This is where I go wild talking about what does or doesn't prove a female character in BGC is a lesbian! If you're especially sensitive to dissention, I advise you to sit back, relax, and get an enema. If you're here you must want to know what I think and believe me, I'll tell you all about what I think.
I've broken up the for and against evidence by Pro, Con, and Summary designations.
Sylia Stingray
Priss Asagiri
Linna Yamazaki
Nene Romanova
Pro:
-She has no history of male companions.
-She nearly breaks the wrist of the one man who makes a pass at her.
-She runs two businesses (more or less) centered on women.
-She only recruited women for the Knight Sabers.
-She has a rule that none of the members may date men.
-She's awfully fond of the feminine physique, running both a lingerie store and a vigilante organization which place emphasis on the woman's silhouette.
Con:
-Sylia hasn't had time to have any relationships, gay or straight.
-You have to admit Fargo's come on was pretty lame. I would've snapped his wrist too. He alluded to a past relationship. Maybe Sylia was trying to deter him from thinking they could strike it up again.
-She represents feminine empowerment. Sylia is no victim and she trains her Knight Sabers to also not allow themselves to be victimized.
-Women are more comfortable with the sexuality of other women than men are (usually) with the sexuality of other men. Sylia's sense of aesthetics may be liberal, but that doesn't mean she's a lesbian. Also, almost every lingerie shop is run by women, mostly heterosexual. I can tell you women definitely no more about attractive undergarments than men do. @_@ Sylia is VERY fashion and style conscious and she impresses this on others in many ways. That's a common trait in many women, not just lesbians.
-The original Hardsuit design was for a feminine physique. Since all subsequent designs were based off it, it's not surprising Sylia recruited women. This could also be a way of avoiding sexual tension in the group by composing it of all (presumably) heterosexual women.
-The No Men regulation is obvious: She doesn't want anyone getting too close to her team or her team members getting too distracted to fill their roles. Theoretically, this is why she pries into the other members' business every time one of them makes a new friend (eg: Priss and Sylvie, Linna and Irene, Nene and Lisa). She'd probably also refuse to allow them to date women if she thought one of them would.
-Sylia is NEVER shown with any males except Fargo (scruffy geek) and Mackie (brother geek). There's no way to gauge her interest in men based on this limited interaction. All the other girls mention men they've dated or want to date or spend time with men they know, but Sylia's life revolves around her work, so of course she doesn't have boyfriends on the side. Her seclusion is not sufficient reason to believe she's a lesbian.
Summary:
Sylia exists to preserve her ideals. Everything she does has a purpose behind it. She's so purposeful, I think it can safely be said she doesn't have much or any interest in hooking up with anyone, male or female. If I had to take a guess I would say Sylia is asexual by necessity. All the "proof" she's a lesbian (or anything else) comes from circumstancial evidence. (But she'd still look great with Priss or Reika! ^_-)
Pro:
-She makes several close females friends but she blows off and mistreats the guys who show interest.
-She gets pretty intimate with Sylvie in episode five, telling her she's beautiful and leaning into her while comforting her.
-She's very protective of Sylia during combat sequences; she saves her several times, without regard for her own safety.
-She's also very protective of Linna and she goes out of her way to save her even after Sylia had apparently given up and decided not to bother seeking Linna when she was kidnapped. (Mean old Sylia! ^_^)
-She's kind of butch. ^^;;
Cons:
-Priss may not trust males since they're responsible for most of the hurt in her life, but that doesn't mean she isn't attracted to them. Besides, she only guys she's shown with are dorks. She warms up to Leon eventually.
-Sylvie is a sexaroid designed to attract people. Everyone was interested in her.
-Sylia is the leader and "big sister," so naturally Priss is going to assist her. The fact that she doesn't want her to die doesn't mean she wants to sleep with her. She may also still feel bad for trying to gut Sylia the first time they met. Her protectiveness of Linna is also normal in platonic friendships.
-A lot of straight women are butch. ^^;;
-Her "special person" from her biker days was supposedly a male.
Summary:
Priss could go either way. I lean toward thinking she's bisexual. She could have loved Sylvie and her biker boyfriend. Since we know there was a strong attraction between Sylvie and Priss, even if it wasn't sexual it should be taken into account. She's very close to women, detached from men. Maybe she made the decision to focus her romantic pursuits on women after men caused her so much pain. Anyway, I wouldn't say she's a lesbian but I think there's a chance she's bisexual.
Pro:
-She's gaga over Sylvie when they first meet and even says she would definitely go for her if she (Linna) were a man.
-She lets Priss hang out in her home when Priss has nowhere else to go. The two of them are pretty tight, ne?
-She cared so much for Irene even though she hardly knew her. She even took her wedding ring.
-She later gave that wedding ring to Irene's sister, Reika, slipping it into her finger as though she was proposing marriage to her. 0_0
-She can't seem to hold a stable heterosexual relationship. Eratic heterosexuality can mean latent homosexuality.
Cons:
-Like I said before, Sylvie appealed to everyone. It was just the way she was. Linna's comments are just like Priss' and Nene's. What are the chances all three are lesbians? (Don't answer that, slash fans. ^_^)
-I've let my friends crash at my apartment when they had nowhere else to go. It isn't quite prostitution.
-Linna's a nice, caring person. Being sweet to Irene and feeling bad about their equally helpless predicament when Irene was killed is only natural.
-The proposal thing could all be in my head. ^^;;;
-I know a lot of people, gay and straight, who can't make a relationship last. I doubt they're all in the closet.
Summary:
Straight, but very open with other women. Might be willing to experiment. ^_^
Pro:
-She turns down Leon when he asks her out in episode four.
-She flings herself against Priss after Priss' concert, embracing her and complimenting her like an ogling fan would.
-She was really interested in Sexaroids; her enthusiasm even made stoic Sylia blush.
-She yacks on for several lines about how gorgeous Sylvie's body is. That's going a bit beyond just saying she's pretty.
-There's a Sonoda image that shows her in a slumber party setting with Lisa.
Con:
-Anyone with half a brain would turn down Leon.
-Nene's the hero-worship sort. She treats Priss (and Sylia) like they're cool because they emphasize the way she wants to be. She also calls Priss an "ape woman" later, so her opinion of her may be inconsistent.
-Nene yearns to be a woman, not just a child. Sylvie's beauty, and the eroticism of the sexaroids, would naturally hold appeal for her naieve mind.
-Slumber parties are normal, heterosexual activities. She was only nineteen in the picture.
-She talked about how she dreamt of living with a man, and loving him even if they were poor.
-She and Mackie may have been showing a mutual attraction in episode eight.
Summary:
Straight as an arrow. Not well versed in the ways of sexuality, but she's still young. Give her time. Let her read a few yaoi manga. She'll turn out as heterosexual as they come.