Basic Trope: A character with no confirmed love interests of the opposite sex shows signs of being attracted to the same sex, exhibits gay stereotypes, or both, hinting that they may be gay.
- Straight: Bob is often seen sitting very close to his friend Andy or hugging him, a Running Gag is that he never notices when women are coming onto him, and he loves theatre.
- Exaggerated:
- No one in the show ever romances anyone, but all of the characters are shown being touchy-feely with the same sex and/or having traits associated with gays, hinting that there's a Cast Full of Gay.
- Bob and Andy aren't just close, but also live together, raise an adopted kid together, use affectionate nicknames like "Bobby", and are constantly excited about any chance they get alone together. Despite this, Andy is not confirmed to be Bob's love interest.
- Downplayed: Bob is Ambiguously Bi, but his interests with men are more intense.
- Justified:
- The work is set from the point of view of Clarice, who doesn't know which way (if any) that Bob swings.
- Bob's parents don't allow him to date or have a close relationship with any women, and he also lives in homophobic environment, so he has no choice but bond a very close relationship with other men, regardless of his actual orientation.
- Inverted: In a Cast Full of Gay, Bob has never been shown with any men and he's sometimes seen hugging or leaning on Clarice.
- Subverted:
- ...Then, Bob reveals that he has an unrequited crush on Andy and/or hooks up with David.
- ...Eventually, Bob falls in love with Clarice.
- As the series goes on, it becomes apparent that when men flirt with Bob, he behaves in the exact same oblivious way as when women do, and in one episode, he doesn't change at all when the entire cast is drugged with a Love Potion.
- Double Subverted: Bob's Love Interest(s) is All Just a Dream or in Canada.
- Parodied:
- Bob wears a rainbow-coloured question mark on his shirt.
- Bob is in a Transparent Closet, but he still never mentions his sexuality.
- Zigzagged: In one episode, Bob is seen getting jealous when Andy gets a girlfriend, in another episode, he's shown looking sentimentally at a photo of Clarice, and in a third episode, he's seen being totally immune to a hoard of Succubi and Incubi, leaving things very ambiguous.
- Averted: Bob's orientation is made clear from the get-go.
- Enforced: The writers originally wanted to make Bob gay, but the executives and Moral Guardians were homophobic.
- Lampshaded: "Is Bob gay?" "It's hard to tell with Bob."
- Invoked: Bob starts questioning his sexuality, although he has no experience of dating anyone.
- Exploited: Other men see Bob's behaviour, assume he must be gay, and try to hook up with him.
- Defied: Bob shouts his orientation, whatever it may be, through a megaphone.
- Discussed: "I've never seen Bob with a woman and I think he might be gay. He seems very close to Andy if you know what I mean."
- Conversed: "So, this 'Bob' character... is he gay or not?"
- Implied: Bob has special bond with The Ghost Ambiguous Gender character named Andy.
- Deconstructed:
- Reconstructed:
- Played for Laughs: Queer People Are Funny.
- Played for Drama: Bob is put into Gayngst situation, whether he is gay or not.
- Played for Horror: Bob is a vampire, who may or may not be turned on by feeding on men.
Back to Ambiguously Gay.
