Is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? The speculation on the cartoon icon, explained

It’s the question that’s been secretly on everybody’s minds for years, we all want to know the answer, but we’re too afraid to ask: is SpongeBob SquarePants gay? There’s been plenty of speculation from fans over the years, and it seems the answer to such a question may be even more elusive than the Krabby Patty secret formula itself.

The world of SpongeBob SquarePants has been pretty well documented in almost every aspect, to the extent that fans have even managed to figure out the exact height of each and every character in the show. Why would they do that, you ask? I don’t know, but if they can figure that out, then surely they have some answers surrounding an anthropomorphic sponge’s sexuality.

Has SpongeBob ever had a relationship?

Let’s start with what we know.

SpongeBob has never actually been seen in a relationship despite the show being on air for 25 years. This seems to be the main reason fans have often found themselves wondering whether Mr. SquarePants could possibly be homosexual. Some have taken his close friendship with Patrick Star as a signal that the two are actually in a relationship; there’s even an episode where the two take on the role of a mother and father raising a baby clam.  

What’s more, we have plenty of examples of SpongeBob breaking societal norms by wearing women’s clothes. But the truth is, there’s no concrete confirmation given in the show itself — just because he’s in touch with his feminine side doesn’t automatically make him gay. So we’re going to have to look a little harder for an answer to this question.

We’re not sure it counts, but he did, in one episode, fall in love with a Krabby Patty named Patty. The name and the face given to Patty suggest that SpongeBob views the burger as feminine, so by totally absurd logic, you could say that proves that he’s either straight or bisexual. However, using this episode to prove that he likes women is flawed for two reasons; there are plenty of episodes that contradict this one, and Patty is a burger and therefore not a real woman.

What do SpongeBob’s creators have to say?

It turns out Nickelodeon outright told fans that its mascot was indeed gay way back in 2020 during Pride Month.

The official Twitter for the studio shared three pictures showing canonically gay characters from Nickelodeon shows including Korra, Schwoz Schwartz, and the sponge himself. This is pretty undeniable proof, and fans welcomed the news at the time.

We could stop here and be satisfied with the knowledge that our favorite cartoon sponge is gay, but we haven’t heard from one particularly important figure yet. You see, Nickelodeon isn’t the only voice of authority on what is and what isn’t canon in the SpongeBob universe. What did the original creator of the character have to say about the sexuality of his creation?

The late and great Stephen Hillenburg was a marine biologist before he stepped into the world of cartoons, and as such, he had extensive knowledge of the biology of all of his characters. We know that SpongeBob is supposed to be a sea sponge (despite actually looking like a bathroom sponge). This weird sea creature is hermaphroditic, meaning biologically it is both male and female. So is SpongeBob actually both male and female? He may be biologically, but we can tell that he identifies as a male because it says so on his driver’s license.

This revelation actually gets us a little closer to the answer, as sea sponges reproduce asexually (although they can reproduce sexually too). SpongeBob, like his real-world counterpart, is asexual, something which was confirmed by Hillenburg himself in 2005.

These contradicting statements from both Nickelodeon and Stephen Hillenburg have led to confusion among fans. Do we listen to the actual father or the studio that is home to SpongeBob? To be honest, there is no straightforward answer to this question; I’m going to have to cop out here and just tell you what SpongeBob would — believe what you want.