BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Sherlock’s Sexuality: An In-Depth Contemplation and Study

Zatoichi · February 4, 2014 5:55 am

Mycroft also says that Irene is decapitated and Sherlock FOR SURE did not have his hands in it this time .
If I had a smart-ass brother who likes to poke around in my personal matters and tease me about it, let´s say in Buckingham Palace, I would be very careful to keep my mouth shut as well.

My (very subjective) interpretation of the hints we get regarding his sexuality:

He is not asexual, he probably has his thoughts, but it would take a lot to spark his interest in a real person, and even more to actually make him consider any actions. He says he does not see beauty, so it would have to be someone who inspires him intellectually and can connect with him on a personal (and of course physical) level, and with Sherlock being as he is temptation does not exactly wait around every corner for him. Even if he should be interested his work always comes first (his "I am married to my work"-line), probably he would subsume such feelings under "Interesting, yes, emotions". So I guess he lives abstinent and is not really bothered. He can be swept off his feet though, as I think happened with Irene, but still that does not make him act impulsive. More the contrary, he acts very cautious around her.

Though he is not bothered by the idea of homosexuality (his "of course that would be fine"-line), I think he is basically straight. I see some kind of physical "reactivity" towards women (Irene, Molly, Kitty, Janine) which I do not see towards men.

Regarding the "virginity"-issue - I suppose he made his experiments out of curiosity (or to make it sound more like Sherlock: scientific interest ) when he was younger. He acts quite sure of himself in intimate moments, I do not see he could get this from books. (His body would probably betray him.. ) But I do not see any signs of a serious attachment in the past, he would not have been able to keep that from Mycroft for long. So he is probably a virgin if it comes to the devastating effects sex can have on you when you are deeply involved. (Awwww...)

And this was far too much text about the sexuality of a fictive character..

besleybean · February 4, 2014 6:30 am

As conversations progress between Mycroft and Sherlock, it remains a possibility that they may both have urges- but satisfy them alone.

Harriet · February 4, 2014 9:26 am

You are not implying that they .... ???

Ravensmum · February 4, 2014 2:11 pm

*grin THANK you all for the laughter this morning...Im sitting here looking like Cheshire Puss...and I would NOT want to be Sheyl's first...WAY too much pressure...

besleybean · February 4, 2014 5:10 pm

He'd be safe with me!

Harriet · February 4, 2014 7:00 pm

Ravensmum wrote:
*grin THANK you all for the laughter this morning...Im sitting here looking like Cheshire Puss...and I would NOT want to be Sheyl's first...WAY too much pressure...

You're welcome And what a wise decision!

tonnaree · February 4, 2014 8:25 pm

Ravensmum wrote:
*grin THANK you all for the laughter this morning...Im sitting here looking like Cheshire Puss...and I would NOT want to be Sheyl's first...WAY too much pressure...

I'm willing to accept that challange.

antigone · February 10, 2014 8:55 am

Ravensmum wrote:

Sherlock at one point in his life CARED BUT that object of his love was taken from him (Redbeard)...so, in order for this young child to go on "He stopped himself from caring."

Redbeard - or something/someone else.
I think what Ravensmum says is the key to Sherlock's personality. And it seems that the experience he once had, that turned him into the person he's become, will be narrated to us eventually.

I believe that he's neither asexual nor sociopath, but he chooses to act like an asexual and a sociopath, unless he feels totally both safe and harmless (like with John - because he's the epitome of the perfect friend, and Molly - when she seems to have moved on with her life in the romance area).

I think he also wants to avoid depending on others, being asked to do things, and generally being controlled in any way.
Probably that's why he didn't choose to have a job as a scientist at a university or a company.

He wants to be freelance in everything; sexual needs, working, intellectual needs. He only makes an exception for John, because friendship with John permits this up to a point, and because friendship is the most freelance relationship one can have.

