A venn diagram of the queer/neurodiverse content depicted in Invader Zim. I've already talked about the inherent queerness of Zim and mentioned a few times that there’s a big overlap with autism/neurodiversity but I thought this would make a handy reference. Note that “neurodiversity” isn’t just autism/ADD/ADHD but also includes mental illness, personality disorders, mood disorders, learning disabilities, and anything else that isn’t “neurotypical”.
On the queer side there is actual canon queer rep in the show and comics:
Irkens are canonically aroace and intersex.
Groyna from the comics was confirmed by Eric Trueheart to be a lesbian.
Commander Poki from the comics may be trans, as she has eyelashes normally only seen on female Irkens, but lacks the curled antenna every other female Irken is shown to possess.
Recap Kid's gender is deliberately ambiguous.
There are also many instances of queer-coding that can be seen throughout the show such as:
The homoerotic rivalry between Zim and Dib.
Red and Purple basically being Zim's two gay dads.
Zim and several other characters having campy and dramatic mannerisms.
Zim using Keef and Tak as beards.
Zim and GIR wearing make-up/cross-dressing and generally not concerning themselves with or even being aware of gender conformity.
That time Dib's personality was copied into the body of a female ship which became very distressed at being told it wasn't really a boy and changed its physical appearance to match its brain.
Other queer elements featured in the show include:
Female characters who aren't love interests/show no interest in romance.
Most characters showing a general lack of visible interest in the opposite sex or romance.
The Membranes being a non-traditional family (single dad with no mom, later acquiring two more dads in the form of Foodio and Clembrane). Irken society not being structured around family units at all.
Satirical depictions of nuclear family units (Zim’s roboparents).
Transhumanism.
Kink/Fetish content including tentacles, bondage, domination, tongues, sadism, mind-control, body morphing, gore, food/eating, bodily fluids/fluids in general, Giger-esque designs, etc…
On the Neurodiverse side we have:
Zim’s food sensitivity.
Zim’s germophobia.
Zim’s dislike of being touched or hugged.
Zim seeming to suffer from sensory issues in general.
Zim getting overstimulated on the bus in Walk of Doom.
Zim and Dib infodumping.
Zim’s idiosyncratic speech mannerisms.
Characters having high intellect paired with poor social skills/low emotional intelligence.
Hyperfixations and special interests.
Zim’s struggles with multi-tasking and keeping his priorities straight.
GIR being easily distracted and unable to focus on anything that doesn’t immediately interest him.
Characters having poor volume control.
Characters having mood swings or trouble regulating their emotions.
Zim’s issues with memory.
Dib hyperfocusing to the point of neglecting hygiene.
Zim’s “problem with listening”.
And in the middle where they overlap there’s:
Zim and Dib being outcasts, misunderstood by everyone around them, and only able to connect with other misfits like Gaz, GIR, Keef, each other, and random hobos.
Zim masking his otherness and putting on performative displays of “normalcy” and having a well-founded fear of the consequences of being discovered.
Dib being open about his otherness and looking for respect and acceptance in the face of overwhelming ridicule and contempt.
Dib being pressured by his father to conform in order to please him.
Dib finding that the social benefits of conformity aren’t enough to outweigh the pain of not being his authentic self in Mopiness of Doom.
Dib’s experiences and perspectives being trivialized, dismissed and medicalized as indicators of mental illness.
Dib actually being mentally ill, but only as a result of not being accepted or supported for being different.
The eugenicist dystopia of the Irken Empire, where Zim is labeled “defective” and sentenced to death rather than treated for the mental health issues caused by the society that created him.
Daddy issues/familial rejection/non-acceptance.
Zim and Dib’s struggles with depression.
Zim and Dib’s need to prove themselves to gain validation and acceptance.
Zim and Dib being victims of bullying and in turn bullying others to feel a sense of power.
Dib’s self-loathing.
Zim’s default state being paranoia and anxiety.
Zim and Dib’s self-image issues.
And of course the one thing that binds us all: alternative fashion.
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