Sexuality

Sexual orientation was a distinction made in the 20th and 21st centuries, but not as much by the 51st. Sexuality around the 21st century was divided into three main groups: heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual. According to the Seventh Doctor, some people believed that certain genes lead to homosexuality. (PROSE: Utopia) Bernice Summerfield thought that one must at least have suspicions about their sexuality by the age of fifteen. Jason Kane, though — ultimately her husband — identified as a late starter, and did not have the chance to sort it out before he was whisked away from Earth to the planet t'Kao. (PROSE: Death and Diplomacy)

Gwen Cooper thought that being bisexual must be great — "best of both worlds" — but Ianto Jones, who identified as one, said it made him feel insecure, like he belonged nowhere. (PROSE: The Twilight Streets) Even people who identified as heterosexual have been shown to have occasional homosexual tendencies, proving that sexuality was fluid. (TV: Everything Changes, Greeks Bearing Gifts) David Daniels had reportedly "slept with enough straight men to know that hope never died", and did not take someone's choice of category to mean much of anything. (PROSE: Damaged Goods) As Jack Harkness commented to Toshiko Sato upon viewing heterosexual Gwen Cooper kissing Carys, "You people and your quaint little categories." (TV: Day One)

History
According to the Seventh Doctor, the ancient Greeks and Romans linked war with homosexuality. (PROSE: Death and Diplomacy) Though many rumours claimed that William Shakespeare was homosexual, the Ninth Doctor assured Rose Tyler that he was "very straight". He was, in the words of Rose, "hitting on [her]", (COMIC: A Groatsworth of Wit) and did the same with Martha Jones. Despite this, Shakespeare still flirted with the Tenth Doctor as well, who commented, " academics just punched the air." (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

The Ninth Doctor also implied that Christopher Marlowe was interested in men; (COMIC: A Groatsworth of Wit) in fact, Marlowe flirted extensively with Steven Taylor. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)

Homosexuals — labelled as "gays" — were forced to endure homophobia throughout much of their history. Heterosexuality was considered compulsory in many religions, (PROSE: Beyond the Sun) and Christianity denounced homosexuality, leading Angelo Colasanto to believe that God "doesn't hear me". (TV: Immortal Sins) In many states for a period of time, homosexuality was a crime punishable by law. (AUDIO: The Cold Equations)

According to Bernice Summerfield, the 1880s "weren't as enlightened" as her time when it came to sexuality. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire) Around the 1890s, Warren Gadd targeted gays, and attempted to blackmail Oscar Wilde by threatening to reveal his secret. (AUDIO: Beautiful Things) Vastra was insulted when Walter Simeon referred to her and Jenny's intimacy as "suspicious". (TV: The Snowmen) In the 1920s, Roger Curbishley was forced to keep his relationship with Davenport secret, (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp) and Angelo Colasanto was not allowed to join the Three Families because he did not hide his with Jack Harkness. (TV: End of the Road) According to the Seventh Doctor, gays were sent to concentration camps during World War II, along with anyone else even slightly different. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) In 1940s Britain, homosexuality was viewed as heavily abnormal, and Jack shocked everyone around him by dancing with and kissing another man at a goodbye dance at The Ritz. (TV: Captain Jack Harkness) Alan Turing was persecuted for his homosexuality, but strongly believed that it was unalterable and perfectly natural. (PROSE: The Turing Test)

The gay minority was persecuted well into the 1960s, (AUDIO: The Cold Equations) Canton Delaware getting kicked out of the CIA for wanting to marry a black man. (TV: Day of the Moon) "Queer" was a common insult at this time. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three) Another was "poof". (PROSE: Death and Diplomacy) Policewoman Barbara Redworth once saw the corpse of a homosexual, having been murdered by "queer-bashers". (PROSE: The Scales of Injustice) In the 1990s, one version of Samantha Jones identified as the only person in her high school class that didn't think homosexuals "ought to be shot on sight". (PROSE: Alien Bodies)

By the early 21st century, though, homosexuality was more accepted, and children just accepted that some people had two mothers or two fathers. (TV: Children of Earth: Day One) Homophobia still stuck around, though, and people like Rex Matheson maintained the prejudice. (TV: The Categories of Life) When Rex said, "The whole world got screwed because two gay guys had a hissy fit," Gwen Cooper replied, "Rex, get back in your cave." (TV: End of the Road) Bob Campbell linked homosexuality with illegal drugs, and referred to gays' lifestyles impermissible. (PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune)

