History Main / BuryYourGays

* In "Blood and Fire", an episode of ''[[WebVideo/StarTrekNewVoyages Star Trek: Phase II]]''. Kirk's redshirt nephew Peter is deeply in love with medical tech Alex Freeman, and the two plan to marry. (Everyone charmingly takes this for granted.) Alex ends up the last person alive on a doomed research ship, killing himself seconds before the Regulan bloodworms get to him. This was probably supposed to be reminiscent of Robert Tomlinson and Angela Martine in the TOS episode "Balance of Terror". The episode is based on a script David Gerrold wrote for ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' that [[GayPanic kept getting punted into the wastebasket]]. [[FairForItsDay For when the episode was originally envisioned, having gay characters in a relationship would be revolutionary, even if one of them died at the end]]. For the 21st century, [[UnfortunateImplications well]]...

* Played with in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''. Victoria Hand dies in Season 1, and Isabelle Hartley dies in the first episode of Season 2. The pair dated in the comics, but the showrunners decided not to explicitly reveal them to be gay here because of the UnfortunateImplications of killing them both off, making it essentially a case of Hide Your Lesbians. However, a later episode featured a flashback to the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', in which Hartley mentions having checked in on Hand, referring to her as [[AffectionateNickname "Vicki"]].

** ''Literature/CardsOnTheTable'' takes the AdaptationalSexuality trope to a whole new level by making ''four'' characters from the novel gay. This includes the murderer (who is presumably going to be tried and executed), the victim, and an originally innocent side character who is implied to be a PsychoLesbian before she dies. The screenwriter presumably noticed the UnfortunateImplications, as Superintendent Wheeler, a sympathetic CanonForeigner, is also revealed to be gay at the end and is allowed to live.

* Lampshaded in {{WebVideo/Dimension20}}'s ''Fantasy High'', where in the final battle of the series Kalvaxus attacks both Kristen Applebees and Ragh Barkrock (the only two queer characters present in the fight [[spoiler: as of that episode, since in the next season Riz Gukgak would realize he's on the asexual spectrum and Fig Faeth start dating Ayda Aguefort, Principal Aguefort's estranged daughter]], with Ragh only having come out moments before) as he insists that it's [[UnfortunateImplications "not a homophobe thing"]], he's just an evil dragon.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Marie Logan, mother of Beast Boy, is killed during the time gap between Seasons 1 and 2, and a tie-comic reveals that it's because she was enthralled by Queen Bee into driving off a waterfall -- an ability known to be used against men and previously implied to be effective against lesbians. A later scene includes a photo Garfield had of her and her partner.

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* In ''VideoGame/MyHouse'', triggering the HouseFire [[EarnYourBadEnding after collecting all of the artifacts]] and accessing the secret passage in the fence that normally leads to the highway and gas station reveals a tombstone with a QR code that links to a newspaper obituary for the mod's [[DeadAllAlong alleged author, Steve Nelson]], alongside that of his "childhood sweetheart" Thomas Allord, whose house was the basis for the map.

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' series on top of HoYay has four non-hetero men. Scott Dolph, bisexual ([[BlackDudeDiesFirst and black]]), dies after the prologue in ''[=MGS2=]''. Volgin the BigBad of ''[=MGS3=]'', DepravedBisexual, dies at the end. Raikov, Volgin's lover, can be killed off with no consequences to the story. Then finally there's Vamp who is also a DepravedBisexual and survives 2, dies in ''4''. It should be noted that there is so much HoYay with Big Boss and Miller (to the point where they can go on a date in ''Peace Walker'') that they may as well count when they die, but only Miller's death is used to progress Solid Snake's story. However, even Solid has so much HoYay with Otacon and the two of them make it out fine. Therefore, the ''Metal Gear'' series has a unique spin on this trope given it's a natural consequence of the AnyoneCanDie setting and large number of implied or outright gay/bisexual male characters.
** Portable Ops confirms Raikov's survival... well, as long as you rescue him, that is. If you don't, it's fair to assume this happens. Either way, just as in ''[=MGS3=]'', it's up to the player to decide his fate.

The reasons for this trope have evolved somewhat over the years. For a good while, it was because the DepravedHomosexual trope and its ilk pretty much limited portrayals of explicitly gay characters to villainous characters, or at least characters who weren't given much respect by the narrative. This was due to negative attitudes towards gay people and due to the MoralGuardians' [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode Hays Code]], which did not allow gay people to be shown on screen unless it was part of a plot line that showed that they were wicked. This meant that most of them would either die or be punished by the end. Even somewhat sympathetic characters would usually receive punishment, as their sexuality was perceived as a negative trait (similar to how one would write a sympathetic drug addict). However, as sensitivity to gay people became more mainstream, this then transitioned into the TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth narrative, where stories would tackle the subject of homophobia and then depict LGBT characters as suffering victims who die tragic deaths in an uncaring world. The [[TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed AIDS crisis]] also contributed to this narrative, as the TragicAIDSStory became its own archetype, popularized by films like ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}''. And then there are the cases of ButNotTooGay or the BaitAndSwitchLesbians, where creators manage to get the romance going but quickly avoid showing it in detail by killing off one of the relevant characters.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'':
** Possibly, with Creator/HarveyFierstein's character dying; the character is never confirmed as gay, but acts like a pretty stereotypical gay guy. Harvey's gay in real life.
** Also in the sequel, Dr. Isaacs dies but his partner survives.

