apologies if this has been asked before but maybe a look into why the characters you mentioned are homophobic (not saying i don't agree w u i just like metas lol)
well, first of all, here's an example of a few lines in which characters make fun of each other for their gender non-conformity:
Toph: What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes?!
Aang: How did you know it was me?
Sokka: Don't answer to Twinkle Toes, it's not manly!
Katara: You're the one whose bag matches his belt.
i think that this is a very interesting interaction because while toph's, sokka's, and katara's lines are all homophobic, there's more to them than just that.... they hate women/gay people and want to go out of their way to be cruel. toph is upset at aang for beating her in earth rumble vi, so she takes it out on him by projecting her own internalized misogyny onto him thru insulting his femininity. sokka is dealing with his own issues regarding masculinity, and projects them onto aang; he'd be insulted by being called twinkletoes, so he is annoyed at aang for not being insulted. and katara is fundamentally a little sister, and therefore she relishes in any opportunity to make fun of her siblings, which means that she occasionally uncritically makes fun of the low-hanging fruit (lmao) that is their gender nonconformity (siblings also including toph and zuko btw. she never makes fun of aang for his gender nonconformity because they do not have a sibling-like relationship). i've heard the claim that, in this scene, katara was actually calling sokka out on his misogyny. and well. not only is that ridiculous (believe it or not, “well, you don't have a leg to stand on; you're just as fruity” is actually not a super #woke response to someone being homophobic) but it reeks of this frankly dehumanizing idealization of katara that exists in... certain fandom circles.
as for the rest of the characters, i can't think of any specific homophobic comments they made (besides maybe when azula said “oh zuko, don't be so dramatic.” in response to zuko being understandably insecure about the fact that he wasn't invited to the war meeting in “nightmares and daydreams”), but like. zuko and azula clearly hate themselves for being gay (though zuko largely moves past this by the end of the series and azula, tragically, doesn't).
thru a more general lens, another reason (and the one i, nour, tend to lean on the most) most atla characters are possibly most definitely at some point some degree of homophobic is that all three nations of fire water and earth, each in their own degree and specific ways with specific gendered expectations, live in a patriarchal society. and there cannot be misogyny without homophobia (without transphobia without racism) in any society, even if these issues often function differently in different societies. #intersectionality. as previously discussed on this blog it is honestly impressive how two white cishet men managed to (accidentally??) write almost all of the characters each with such complex and profound relationships with gender and all that it implies. it's fascinating. where was i. whatever. homophobia is a thing in atla bc atla’s feminist themes are excellently written. it’s only natural.
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