Will the Avatar be Bisexual from Now On?

[Winter]

As of this writing there have been 3 series in Avatar, The Last Airbender/The Legend of Aang, The Legend of Korra and The Rise/Shadow of Kyoshi and of these 3 series 2 had the Avatar as openly Bisexual while the 3d... Hm?

I will admit that I can see Aang as being Bisexual given that he has no real issue with getting VERY close in any and all characters, case in point when he asks Zuko to dance with him and holds his arm in a way that could be seen as romantic. Now, mind you, that was fully intended as a joke and Aang clearly only has eyes for Katara but when Aang shows off he doesn't act any differently regardless of whom he's showing off too.

But the bigger question moving forward is, will any and all Avatar's be openly Bi moving forward? If there is a Kyoshi series adapted from her books then we will have another open bi Avatar as Kyoshi's feeling towards Yun are equal to her feelings for Rangi even though her relationship with Rangi is more explicit.

So, will we see more Avatars bending both ways as it were? I mean, Western Animation has not only gotten more open but also more mature about Same Sex relationships, case in point in Harley Quinn Harley and Ivy's romantic relationship (occasional Girl on Girl jokes from Dr. Psycho notwithstanding) is is, overall, handled very maturely and said relationship is shown to be a major factor to both characters personal arcs.

And it's been that way with the most notable Same-Sex relationships in major series. Steven Universe, She-Ra, The Owl House, Adventure Time and, of course, Korra and Kyoshi. And for that matter will we see more LGBT characters in Avatar besides the series' title character? With TLOK the only confirmed who has been open in the series besides Korra, Asami, Kyoshi and Rangi has been Kya but while other character to have been confirmed is Aiwei and only by Bryke themselves and others still only implied (Wu and Wei).

Thoughts?

[Thebestoftherest]

I guess, although romanace was never the Last airbender strong suit, so take that how you will.

[Winter]

I guess, although romanace was never the Last airbender strong suit, so take that how you will.

I would actually argue that the romance in the series has improved IMMENSELY Post Book 2 Spirits. Before that the only romances I would say were any good were Sukka and Yukka while Kataang and Maiko... Well, unhealthy elements aside (seriously Aang and Mai are kinda $#!tty partners to Katara and Zuko) neither paring had that much chemistry and didn't really work that well on paper either IMO. I mean Katara shows almost no real romantic interest in Aang throughout the series and Zuko doesn't even mention Mai throughout seasons 1 and 2 before suddenly hooking up with her in Book 3... Off-screen... And was the result of Azula manipulating them into getting together to have more control over her brother... Yeah that's a whole bag of messed up if you think about it for to long.

But After Spirits the romance noticeably improved relying less on generic "Will They, Won't They" plots and become more organic and nuanced which was helped by the parings having honestly really good romantic chemistry, IMO. Bopal, Kainora and, of course, Korrasami where all fun to watch and seeing how they have remained popular and engaging in the sequel comics it proves that it works just as much onpaper as it does onscreen. Hell I think Turf Wars, as a romance, is really underrated and while it does have its issues it feels more believable and engaging then Air's romance at the start of the series.

And the Kyoshi novels? (French Chef Kiss) Wonderful and just a joy to read and I would LOVE to see it onscreen. Even the relationship between Kyoshi and Yun works as a Star-Crossed Lovers story and is honestly very well written.

So, while I do agree that the first 5 seasons weren't the best in terms of Romance the later two seasons and the Kyoshi novels AND the Korra sequel comics are all very well written as they do what romance SHOULD. Advances the characters arcs in a way that complements the arcs they have already.

[Beelzquill]

Eh, from a meta, "Will the writers make the Avatar bisexual from now on going forward?" Maybe, but I personally think it's better for the Avatar to be a completely new person each reincarnation and thus possibly be gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, and etc. I mean, why should the Avatar be the same sexuality everytime?

[Winter]

Eh, from a meta, "Will the writers make the Avatar bisexual from now on going forward?" Maybe, but I personally think it's better for the Avatar to be a completely new person each reincarnation and thus possibly be gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, and etc. I mean, why should the Avatar be the same sexuality everytime?

Well, we do see key characteristics of the Avatar caring over from one reincarnation to another. Picking their favorite toys, that silly goofy grin, having issues with authority a love for exploring, having very little patients and sticking with found families. These are universal traits that we've seen in every incarnation so far, so why wouldn't they all be bi as well? Though I do find it funny that every Avatar we've seen has mainly ended up with a woman, looks like that Avatar does always get the girl. XD

But in all seriousness the Avatar can be whatever the writer wants them to be which opens the door to more story potential which I think is one of the reasons why LGBT characters have been becoming the norm in main stream animated series. Take the Owl House, if this was released back in the early 10's if a love interest for Luz was to be made it would HAVE to be a male character for her meaning either Gus would be aged up or a new character would be created JUST to be a love interest (like Mako in TLOK). But now Luz can be portrayed as openly Bi AND her main love interest can be a girl whom she has the most romantic chemistry with and Amity can be presented as openly gay.

Korrasami works on so many levels and, IMO, works BETTER then Kataang. They're a great example of opposites attract and bids of a feather and they just had great chemistry and by the end of Book 3 they had become the single most popular paring in the series as a whole with only Zutara being able to match them.

But I would also be okay with the Avatar being Asexual and not ending up with anyone in a romantic relationship. Again, let the Avatar be whoever the writer wants them to be.

[Rocketboy1313]

This is sort of like the Trill on Star Trek. In that once you have been multiple things you are more open.
Once you have memories of being every gender and sex in countless different social orders from all of history... Your sexuality is a hell of a lot more flexible than what our early 21st century paradigm is willing to understand.

[CharlesPhipps]

Well, two Avatars were bisexual.

Korra and Kiyoshi. Both established in the comics that way with Korra learning Kiyoshi was. Which apparently means that it was notable among the Avatars she knows about.

The reincarnation thing is more Mage: The Ascension than actual spiritual practices. Aang is a separate dude from Korra, hence their wildly different personalities.

They just both have a God Spirit inside them.

[Draco Dracul]

Well, two Avatars were bisexual.

Korra and Kiyoshi. Both established in the comics that way with Korra learning Kiyoshi was. Which apparently means that it was notable among the Avatars she knows about.

The reincarnation thing is more Mage: The Ascension than actual spiritual practices. Aang is a separate dude from Korra, hence their wildly different personalities.

They just both have a God Spirit inside them.

I mean that is how it works in most spiritual practices as well. Different incarnations share the same soul, but are different people. Sharing the spirit Raava allows the memories of past Avatars to be preserved and be manifested as a separate conciousness.

[hammerofglass]

Most people are bisexual in real life, at least a bit. If we're defining it broadly enough that Korra briefly dating a guy counts, anyway. We wouldn't have that cultural tradition of "experimenting in college doesn't count when discussing orientation" if that weren't true.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Sounds like a good idea to me.