Homosexuality in Daria
One of the most asked questions in Daria fandom (particularly the older male part): "Are Daria and Jane lesbians?" Do the sixty-five episodes, two movies and two canon publications imply or prove outright that either Daria or Jane are gay? (For fanfic speculations on the same issue, see Slash.)
Generally, any two same-sex characters on television seen as having a fondness for each other's company are sometimes seen as gay (Kirk and Spock, Cagney and Lacey, Xena and Gabrielle, Starsky and Hutch, etc). Jokes about Daria and Jane being lesbians abound on the Internet, though a lesbian blogger at After Ellen once marked Daria as a character that struck her as gay.
The show writers knew of the debate and in two sections of the Sarcastathon 3000 framing sequences, they mock them: Daria not wanting to be seen nude near Jane because of "those rumours about us" and the two being drawn as a bride and groom.
Affirmative Arguments
Daria and Jane seem to spend time exclusively with each other for the first three seasons. We see neither of them spending any significant time with their opposite-sex counterparts at school until Tom Sloane appears. Even given that, after "The Kiss" Jane and Daria show more concern about their lost friendship than with losing/gaining Tom.
Glenn Eichler said in a June 2005 interview that Jane could be "straight and curious," and left open the door to speculation for either character.
On more specious grounds, you can argue that Jane's painting at Ashfield in Is It Fall Yet? depicts a figure trapped in a safe. This could imply that Jane is "closeted" and unable to come to terms with her true feelings about her sexuality; also that whenAlison told Jane she never "hit on straight chicks", she really had picked a 'sign' up. Jane does go on to get freaked out and have doubts about herself after that encounter.
Negative Arguments
Jane explicitly tells Alison she isn't gay and flees the room, and will later say Alison had told her she "give[s] off gay vibes" just to manipulate her into bed.
She also dated only boys during the series: Evan, Tom Sloane, Nathan the retro guy, and she had a brief make-out in "The Invitation" and was attracted by Upchuck's cousins in "Daria Dance Party".
Daria and Jane both deny being lesbians as show hosts on MTV's Daria Day Marathon, an "off-canon canon" scee:
- Daria: Okay, we're back with an online question from Brian H.
- Jane: "Dear Daria, are you a lesbian? If so, would you be interested in acting in a film?" Wow.
- Daria: Brian, I'm not a lesbian. But if you think you have to be a lesbian to play a lesbian, then you must think Tom Cruise drinks the blood of virgins.
- Jane: Um, bad example.
- Daria: Huh? Oh yeah, but you know what I mean.
- Jane: I'm a lesbian!
- Daria: You are not.
- Jane: I know, but I want to be in a movie.
Other Characters
We know that Kevin Thompson and Jeffy have some homophobia. Jeffy's English essay in "Lucky Strike" argues that Mercutio has "a thing" and then argues that he needs to be kept out of the locker room. On his MTV website, Kevin made it clear he wasn't gay when he assured us "not that I notice guy butts, no way. In the shower I just stare at the tiles. Uh, this is making me uncomfortable."
In a curious alter-ago picture at the end of the TV movie, Is It College Yet?, Lindy and Alison were depicted in a scene on a farm with a number of children, implying that they were a lesbian couple with a family.