Around 2030, Fiona, or "Fee", was indifferent about people's sexuality, commenting, "Fine, if that's what turns them on," after being told that two women were lesbians. (PROSE: Warchild) Yuri Kerenski told a story about his brother Mikail and his husband to Maggie Cain in 2059. (TV: The Waters of Mars) In the 26th century — the home era of Professor Bernice Summerfield — bisexuality was the norm. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire) Her society had a "generally unobtrusive ambisexuality". (PROSE: Sky Pirates!) Sky Silvestry casually mentioned a past girlfriend in a conversation with the Tenth Doctor in the 27th century, indicating that homosexuality grew more and more socially acceptable over the centuries. (TV: Midnight)

The people of the 51st century were sexually active with not only both genders, but many different non-human species. John Hart even found himself attracted to an Earth poodle. As the Ninth Doctor quipped, they were "just a bit more flexible when it [came] to dancing." (TV: The Doctor Dances, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) The Thin One and the Fat One declared proudly that they were the "Thin/Fat Gay Married Anglican Marines". (TV: A Good Man Goes to War) By the year 5,000,000,053, same-sex couples were just as common as opposite-sex ones, and both were unremarkable, although New Earth Cat Thomas Kincade Brannigan jokingly called partners Alice and May Cassini sisters, claiming to be old-fashioned. (TV: Gridlock)

The Doctor's companions
Several of the Doctor's companions identified as either homosexual, bisexual or even omnisexual. Izzy Sinclair, though at first keeping her homosexuality secret, effectively came out as a lesbian after swapping bodies with Destrii and gaining a great deal of confidence in the process. (COMIC: Ophidius, Oblivion) Another companion, Oliver Harper, was in fact facing arrest by the Metropolitan Police Service for his homosexuality when he first met the First Doctor in 1966. (AUDIO: The Cold Equations)

Vastra and Jenny Flint were married by Christmas of 1892. This couple was not only same-sex, but different species — Vastra was a Silurian, while Jenny was a human. (TV: The Snowmen)

Chris Cwej, from the 30th century, noted that his society had many sex-related problems, but only "once in a blue moon" did it involve sexual orientation. David Daniels, with whom companion Chris had sex, considered homosexuality "a design flaw in the male species". David tried out heterosexual sex with Joyce Carew at the age of fifteen, just to have the experience. (PROSE: Damaged Goods)

Fitz Kreiner, though he identified as heterosexual, had frequent gay thoughts about the Eighth Doctor, even once dreaming of rubbing buttocks with him in the TARDIS. (PROSE: Halflife) Fitz found himself unable to "look at a babe" without thinking of the Doctor. (PROSE: EarthWorld) While in great danger, his main thought was, in his own words, "getting laid by the Doctor," although he expressed the same thing about Iris, a female Time Lord. (PROSE: The Blue Angel) Fitz considered his love for the Doctor "the real thing". (PROSE: The Book of the Still) The two shared a kiss at least once. (PROSE: Dominion)

Jack Harkness was similarly involved with members of both sexes, outright flirting with nearly everyone. (TV: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Bad Wolf, They Keep Killing Suzie) Owen Harper initially thought him gay, but Toshiko Sato was closer to the truth — "He'll shag anything if it's gorgeous enough." (TV: Day One) Jack kissed both Rose Tyler and the Ninth Doctor good-bye before heading off to his first death, (TV: The Parting of the Ways) and has been romantically involved with at least John Hart, Marcel Proust, Estelle Cole, Angelo Colasanto, the original Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Dead Man Walking, Small Worlds, Immortal Sins, Captain Jack Harkness, Cyberwoman, They Keep Killing Suzie, Children of Earth: Day Four)

Craig Owens' sole objection to the Eleventh Doctor's attempts to kiss him — actually just a way of distracting him from the Cybermen surrounding them — was that he was married. (TV: Closing Time)

Amy Pond believed that Rory Williams was gay simply because he never seemed to show interest in girls — until their soon-to-be-daughter Melody Pond brought to mind that this was because he was only interested in her. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

The Doctor
The Doctor himself did not identify with a sexuality. He kissed Grace Holloway shortly after his regeneration into his eighth incarnation. (TV: Doctor Who) The Eighth Doctor was implied to have had sex with Bernice Summerfield, (PROSE: The Dying Days, AUDIO: Benny's Story) and kissed Fitz squarely on the lips after finding out that he was still alive. (PROSE: Dominion) He even actively flirted with Fitz on occasion: "I'll show you my tattoo if you're lucky." (PROSE: Eater of Wasps)

