Wasn't sure if I should wait for hero 52, but I would LOVE to hear your gender/sexuality headcanons for the whole cast if that's ok
When it comes to gender/sexuality headcanons for Overwatch, I'm very much a 'multishipper' in that I love getting invested in all different kinds of headcanons. That being said, thanks for enabling me teehee~
List of all 52 heroes with my favorite headcanons for them beneath the cut! In current selection screen order.
Tank
D.va: pansexual demigirl but so deep in the closet she may never return. She's been pressured since she was a teen to maintain a perfect, untouchable girly image. I've seen a lot of meta around her inability to have a "real" relationship owing to her idol status; every personal connection she tries to have being snapped up and carefully cultivated by her PR managers. . . D.va wouldn't be allowed to be queer, if queer means "being true to yourself", and not just being allowed to date a girl to excite the tabloid magazines.
Domina: It feels wrong to say she's 'bitsexual' but I do believe that every indicator she might give about her gender but especially her sexuality is carefully curated to advance her goals and increase rapport with whomever she's with. She'll flirt with anyone to get what she needs. But if she actually sat down and thought critically about her gender and sexual identity. . . she wouldn't be able to find an answer. I think she'd laugh it off.
Doomfist: Cisgender demiromantic/demisexual. He's extremely guarded and keeps everyone at arm's length (pun not intended). Hell, I'd call him demiplatonic- it takes a while for anyone to get close enough for him to consider them an equal. His preferred relationship with others is superior/subordinate.
Hazard: Cis guy but queer as fuck about it. Regular crossdressing/drag enjoyer to me. Pansexual icon. Both of these took some time for him to really discover- the older Phreaks remember how timid he'd been when he first joined their ranks.
Junker Queen: Proud women enjoyer but otherwise doesn't think about labels at all. Doesn't tolerate gendered insults though- if you're going to insult her, do it for real, not just because she has boobs.
Mauga: aromantic bisexual as fuck to me. Doesn't really understand the whole hype around romantic attraction, but appreciates a good view when he sees one. Him and Baptiste were definitely an item.
Orisa: Doesn't have any labels, in part because she thinks that such attraction is outside of her purpose. This will change in her future. Proud bearer of she/her pronouns and she enjoys exploring girlhood alongside Efi.
Ramattra: Considers human labels for gender to be irrelevant to Omnics. . . but utilizes he/him pronouns and male monikers in most languages after being impressed by Zenyatta's thoughtful interpretation of masculinity. "Brother" is a cherished term for him and he misses being called it. As for orientation- panromantic sex-repulsed asexual. He chafes that he has to use human terms for it but gave up trying to invent his own. Sorts romantic attraction purely by compatibility of personality, never looks. Someone needs to introduce him to the concept of queer-platonic relationships right now, I think it'd resonate with him more than anything else ever has.
Reinhardt: As happy as I am that Anahardt is canon. . . I miss my aro/ace Reinhardt headcanons, boss. I really do. Anyways, he's cisgender but has fun crossdressing sometimes for fun.
Roadhog: Gay. Appreciates a femboy. Cisgender. Gets his strongest gender euphoria from body odor, fixing his motorcycle, or rarely, a good cologne.
Sigma: Before his accident, he liked being perceived as a very prim representative of the male sex. Cared little about a potential partner's hardware and cared more about if they would allow him to take care of them- but struggled to make most human connection without some sort of financial incentive involved. I think he sugar daddy'd is what I'm trying to say. If asked directly, he might tell you that he 'swings both ways' or 'simply enjoys good company'. Post-accident? Neither gender nor sexuality has remotely crossed his mind. Wouldn't be able to give you an answer if you asked him.
Winston: This poor guy's sexuality is fucked and he knows it. Feels his 'lab experiment' status most keenly when it comes to this topic in particular. He'd give anything to woo a cute human woman but is simultaneously mortified by the idea. Got dangerously close to the incel movement via a rabbithole of online messageboards before he realized it was a mistake. He's just thankful he doesn't feel any gender dysphoria on top of it all- he's happy being male.
Wrecking Ball: Sexually identifies as a menace and is whatever sexuality is required for his current bit to land. All of this masks the angst of his 'lab experiment' status- that he's resigned himself to be romantically/sexually alone for the rest of his life. During low moments he debates the ethics of taking a non-sapient hamster partner just for physical pleasure vs attempting to have a human partner for emotional fulfillment.
Zarya: Cisgender heterosexual! Controversial, I know. Loves her a good femboy. A simple woman who knows what she wants. Metatextually, I headcanon her this way because she was labeled as a 'dyke' by gamergate dudes in 2016 as a very hostile thing against her character. I think it's more subversive to explore how a cishet woman doesn't have to have a singular expected presentation in order for her identity to be valid.
Damage
Anran: Trans lesbian! Purely for the bit that she and Wuyang often fall for the same girl. She transitioned pretty young; Wuyang's only ever really known her as 'older sister'.
