gay character. See also Homoerotic Subtext.

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Examples:

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Anime & Manga

Comic Books

Fan Works

Films — Animation

Films — Live-Action

Literature

Live-Action TV

Radio

Hercules Grytpype-Thynne of The Goon Show. It was never mentioned on air because being gay was illegal in Britain in the 1950s, although Peter Sellers often played him as very camp. He was 'outed' in the official biography in the first volume of Goon Show Scripts, c.1972

Theater

In the musical Hamilton, during the song "My shot", Alexander Hamilton tells new friend John Laurens "Laurens, I like you a lot". Creator Lin Manuel Miranda (who also plays Alexander), confirmed that this line was supposed to imply that Laurens and Hamilton were in fact more than friends. Historians have speculated to this effect, especially using letters that could easily be viewed as romantic. [1]

Be More Chill writer, Joe Tracz confirmed that the removal of Michaels girlfriend from the book and other references to him liking girls in the musical was intentional.

Video Games

Web Animation

RWBY: Kai Ziegler has stated that they think an unnamed character they played, known only as "First Mate", is non-binary.

Webcomics

Web Original

Western Animation