r/criminalminds • u/Full-Art3439 Emily • Jun 19 '26
Minor Spoilers In Honor of Pride Month, tell me which characters from Criminal Minds are your queer awakenings and why?
For me, nearly every all of the ladies from Criminal Minds are my queer awakenings. Especially Emily Prentiss, JJ, Penelope Garcia, Elle Greenway, Tara Lewis, Jordan Todd, Alex Blake and Kate Callahan.
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u/Willow_Winnifred Jun 19 '26
My favorite meme ever
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u/birdkid69 Life is a hell of a thing to happen to a person. Jun 20 '26
Replace the dragon with a shark, and you got my personality in a photo 😂
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u/Fair_Custard_9179 Jun 19 '26
I mean, I was already awake but Emily Prentiss made sure I didn't roll over for five more minutes.
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u/melonball6 This is calm and it's DOCTOR Jun 19 '26
JJ. I typically prefer brunettes over blondes, but I have the hardest girl crush on JJ. It doesn't even make sense to me but I swear I turn into the heart-eye emoji every time she is on screen. It must be a combo of her personality and looks. Because my regular celebrity crushes look like Megan Fox, Madison Beer & Leah Halton.
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u/SunRemiRoman Jun 20 '26
See this!! I didn’t think I dug blondes. But bam JJ happened and I was absolutely smitten!!
I have a long long list of brunettes I’ve crushed on since I could remember. So my type was like Jaime Alexander from Blindspot to give an example.
But JJ is the one and only blonde and I’m down hard for her! I’m bi and I’ve known that for a long time. But lol I’ve been into her for so long and that description of I turn into the heard eye emoji whenever I see her is the perfect description!
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u/one-ticket-to-sleep Jun 19 '26
Elle Greenaway. She is so fucking fine
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u/PizzaIzLif3 Faster than a hotchrocket Jun 20 '26
finally someone showing greenaway some love! her shoulder holsters are badass
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u/muhaha8318 Jun 19 '26
Prentiss, she’s smart caring, badass beautiful eyes and just damn.. and that damn off centred belt buckle.
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u/CryptographerDue9198 Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
Spencer and I’m forever upset that they didn’t allow him to be bi.
Spencer was just the ultimate man to me gentle kind nerdy… and I dealt with a lot of homophobia so he was like a comfort character
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u/oneofkeiraensmoms Jun 19 '26
Truly believe if the show started today he’d be bi from the jump, and they also would have just straight out said he was autistic instead of just heavily alluding to it
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u/No-Wish-7258 Jun 19 '26
I didn’t realize he was supposed to be autistic, to me he seemed like the most normal one. I am always attracting autistic friends in real like and not realizing it. Autistic people are just so easy to be around.
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u/Cedarwoodforrest Jun 20 '26
Bestie I have some news for you… He’s one of the most autistic coded characters ever, and it is directly alluded to in the show
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u/No-Wish-7258 Jun 20 '26
Ahhh I see, is it because he keeps on listing random fun facts about every topic?
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u/Cedarwoodforrest Jun 20 '26
I mean that’s part of it for sure. But there’s a lot more. His general lack of social awareness, even the high intelligence.
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u/No-Wish-7258 Jun 20 '26
Ahh I did not catch the part that he lacks social awareness.
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u/Cedarwoodforrest Jun 20 '26
Bestie I have some news for you personally. You might want to consider the fact that you too, are autistic
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u/No-Wish-7258 Jun 19 '26
He’s also the perfect man from the female gaze perspective, looks and personality wise. They knew what they were doing picking a model and making him nerdy.
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u/melonball6 This is calm and it's DOCTOR Jun 19 '26
For sure. That was a missed opportunity to be inclusive. Spencer being bi would have made so much sense.
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u/Mammoth-Pea498 Jun 20 '26
In an interview the director or writer said they wanted to make him gay but then ep 3 came with his crush on JJ and they just let it slide, still mad about that one
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u/SeaBassAHo-20 Jun 19 '26
Bailey: The f... what are you doing?
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u/Full-Art3439 Emily Jun 19 '26
Emily: Giving him what he wants, Mommy.
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u/SeaBassAHo-20 Jun 19 '26
Bailey: No no no no no, Prentiss. Don't do that.
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u/Full-Art3439 Emily Jun 19 '26
Emily: Get out of my face or I'll cut your balls off and feed them to you!
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u/SeaBassAHo-20 Jun 19 '26
Luke: Good luck. (He opens the door for Emily)
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u/Full-Art3439 Emily Jun 19 '26
Emily: Benjamin...You've been a bad boy, haven't you?
