Lizzie Saltzman being immaculate lesbian representation for young lesbians who dealt with comphet
There's two parts to her lesbianism: her attraction to women and her lack of attraction to men. The former's very easy as it's been said and shown very blatantly on the show and confirmed by the creators, but the latter will be more in-depth.
We'll do the brief, easy half first.
The first reveal takes place in 1x12 when Lizzie's own sister says that she was afraid Lizzie would develop a crush on Hope and subsequently win her over if Josie admitted to hers. She also says Lizzie's done this with everyone she likes. Josie's only known ex is Penelope.
In the miniscule chance that anyone's still confused, the creator breaks that scene specifically down more here, confirming that it is not just showing the future is open-minded but in fact slyly revealing the main trio are all sapphic:
And then even more obviously, Lizzie's later reveal that she is in love with Hope, followed by the subsequent sire bond between human and sire that only forms when the human has feelings beforehand and Hope asking her to prove she still loves her by obeying the sire bond.
The showrunner also confirmed that it was the same sire bond as in The Vampire Diaries and meant to rectify the "creepier, Gothic romance aspects" (aka, consent issues) of that time by redoing it in a more socially aware and modern way.
But beyond just being canonically sapphic, Lizzie is also shown to not have any interest in men, only deciding on ever pursuing them for superficial reasons and to prove she isn't "broken." I'll just go in chronological order with the exception of saving MG for last.
First up is Rafael. We see immediately that she's more interested in him being "angry" and "damaged" and accepting her "freak show" than she actually is in him as a person.
She also very pointedly says she's going to "set her sights" on him just because she "needs a new crush."
I mean hello "deciding which guys to be attracted to based on how well they match a mental list of attractive qualities" is literally the first item on the Lesbian Masterdoc's signs of comphet list. (More comedically, stay tuned later for the actual physical list she writes out.)
Considering that she's known him for less than a day at this point and has to talk herself into pursuing him, something's up, but it isn't until their first kiss that it really becomes clear Lizzie is subconciously using Rafael to convince herself she isn't broken or evil.
Her feeling like something is fundamentally broken or wrong with her is a common theme that resonated with a lot of lesbian viewers who felt the same way before figuring it out. ("Worrying that you're broken inside and unable to love anyone" is also on the signs of comphet list.)
And then, to her attempt at making a move on him, bless her heart.
She's a fictional character. Her lines are written very specifically, and the writers specifically have her say she's looking not for a date or a boyfriend, but for a very coveted escort to her public birthday party.
Once she's made her move and sealed the deal, all she cares about is telling people about it. She's not even hanging out with/around Rafael. Her priority is making sure people know she had sex with a boy and has a "boyfriend" (which isn't even something she discussed with him).
And then, when Rafael lets her down that he isn't looking for a relationship with her, she gets over him in record time. She's moved on in the blink of an eye and quite literally never once mentions her feelings for him again, as if they evaporated overnight.
Small bonus round before we get to Sebastian. Lizzie doesn't even know this guy's name or nationality, they don't speak the same language and can't communicate, and they live on opposite sides of the world but that's her "ideal" relationship with a man. Hello??
And then we see her relationship with Sebastian start the same way her relationship with Rafael started. She cares more about him as a concept than as a person, only talking about how nice it is to have a fresh start with someone. She wants somebody who doesn't know about her, who just doesn't think she's broken or evil. That's echoed in her conversation with him in the car about how the world is cruel to those it considers broken.
And once again, we see her decide to pursue him after less than a day. She doesn't know him and he doesn't know her, and that's exactly how she likes it. It's very intentional that they show she's seeking out a fresh start and understanding instead of romance or attraction.
We also see that again when Kaleb mentions she's been flapping her gums about Sebastian all over school, she's more focused on everyone knowing that she has a boyfriend rather than spending time with/liking the actual boyfriend himself. It's a trend that she treats her relationships with men like publicity.
I don't even think this one needs an explanation, but maybe if your mind is screaming at you when having sex with a man and you want to stop, it's something to look into? Idk. Good luck, babe.
And onto Ethan. The first time he and Lizzie ever interact or share a scene together is in her Star Wars fanfiction brought to life, and Hope herself points out that there's no way Lizzie could have written Ethan in when she was eleven because they didn't know him.
Lizzie responds by telling her that the main male love interest in her self-insert story was a faceless, personality-less blob. It wasn't attached to any real boy. He was just everything a main love interest should have been and "who cares." Her adult mind just subbed in a rando.
Then back in the real world, she tries to immediately set Hope up with Ethan, thinking that Hope too can just decide to make herself like someone and get over an ex overnight. She has no clue how attraction works. She looks at it so emotionlessly and logically, it's almost funny.
The way she also talks Hope up to him and then acts so shocked that he could dare to like anyone else. When will she learn that attraction is not something everyone just picks and chooses based on a solid argument and that it is literally just her with boys??
I mean, her face and the "I'm pretty sure I said yes?" speak for themselves. People who get asked out by someone they like (or even might like) don't react as confused and offput as that. Lesbians getting asked out by men do though (stay tuned for live footage later).
They also don't immediately look for ways to permanently cancel the date, call it "not a big deal", and then have to be talked into un-cancelling it either. She couldn't have been clearer that she didn't actually want to go through with it.
Making a list of arbitrary and asinine qualities for a guy to meet and then not understanding why you still can't feel anyhing for him when he meets those qualities is also peak oblivious lesbianism and personally, I'm with Kaleb on this one: Are you serious?
And last but not least, probably the most damning and layered, MG. Lizzie made it clear from early on that she did not return his out-in-the-open feelings but remained friends with him, despite showing her disgust whenever he made a move, like during the football game or at Mystic Falls High.
Even when she commits to her semester of yes and he uses that to get her to say yes to a date, she's offput and uncomfortable despite agreeing to it. She only agrees because she thinks she's finally "fixing" herself by saying yes, once again trying to prove she isn't broken.
I mean, come on, she even says "Just to be clear, that was for you and not for me" when she kisses him. That's basically the lesbian with a man motto.
Despite her clarity on the fact that she doesn't return his feelings and just wants to be friends, she still struggles with that lingering guilt she's using him and letting him down by just being friends and being unable to make herself return his feelings mid season 3. She promises not to do it again.
I think how uncomfortable she looks when he tells her that he stills likes her after all these years speaks for itself but she also points out how none of those things "in the way" that he listed exist anymore and it still didn't magically make her have feelings for him.
That's not to even mention the purposeful music choice in the background: "Maybe you would be happier with someone else."
And then the next day the only thing she has to say about it is that she's "terrible at delivering bad news" and that she couldn't say it back and ran away instead. She even says that she doesn't want to ask herself why she can't say it back because she's afraid of the answer.
And for the second time, when they talk in the kitchen, she finds herself only giving him what he has always wanted because she thinks they might die. And again, she's a fictional character. Her lines are written very purposely. It's not an accident that she doesn't say she returns his feelings or likes him even once.
They specifically only have her say that she thinks he's amazing and then try to talk herself into kissing him, just in case. This is supposedly her big finale romance and they explicitly write her as still not into him?? How else is that meant to be interpreted??
And as a finally silly little bonus because I know many of my fellow lesbians feel the same way about their comphet relationships not being "real" so despite her calling Rafael and Sebastian her boyfriend multiple times, in the end she tells MG she's "never had a real boyfriend" despite them being her two biggest relationships.