This Is The Phantom Lady · February 10, 2014 9:04 am

I don't believe he is asexual, I actually like to think he might be bisexual. But I also like to think that he doesn't do much to explore it. He doesn't want to cloud his judgement.

On the other hand, sexual frustrations could also hinder him... well maybe he just takes care of his own business?

Either way, here I can't help but think about what he told John, that 'Alone protects me'. He would hate to depend on a man or a woman to satisfy his needs I think... Just likes he tells Irene to get out his head.

Deilenn · February 10, 2014 12:19 pm

But in The Study in Pink he clearly declared that girls are "not his area". Was he lying? I think at that time he had no reason to lie anyway.
In my opinion whichever orientation he is, it's doubtful he is bisexual. He got invilved with Janine basically only to solve a case, but we have never seen him in a relationship with a guy, nor ever heard of any. So there's no proof for it, that's why I don't think he is bisexual. Yet there's still a room for ideas ;]

besleybean · February 10, 2014 5:13 pm

He chooses not to engage with anybody;

SherlocklivesinOH · February 11, 2014 1:40 am

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:
I don't believe he is asexual, I actually like to think he might be bisexual. But I also like to think that he doesn't do much to explore it. He doesn't want to cloud his judgement.

On the other hand, sexual frustrations could also hinder him... well maybe he just takes care of his own business?

Either way, here I can't help but think about what he told John, that 'Alone protects me'. He would hate to depend on a man or a woman to satisfy his needs I think... Just likes he tells Irene to get out his head.

The scene where Irene appears in his head actually struck me as kind of a sterotypical-heterosexual-guy thing...thinking about sex (or a naked woman) when he's supposed to be concentrating on something else.

" He would hate to depend on a man or a woman to satisfy his needs"...I think this would be the issue, and I think he would be "equal opportunity" in this respect.

Meaning, I don't think he would have a big issue with internalized homophobia (i.e., self-loathing due to society's attitude to gays), if he were attracted to a man. The vunerability thing would apply, and be the same regardless of the gender of the person...or perhaps, as between the two, he'd feel a bit MORE comfortable with getting close to a guy. Canonically, Holmes distrusted women...the few people he trusted were men.

In this series, John has been known to loudly protest that he's "not gay," if people assume he and Sherlock are a couple, but Sherlock doesn't seem as bothered. With the best man speech, you could read that underneath his love for John is more romantic than even he acknowledges...but he doesn't seem to realize that it would sound to some peolple would read romantic subtext into it.

The people in Sherlock and John's crowd wouldn't do this, but I could imagine a more homophobic group teasing the guy who gave that speech and him not even realizing why.

besleybean · February 11, 2014 6:53 am

I just think Sherlock is refreshingly honest and doesn't jump through the hoops that some people do.
And, he has nothing to hide.

SherlocklivesinOH · March 4, 2014 4:30 am

This Is The Phantom Lady wrote:
He doesn't want to cloud his judgement.

On the other hand, sexual frustrations could also hinder him... well maybe he just takes care of his own business?

Well, the "visit" by Irene to his mind palace in TSoT did kind of hint at this...that he might...think about her...in the way of guys who are attracted to women.

I like to think that for Sherlock, romantic feelings are something that would grow out of the few relationships he has (or only one) that are based on friendship and trust. This is how I see the "Johnlock" in canon and the Brett series, and how it often works in fan fic: Holmes falls in love with Watson because he has grown to trust him and have such faith in Watson's friendship...and the sexual part is a surprise even to Holmes.

And I guess that's what I really don't like about the Sherlock-Irene ship-teasing. It's not that I think being attracted to a woman means he couldn't be attracted to or even fall in love with John. I actually like the idea that Sherlock isn't locked into being attracted to one gender or the other...it's all about the person... but the fact that Irene can distract him with sheer sex appeal when he doesn't really know or trust her makes him seem more...I hate to say "like a typical guy," but more...fickle? Distractable? Hormonal?

besleybean · March 4, 2014 6:42 am

I'm still not covinced he's attracted to anybody that way...
Love, is a different matter.