* ''Film/MaggieAndAnnie'': Maggie, the lead lesbian character, dies suddenly near the end. This is {{downplayed}} somewhat however as the other main character, bisexual Annie, survives.

* ''Film/TheHollowChild'': Emily, who came onto her best friend Samantha, gets brutally killed later. She is the only explicit LGBT+ character in the film.

* ''Film/TheRidgeGraveGirls'': Played straight with Mia Meadows, who has a girlfriend and dies after being crowned Prom Queen. This [[BuryYourGays exact trope]] is called out by the narrator Ther. However, the film then plays with the trope by having Ther, the next Prom Queen [[spoiler: realise that "burying yourself" is the only way out of the Prom Queen curse, and so Ther decides to "bury herself" in order to escape... and become their true self as a non-binary person.]]

* "Film/TheRidgeGraveGirls": {{OutOfTheClosetIntoTheFire Played straight}} with Mia Meadows, who has a girlfriend [[spoiler:dies after being crowned Prom Queen.]] This [[BuryYourGays exact trope]] is called out by the narrator Ther. However, the film then plays with the trope by having Ther, the next Prom Queen [[spoiler: realise that "burying yourself" is the only way out of the Prom Queen curse, and so Ther decides to "bury herself" in order to escape... and become their true self as a non-binary person.]]

* "{{Film/TheRidgeGraveGirls}}": {{OutOfTheClosetIntoTheFire Played straight}} with Mia Meadows, who has a girlfriend [[spoiler:dies after being crowned Prom Queen.]] This [[BuryYourGays exact trope]] is called out by the narrator Ther. However, the film then plays with the trope by having Ther, the next Prom Queen [[spoiler: realise that "burying yourself" is the only way out of the Prom Queen curse, and so Ther decides to "bury herself" in order to escape... and become their true self as a non-binary person.]]

* "Film/TheRidgeGraveGirls": Played straight with Mia Meadows, who has a girlfriend [[spoiler:dies after being crowned Prom Queen.]] This [[BuryYourGays exact trope]] is called out by the narrator Ther. However, the film then plays with the trope by having Ther, the next Prom Queen [[spoiler: realise that "burying yourself" is the only way out of the Prom Queen curse, and so Ther decides to "bury herself" in order to escape... and become their true self as a non-binary person.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Attack on Titan}}'', Ymir, a soldier in the Survey Corps. befriends and eventually falls in love with her teammate Krista Lenz/[[spoiler:Historia Reiss]]. In exchange for Reiner promising to help protect Krista, Ymir returns with Reiner to Marley, where she is killed so that the "rightful heir" to her titan form can take the form himself. She even expresses that her one regret in life was never getting to marry Krista or even tell her she loved her.

[[caption-width-right:300:[-Image from the ''Lot's Wife - [[https://msa.monash.edu/ Monash University Student Association]] Magazine'' article "[[https://lotswife.com.au/bury-your-gays/ Bury Your Gays]]-]]]

%% Image chosen per TRS thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1502683699022619600&page=6#144
%% Previous threads: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=w9661ewr6zgstk7qj0ca76qz https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1528420517095019100

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/byg2.png]]

* In ''Manga/{{Attack on Titan}}'', Ymir, a soldier in the Survey Corps. befriends and eventually falls in love with her teammate Krista Lenz/[[spoiler:Historia Reiss]]. In exchange for Reiner promising to help protect Krista, Ymir returns with Reiner to Marley, where she is killed so that the "rightful heir" to her titan form can take the form himself. [[TearJerker She even expresses that her one regret in life was never getting to marry Krista or even tell her she loved her]].

--> '''Kalvaxus:''' I want to be very clear: I have no problem with your sexuality, this is not-
--> '''Riz:''' HOMOPHOBE!
--> '''Kalvaxus:''' It's not a homophobe thing!
--> '''Adaine:''' You hit both of the gay ones!
--> '''Kristen:''' Wow...
--> '''Riz:''' That's fucked up, man...
--> '''Kalvaxus:''' Alright, to be clear, I am very ''socially'' liberal, I'm ''fiscally'' conservative.
--> ''General noises of disapproval and disgust from the table''
--> '''Kalvaxus:''' What? I'm a Libertarian! I'M A LIBERTARIAN!