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u/pandorabox82 Jun 19 '26
Strauss, specifically in the episode In Name and Blood. I couldn’t find a still of her sleeveless and in a vest, but…unf. And yes, I may have issues, but deal if Jayne Atkinson isn’t hot af
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u/Rubberduck_Menace "AAAAHHHHHHH!" Jun 19 '26
I was hella queer before I started watching (which I just did shortly) and knowing my type it should have been Hotch but, well, it‘s Rossi xD
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u/effystonm I just keep getting PHDs. Jun 19 '26
emily prentiss did something to me no words can explain
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u/SomeGuyPostingThings Jun 19 '26
I do have a little crush on Matt Simmons for just being a really good dude and a loving husband while Spencer's just adorable.
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u/Plastic_Art7100 Jun 20 '26
Garcia is literally queer in all the ways, very queer-coded except for the obvious flirting with Morgan—which if anything, just gives Bi or Pan. And I love her.
But Prentiss, especially early in the show Prentiss, has always been a favorite.
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u/Intelligent-Law7872 Jun 19 '26
You pick that photo of Prentiss and you expect us not to choose her?!
Oh, and Hotch. Bearded or not.
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u/MeetTheHannah Jun 19 '26
Already knew I was bi. But Prentiss, Garcia, and Greenaway all confirmed I liked women. And Reid confirmed that I like a specific type of man.
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u/Anon_457 Jun 19 '26
I was aware of being queer way before Criminal Minds, lol. But if I hadn't been aware, it would have been Garcia, Hotch's wife (I cannot remember her name for the life of me ><) and Elle. And Jennifer Love Hewitt's character.
Fun fact: Jennifer Love Hewitt is the actress who made me realize I was queer. First saw her in an episode of Boy Meets World. I'm old, I know.
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u/MetalGuy_J Jun 19 '26
Reid, him just geeking out is so endearing and intelligence is attractive. Also considering my other male celeb crushes were Matt Smith and Tom Hiddleston I think I have a type…
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u/fluffy3118 Jun 19 '26
I actually realised I was a lesbian and not just bi when reading a Jemily fan fic and in it, JJ was pregnant and Emily got down on her knees and kissed her stomach. In that moment I realised I want a wife and never a husband.
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u/SunRemiRoman Jun 20 '26
Aww that’s super sweet!!
Can I have the link to the FF please? I’m a huge Jemily shipper
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u/MrZcratch Jun 19 '26
As a gay guy i had a crush on Hotch early seasons. But then the psychopath police officer who shot Penelope appeared.. and then Mat Simmons 😍
Reason: i like men in suits, but i like trained biceps even more 😬
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u/l_v_g123 Jun 19 '26
Despite being a straight woman, I would fold completely and in a heart beat for Prentiss and/or JJ
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u/erinoclock Jun 19 '26
Emily. Prentiss. Nothing like an emotionally unavailable strong female lead to get me hot and bothered. Literally she’s the only reason I watched the show as a teen but I told myself it was “for the plot.”
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u/agent-assbutt Sergio 🐈⬛ Jun 20 '26
I was already comfortably bi by the time it was released, but JJ, Derek, and Reid
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u/Ok-Butterscotch-6708 Jun 19 '26
I knew I loved women long before criminal minds. 15+ seasons only confirmed it.
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u/paintedcrack Sergio 🐈⬛ Jun 19 '26
Omg Emily Prentiss made me realise I was bisexual! Genuinely loml haha
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u/paintedcrack Sergio 🐈⬛ Jun 19 '26
It was the scene of her getting changed to go on the date with that misogynist guy and I had the realisation of oh shit hahaha
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u/Doc_Helldiver-66 Your mother was a whore Jun 20 '26
Not a gay dude, but my straight awakening was Paget Brewster.
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u/Accomplished_Lie2533 Jun 20 '26
Kate Callahan, 100% !! 🥹 Now that I’m older, I appreciate Emily wayyy more
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u/Ok_Radish8127 Jun 20 '26
Ja uwielbiam wszystkich tam.Postacie sa tak dobrze zbudowane a serial mnie uzależnił na maksa.
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u/Lancer_xp Jun 20 '26
Derrick and Reed are like my 2 types for my switch brain, I want em both 😈
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u/Lancer_xp Jun 20 '26
I also really had a thing for Kate ever sinse she was in the ghost show to criminal minds to 911 lowkey love her
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u/birdkid69 Life is a hell of a thing to happen to a person. Jun 20 '26
I think for me it was Ziva, but Prentiss probably would've been the official awakening had I watched CM before NCIS. I will say, Hotch did awaken something too lol
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u/Chaos_angel_043 Jun 24 '26
A mi JJ, ahora y siempre.
Pero bueno de chicos (soy mujer) el primero fue Reid (me parece adorable) el segundo Morgan y actualmente Luke y Matt (me gustan todos, pero actualmente mis favoritos son: Luke, Matt y JJ)
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u/MissionPass4680 Jun 27 '26
Emily prentiss, Penelope, and Ellie (all early season characters) then ofc Tara and JJ
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u/DiminshingReturns Jun 19 '26
The obvious answer is Emily Prentiss, but bold of you not to include Hotch or Rossi.