Ashe: Cis+ lesbian. Experimented with her gender upon becoming an outlaw and decided she was still happiest as a woman. She adores the aesthetic of masc clothing + full face of makeup, it's her favorite. And I'm claiming her for the lesbians because I'm biased. . .
Bastion: NONBINARY BASTION SUPREMACY. BASTION IS NOT HE/HIM I SWEAR TO GOD BLIZZARD I'M GOING TO NUKE YOUR HQ FROM ORBIT. They canonically used exclusively it/its pronouns, even in dev interviews and in-game text tips, for half of Overwatch's entire existence as a franchise, in deliberate contrast to all the other Omnic characters who use gendered pronouns. Okay, rant over. As for their sexuality- I think they struggle to discern romantic feelings from platonic ones. Someone needs to introduce them to queer platonic relationships, the concept would really resonate with them.
Cassidy: Trans man. Bisexual icon. He's been widely headcanoned this way since 2016 I think and I find myself agreeing with this fanon. As a character who's canonically used a lot of names I think the idea that he chose his name really fits him. The fact that he sticks to a particularly rigid masculine archetype and finds great joy in playing the role feels really queer to me. We love him for it.
Echo: Currently incapable of feeling romantic and sexual attraction but she can most certainly learn! Identifies as female because that's what Dr. Liao assigned her at her creation.
Emre: I'm really really torn between him being cis or trans. I can see him both ways. Either way, his masculinity is that effortless, beautifully positive kind. . . he doesn't have to work hard to cultivate it, it's a byproduct of his usual modus operendi of being a Big Damn Hero for everyone in his life. As for sexuality, I think he thought he was straight for a while until a particular rude awakening. He's bisexual, mostly attracted to femme people but meeting a guy who manages to be larger than him makes him all hot and bothered. Back in the day, he got a lot of gender euphoria from being a protector. These days. . . he's forced to be more experimental. The eyeliner was an unexpected euphoria win.
Freja: Cis woman with gnarly hormone issues and a tenuous relationship with femininity beyond the superficial aesthetics of womanhood. Extremely happy with her current looks, but has always felt that she doesn't "act" like a woman enough. Buries this along with the rest of her feelings. The most demiromantic demiheterosexual to ever exist. Didn't realize she had feelings for Emre until she found herself offering to join Talon with him.
Genji: I think Genji should be Overwatch's first canon he/they and I'm not even joking. I think that even back before his cybernization, he always had a very casual and fluid relationship with his masculinity. Enby as fuck is what I'm trying to say. Doesn't care to put a label on his sexuality. He treats crushes on a case-by-case basis (when they don't sneak up on him, that is!)
Hanzo: Cis aro/ace but so deep in the closet he may never return. His family expected him to court women and produce potential heirs, so that's what he tried. Always thought something was horribly wrong with him whenever he couldn't return the affections of his arranged partners. After killing Genji, he thought he was something fundamentally broken. A sociopath, maybe. Still feels broken to this day. Hopefully Genji or Kiriko can enlighten him- even if getting him to talk about his lack of romantic inclinations would be like pulling teeth.
Junkrat: He's intersex but has no idea since he hasn't had the right medical imaging to get diagnosed, nor would he care to. He's simply always felt more effeminate than his peers and he's fine with that! Drag Queen Junkrat is my current character bible for him. Unapologetically queer. Gay as hell. Good for him.
Mei: Considers herself cishet but hasn't really explored her identity much. Is absolutely terrified of standing out or having to ask for anything, and that extends to her gender presentation. Thankfully she enjoys being a cute girl, so she doesn't have dysphoria. As for her sexuality, friends in the past have joked that she's married to her work. She'd probably find herself somewhere on the ace spectrum (graysexual, perhaps) if she self-reflected for a little bit.
Pharah: Lesbian. Had a heavy butch phase in college but got back into a more feminine presentation after Ana "died" and she got udjat tattoo. She could fall onto the bigender spectrum if she wanted to, but prefers not to seek a hyper-specific label.
Reaper: Raging bisexual. Was professional with people he doesn't know well but joke-flirted with every gender of close friend. These days he still has opinions, but categorically refuses to act on them. As for gender- theater kid. Technically cis male but willing to suspend or increase his masculinity for dramatic purposes. These days he identifies more as an amorphous blob that imitates masculinity, though.
Sierra: Calls herself bi but leans heavily in attraction towards women. Cis in a really effortless, positive femininity sort of way. She has similar energy to pre-everything Emre to me, but for being femme instead of masc.
Sojourn: Femme-attracted, regardless of sex- probably calls herself pansexual for ease of reference. She's cis but needs estrogen HRT due to issues with her reproductive system from her autoimmune disease. Feels a close kinship with trans women because of it.
Soldier 76: Cis gay! Always knew he was gay since he was a little kid, which his family got a kick out of. Otherwise tries to be very stereotypically masculine, especially upon joining and leading Overwatch. Not that he thinks feminine people can't be leaders- but that he projects his own masculinity as a bit of a shield.
