Pride Month Spotlight: Lucifer

Welcome to the 14th installment of our 2019 Pride Month Series! Each day this month, we will be highlighting a different person or character in the LGBTQ+ community, who is making an impact on representation in mainstream media. Check out the rest of our series here.

From his Devilish good looks, to his supernatural charm, Lucifer Morningstar (portrayed by the brilliant Tom Ellis) is one dreamy angel to folks of all genders. While most know him from the television series Lucifer, this character actually first appeared in comic form within The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. In it, he’s portrayed much as we understand him from the show — bored of ruling hell, interested in humanity, running a piano bar called Lux.

Naturally, the comic deviates a bit from here as to how his life goes — no LAPD detectives turning his eye in the comics — but the heart of Lucifer remains consistent; his “religion” is free will.

And as such, we see him take a particular sort of apathy to anything regarding sexual norms. For Lucifer, if he enjoys it, if it feels good, and no one is hurt (well, unless it’s consensual, anyway), then it’s free game. So perhaps, he’s one of the best examples of a carefree pansexual in any medium.

Because he’s a supernatural being, he’s burdened with the knowledge of what is actually good and evil. There’s no question for him about committing a sin or doing something wrong — he has complete clarity on what is really important whilst on earth: enjoying yourself. Does this make this character’s sexuality something to admire? Absolutely. He is completely (in this regard) void of self loathing. In fact, he quite likes that, when it comes to enjoying himself, he’s not picky — he’s even described himself (gleefully) as “The Skillet” in regards to his ability to “flip straight men.”

While many have debated the subject of his sexuality, I think what we’ve seen of Lucifer’s character best fits the definition of pansexuality: not limited to sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity. Lucifer is attracted to people, not a particular gender, which matches his “free will” ethos.

Often we see him romantically with women, but there are two important things to remember about this. First of all, sexuality is a spectrum, and secondly, having preferences doesn’t negate your attraction to other genders. Lucifer himself has said he often ends up with women, because they are more in touch with their sexuality. (Or, one could say, more in tune with the concept of “free will.”)

Above all, for Lucifer, it’s all about who pulls at his heartstrings (which we all know, is a certain LAPD Detective, Chloe Decker).

Whether you believe Lucifer Morningstar to be bisexual or pansexual ultimately wouldn’t make a darn bit of difference to him. He would probably say he’s humanity-sexual and try to seduce you either way.