Zatoichi · March 4, 2014 6:56 am

SherlocklivesinOH wrote:
And I guess that's what I really don't like about the Sherlock-Irene ship-teasing. It's not that I think being attracted to a woman means he couldn't be attracted to or even fall in love with John. I actually like the idea that Sherlock isn't locked into being attracted to one gender or the other...it's all about the person... but the fact that Irene can distract him with sheer sex appeal when he doesn't really know or trust her makes him seem more...I hate to say "like a typical guy," but more...fickle? Distractable? Hormonal?

Well, he´s only human after all, but imo Irene´s sex appeal only distracts him for a very short time. Still in her room he says "you take your clothes off to make an impression, stop boring me and think." And he dismisses her very quickly in his mind palace, too. What really puzzled and intrigued him later was her person, her intelligence, the games she was playing and her behaviour towards him..plus her carefully staged drama of "the promise of love, the pain of loss, the joy of redemption".. he can´t resist a good drama, obviously.

I also like the idea that Sherlock isn´t locked into being attracted to one gender or the other, but to a person..

SherlocklivesinOH · March 4, 2014 10:12 pm

Zatoichi wrote:
SherlocklivesinOH wrote:
And I guess that's what I really don't like about the Sherlock-Irene ship-teasing. It's not that I think being attracted to a woman means he couldn't be attracted to or even fall in love with John. I actually like the idea that Sherlock isn't locked into being attracted to one gender or the other...it's all about the person... but the fact that Irene can distract him with sheer sex appeal when he doesn't really know or trust her makes him seem more...I hate to say "like a typical guy," but more...fickle? Distractable? Hormonal?
Well, he´s only human after all, but imo Irene´s sex appeal only distracts him for a very short time. Still in her room he says "you take your clothes off to make an impression, stop boring me and think." And he dismisses her very quickly in his mind palace, too. What really puzzled and intrigued him later was her person, her intelligence, the games she was playing and her behaviour towards him..plus her carefully staged drama of "the promise of love, the pain of loss, the joy of redemption".. he can´t resist a good drama, obviously.

I also like the idea that Sherlock isn´t locked into being attracted to one gender or the other, but to a person..

But other than sex appeal, I wonder what makes Irene different from CAM so that Sherlock didn't feel the revulsion for her that he did for CAM...they have a similar M.O.

And about Irene's more...outlandish...sexual practices: aren't they a lot like what Sherlock sees in his work? I mean, he isn't routinely kidnapped or tied up by criminals, but it's a danger he has faced. Or he has rescued other people in that situation.

besleybean · March 4, 2014 10:16 pm

But not sexually motivated.

Zatoichi · March 5, 2014 6:24 am

SherlocklivesinOH wrote:

But other than sex appeal, I wonder what makes Irene different from CAM so that Sherlock didn't feel the revulsion for her that he did for CAM...they have a similar M.O.

Apart from the fact that he was repulsed when he finally learned Irene was blackmailing Mycroft, there are still enough differences between the two that have nothing to do with sex appeal. CAM has used his knowledge for years to blackmail people and has whole nations under his thumb, he is a media mogul who used his power to destroy existences, it´s where his enormous wealth comes from. He is much more powerful and dangerous than Irene, who has not profited from her knowledge before and has not -by the means of a huge media empire- systematically accumulated information on nearly everyone important in the free world. If she sold her mobile to Mycroft it would have been over, whereas CAM would go on and on only becoming more powerful and dangerous with every success. She only treated people badly who want to be treated that way and even paid her for it , whereas CAM got his fun out of pestering the helpless.

natal · March 13, 2014 12:14 am

If S would let himself be attracted by a person, that would be a female one. All the times he is kind of distracted by a person is a woman. He loves John as a friend, his best and only. Its another matter that he admires most the mental qualities, of course that goes for all. All I understand is that he doesnt want to trouble himself with love and romance cause he will be distracted.