Is Will Byers Gay? 'Stranger Things' Reddit Theories Explain His Sexuality

With the sexuality of the majority of 'Stranger Things ' characters being rather clear, Will Byers remains a mystery to fans – something that only fuels their interest in who Will fancies, if he fancies anyone at all.

There have been many hints throughout the show pointing at the possibility that Will might be gay, with the cast members also not shying away from teasing it. However, the show itself has never addressed the issue directly, but there is a handful of episodes in 'Stranger Things' that have already been included in the list "Reasons why Will Byers is gay" that exists within a certain part of the fandom.

The first hint that triggered the speculations regarding Will's sexuality was when guys from the Hawkins gang started dating girls, and all Will wanted to do was to go back to play 'Dungeons & Dragons'. At the time, Mike snapped at him with an apparently fateful remark "It's not my fault you don't like girls".

It's unclear to which extent Mike was right, but as of now, Will does not seem to openly display any kind of affection towards anyone, even though fans believe he might be secretly in love with Mike. Their belief ended up being even stronger after Eleven hinted during her narration that Will has been acting "weird" – which, according to her, was because he liked someone. Then, we saw Will making a project about gay mathematician Alan Turing for his school assignment about his personal hero – another clue.

"His school report (of which he's carrying in that picture) is literally about Alan Turing; a gay Mathematician. They couldn't telegraph he's gay any harder unless he was decked out in pride pins and full drag while lip syncing Running Up That Hill," – /Koomaster.

But there is a huge part of the fandom that believes neither those who suspect that Will is gay, nor those who believe he likes girls are right. This camp argues that all clues point to Will belonging to ace spectrum, being rather asexual, aromantic or both.

"I thought this at the start of season 4 before people thought he was gay, having an ace character would be amazing," – /Lordgreyace.

After all, the speculations about Will liking Mike are yet to be confirmed, but Will's lack of interest in romantic relationships has been more than clear, as he has not been seen flirting with either boys or girls, and when people try to approach him romantically, he is quick to backtrack.

However, people are not ready to believe in this kind of ace representation in 'Stranger Things' yet, with many of those who would like to see Will being asexual still sure that he is "written" to be gay, even despite his display of a certain amount of asexuality.

"I think he's written to be gay. And remember Stranger Things takes place in the 80s, which is when the gay rights movement was growing but asexuality isn't widely understood or even known of. While it's possible Will could be both gay and asexual, at this time, he'll only have the language to identify as gay." – /Intelligent_Amoeba88.

In fact, fans seem to be ready for Will to identify himself in any way the creators would wish, should they commit to any sort of representation. After all, ace spectrum does not rule out someone still being attracted to either boys, girls or non-binary people; so, a person can be asexual and gay at the same time.

The chances of it happening in 'Stranger Things' seem to be vague as of now, especially taking into consideration that the events of the show are taking place in the 80s – not exactly the peak of LGBTQ+ rights movement.

"I think that at this point he's very clearly being written to be gay. I've definitely seen a lot of asexuality in his arc (specifically season 3), but him being gay makes sense too. Either way would be cool and would be believable. At this point I'm just worried they won't actually commit to it," – /all-the-happy-yellow.

One of the mysteries posed by season 4 of 'Stranger Things' is Will's painting – something that Eleven believed was for someone Will likes. Chances are it could be Mike, but the show is yet to confirm where Will's storyline is going and how much of love drama it includes – if it does at all.

Volume 2 of 'Stranger Things' season 4 premieres on Netflix on July 1.