The Ninth Doctor rejected Jackie Tyler's advances, (TV: Rose) but assured Rose Tyler that, in the 900 years of his life, he had "danced". He flirted with Jack Harkness too, proposing to dance with him, (TV: The Doctor Dances) and promising to give him what Rose Tyler had with Mickey Smith should Jack buy him a drink. (TV: Boom Town) He did not protest a goodbye kiss from the man. (TV: The Parting of the Ways) After getting stranded in the year 200,100 and teleporting to the late 19th century, Jack promised, "First I'm gonna kiss him, and then I'm gonna kill him." (TV: Fragments)

The Tenth Doctor shared a kiss with all his companions — Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble — as well as Madame de Pompadour, Astrid Peth, Christina De Souza and Queen Elizabeth I. (TV: New Earth, Smith and Jones, The Unicorn and the Wasp, The Girl in the Fireplace, Voyage of the Damned, Planet of the Dead, The Day of the Doctor) He proposed that both Martha Frank could kiss him later, as he was busy at the time trying to defeat the Daleks. During the same adventure, Tallulah hypothesised that the reason the Tenth Doctor paid no interest in Martha Jones was because he was "into musical theatre — what a waste". (TV: Daleks in Manhattan)

The Eleventh Doctor, conversely, fought off Amy Pond's attempts to have sex with him. (TV: Flesh and Stone) Though he was married to — and was implied to have an active sexual life with — River Song, (TV: The Wedding of River Song) the Doctor's eleventh incarnation had zero issue with kissing Rory Williams on two occasions, (TV: The Pandorica Opens, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) and nearly kissing Craig Owens on another. In fact, the Doctor and Craig were mistaken for a married gay couple by Val, who took Alfie as their baby. She said, "it's nice for a baby to have two daddies who love each other." (TV: Closing Time)

Others
Charles "Chick" Peters was born with both an X and a Y chromosome like a man, but her body did not respond to the hormones like it should have. She was brought up as a girl by her parents, and only found out her true identity at the age of fifteen. Chick did not have a womb. She dated women, and "never had any complaints" about her female body. Chick identified as a man, and did not consider herself a lesbian. (PROSE: Blue Box) "Pretty Boy" was bisexual, and hated being called effeminate. (PROSE: Combat Rock)

Ianto Jones identified as straight, and actually dated Lisa Hallet before Jack Harkness. (TV: Cyberwoman) Though he claimed to his sister that "it's just him", (TV: Children of Earth: Day One) he had earlier identified as bisexual to Gwen Cooper. (PROSE: The Twilight Streets) Earlier Torchwood members Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd were lesbians in the late Victorian era, and dating. (TV: Fragments)

Two of Iris Wildthyme's companions — specifically, Tom and Jenny — were homosexual. (PROSE: Verdigris)

When Donna Noble was brought to a party in the 1920s, she was disappointed that both Davenport and Roger Curbishley were gay — "Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus." (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp) Donna previously dated a boy who turned out to be gay. Wilfred Mott referred to him as "the one with the nail varnish. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem)

Danny at first denied being gay, and only relented after the soon-to-be Torchwood team repeated the claim multiple times, although he claimed it had only been once. (TV: Rendition)

Not quite ready
In an interview included in the DVD release of The Curse of Fenric, writer Ian Briggs revealed that the story's Dr Judson was intended to be — like the man he was based on, Alan Turing — struggling with his homosexuality, but this was ultimately cut as it was not at the time considered appropriate to discuss such topics in a family programme. Briggs instead transformed Turing's frustration at being unable to express his true sexual identity into Judson's frustration at being crippled.

The "Gay Agenda"
Sexuality was approached fairly often, though, in Doctor Who novels released in the 1990s, and the Doctor received his first televised non-heterosexual companion in 2005 in the form of Captain Jack Harkness. From then on, the programme — not to mention its more adult-oriented spin-off, Torchwood, with Jack in the lead — contained many references to all sexual orientations, and demonstrated the evolution of views towards homosexuality in the future. Some critics have called this show runner Russell T Davies' "gay agenda" — a phrase which Davies himself in an interview called "abhorrent". His intention was not in fact to rally homosexuality, but rather to express that, in his own words, "sexuality is fluid".

The Doctor: asexual?
The question of the Doctor's sexuality was a controversial one. It was fanon for decades that he was ; fans used the Fourth Doctor's line in City of Death that Countess Scarlioni was "probably" beautiful as proof. It was therefore heavily controversial when the Eighth Doctor, in the words of Steven Moffat, "hit puberty" and shared his first kiss with Grace Holloway in the 1996 tele-film. Moffat was in fact completely against the fan theory of the Doctor's celibacy, saying in 1996 that it "flies directly in the face of established continuity".

From the the TV Movie on, the Doctor had an active sexual and romantic life in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures and the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who, rendering any fan rumours of the Doctor's asexuality retroactively moot.