Sombra: this woman can be so transgender to me. Enjoys playing at girlishness as a performance, largely for personal satisfaction, though she's not above the occasional femme fatal move to get something she needs. She's sexually attracted to AMAB bodies but thinks that men are so fucking lame. Give her a femboy or a tgirl, stat!
Symmetra: I want to claim her for the lesbians. . . I think realistically she struggles to discern when she's feeling sexual attraction, but does know that she feels it. She's the type to realize three hours later that, oh shit, she really found that woman attractive- but she struggles to identify/act on it in the moment. As for her gender, she's cis for convenience but doesn't feel strongly one way or the other.
Torbjorn: my cishet king. Has never needed to question his identity. Blessed with self-confidence. Count me jealous.
Tracer: cis lesbian!! Proud proud futch. Yes I know the butch/femme spectrum was meme'd to death but I don't care. Neither does she. She's a butch who's femme. Cis, but only in a way that her gender is so closely aligned with her sapphic nature.
Vendetta: I think in her early adulthood she had a lot of inconsequential flings with dudes, but learned quickly after her father died to batten down the hatches and never show affection vulnerability. I think she could be interested in women if she tried, but she's not interested in exploring that right now. As for gender, I'm going to say cis but that could be subject to change.
Venture: our they/them causing mayhem!!! I think they came out as nonbinary in high school. If you ask them if they lean more bigender or agender they'd just smirk and shrug. They just Are. As for sexuality. . . the most recent pride comic has me thinking they're ace for sure.
Widowmaker: HOLY MOTHER OF REPRESSION, she's cishet because she literally does not have the capacity at the moment to question otherwise. Strict family -> strict job -> strict brainwashing pipeline. Poor woman. Giving her a hug (if she wouldn't kill me first).
Support
Ana: Cishet. People joked that she was Reyes and Morrison's third wheel. Has always felt comfort in her identity as a woman. Well known for bagging baddies, her most recent being Reinhardt.
Baptiste: Cis+ bi icon. Thought about his gender for the first time after joining the Caribbean Coalition and encountering visible queer people for the first time, but came out the other side still happy being a man. Figured out he was attracted to other men when he and Mauga met and the fireworks exploded.
Brigitte: Bigender!!! Explanation is here. I think they're attracted to femme-aligned people, but every once in a while there's an exception.
Illari: had a crush on a guy exactly once when she was a teen, but all thought of her gender/sexuality evaporated after her solar threading accident. Nowadays refuses to think about anything so "self-indulgent". Would answer that she's cishet if asked, but. . . I doubt it. Deeply deeply deeply repressed.
Jetpack Cat: spayed.
Juno: her character is too manic pixie dream girl for me to want to give her a proper gender/sexuality headcanon. Call me back when she feels like a human person and not just a cute caricature designed to sell skins.
Kiriko: Sees femininity as a title to bear that's been passed down from her grandmother and mother. Cares far more about preserving the legacy of being a shrine maiden than to speculate about experimenting with her gender. As for sexuality, I just can't get a read on her.
Lifeweaver: pan icon!!! Anyways, it feels really weird that Blizzard categorically refuses to associate him with the Kathoey identity that his character design was very clearly based on. For those who don't know- kathoey is the word for a third gender common in Thailand. It's a spectrum that can include fully trans women to more effeminate men. Lifeweaver is on the more masculine side of that spectrum.
Lúcio: how have they not confirmed this guy as bi??? I don't understand. I think he's cis but I could be persuaded if someone has a good headcanon.
Mercy: trans woman! She synthesizes her own estrogen (joking). Her hyperfixation on medical technology led her down a rabbit hole of gender-affirming care when she was young, and she realized that fantasizing about undergoing certain procedures was Not Cis Behavior. Ingrid Lindholm and Ana Amari were both very important femme role models for her. As for sexuality, she's hetero.
Mizuki: Trans man. He used to believe his inability to be a proper girl was another curse put on him to make his family suffer. The Hashimoto helped with his gender-affirming care, further solidifying the debt he feels he owes them. He's less sure of his sexuality, feeling too ashamed to even consider such things.
Moira: the most agender butch to ever agender. Do I really need to elaborate? It's Moira, we all knew she was queer.
Wuyang: cishet, if only for the joke that he and Anran always fall for the same girl.
Zenyatta: created genderless, but thought long and hard in the Shambali monastery about how Omnics could interact with the human concept of gender, especially when it came to integrating with human society. The concept of positive masculinity always really spoke to him- being a gentle but supportive masc pillar in other people's lives has always really appealed to him. He's written a few works on the subject. Sexuality is the concept that continues to allude him. He'd be willing to engage with a human in a sexual situation as a form of intimacy and closeness, but hasn't had the firsthand experience to decide if it's something he's actually attracted to vs. something he's willing to do to please a potential partner. Panromantic asexual might be the best descriptor, but he hesitates to adopt human words for sexuality. Ramattra once tried to write something about Omnics having their own terms for romantic attraction but abandoned the work halfway through- Zenyatta still thinks about those ideas a lot.
