Boy Scientist Tom Swift: From gay to straight and back again.

When I was a kid, I liked the juvenile science fiction novels of Heinlein and Silverberg, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, of course, but not the Hardy Boys.  The Tom Swift series especially bored me, in spite of the science fiction elements and occasional beefcake covers, probably because of the move into heteronormativity.

There have been five incarnations of the boy scientist.

1. Tom Swift, Senior (40 books, 1910-41): Gay.

This Tom is a young adult, working for his father's construction company and inventing things (a motor-cycle, a motor-boat, an electric rifle). He adventures with a friend, Ned, but while most adventure boys of the era have no interest in girls, Tom practically shoves Ned aside the moment their gyro-copter lands at Shopton Airport in his haste to hold hands with Mary Nestor.

2. Tom Swift, Junior (33 books, 1954-71): Straight.

This Tom is the son of the original, a teenager who uses Dad's vast laboratories to invent things (a space solartron, a triphibian atomicar, a polar-ray dynosphere).  Mostly he uses them to fight the Communists. It's all very mechanical rather than scientific, like shop class.

Tom engages in some buddy-bonding with his friend Bud Barclay, but both have girlfriends -- with relationships much more overtly romantic than those of the Hardy Boys:

Tom grinned. "How about another dance, Phyl?"
As the music struck up again, he squeezed Phyl's hand. Phyl blushed as she returned the squeeze. "You rate with me," she confided shyly.

3. Tom Swift III (13 books, 1981-84): Not sure.

This Tom is from the future (he's probably a descendant of the original Toms, but his paternity is never explained).  He doesn't really invent anything; he travels through space on a faster-than-light craft, along with two companions, Ben and Anita. I haven't read any of these.

4. Tom Swift IV (15 books, 1991-93): Absurdly hetero-horny.

The son of the original Tom (who got a time jump), this teenager stays on Earth, invents things, studies Karate, and collaborates with the Hardy Boys.

He has a best friend, a practical joker named Rick, but again, they both have girlfriends, with lots of hand-holding and kisses on cheeks, and discussions of feminine beauty are almost as common as discussion of science.

For whatever reason -- a desire to be "relevant," to attract female readers, to avoid the obvious gay subtexts in the Hardy Boys series -- the ghost-writers introduced an incessant girl-craziness.  There was some buddy bonding, too, but it was drowned out by Tom blushing as he held the hand of some girl.

5. Tom Swift, a 2022 tv series, features a Tom who is black and gay, quite a change from tradition.  He goes to gay parties in ridiculous but bulging outfits and kisses dudes.  I watched one episode, hoping for a paradise of gay representation, but turned out to be rather dull.  It was cancelled after one season, but not for the reason you think.