Is the major a lesbian?

The Major's sexuality is something of a grey area, as far as I can tell. We see her lazing up half-naked with her other half-naked female friends, and then the three of them in the same bed, so she has at least lesbian tendencies. She later acts like she has a crush on Kuze but it's not sure if it's romantic or just the shock of discovering someone from her childhood. Then there's coming onto that kid in Taiwan but it's not clear if she's serious or not.

Batou, for one, is attracted to her but never acts on it. Maybe because, for all his bravado and obvious badass-ness, he's too shy and she's too aloof to notice or care.

Interesting question. She's been the better part of a machine for most of her life and, in the movie at least, has constant doubt as to her humanity so maybe her self-concept as a woman, and thus her sexuality, is shaky at best.

When darkness overcomes the heart, Lil' Slugger appears...

If you read the manga and I gather that you have, it is made clear that Motoko is bisexual. I mean, she has a live-in dude but there also is a threesome scene wherein Motoko gets it on with two female cyborgs (I had loved Batou's reaction to being an unintended party to that!). In SAC, we don't see her with a man, but it is implied that she as "girlfriends with benefits" across the city.

As for Section 9, well... I don't know about the team (get to that later), but I always thought that there was an unspoken love in between the Major and Batou. That was when I memorized the movie; my thoughts only were strengthened by 'Innocence' - that Batou felt protective of the Major because of his feelings, and the Major knew it, but did not do anything about it (the closest she gets in the films to reciprocity). In short, there was an 'understanding' in between them that never needed words, or any sort of usual expression of affection to exist. It's THERE and that's enough for them (*sigh*).

In the manga, it is implied that Batou may fancy her, but he has other ventures and their personalities differ too much to be reconciled in an actual relationship. At least, that's what I recall, I'm not so sure.

In SAC, I think those who posted before me said it. Batou's into the Major, the Major knows it, but neither take it any further. The final episode of the 1st GIG (Batou's reactions to the team's comments) is clear evidence that he fancies her. As for the Major, well... she is more engaging than the cold shell she is in the films, closer to the manga version, and likes to tease Batou. The indication that Batou approaches to the subject, despite his feelings, rather casually is in 1st GIG Episode 15 - his choice of words for the Major's secret emergency meeting being "This isn't the proper atmosphere for a confession of love, either." given context, this becomes quite something else.

In the manga, yeah it's pretty clear she's bisexual, or at least sexually adventurous. But in SAC, I think she likely has no interest in sexuality. Yes, Korean, Asexual might be the best way to describe her. When she's over at her girlfriend's house, she obviously doesn't really care that her friends are half-naked. And she also doesn't really react to Batou's jokes about her. Then there was the thing with the Taiwanese kid, but she could have been joking. By her facial expression, though she could have actually been trying to act suggestive.

As for the whole thing about Batou and the Major, I'm all for it. There's some subtle hints that they might be sharing a behind-the-scenes romance, like in the episode where she opens up to Batou, and in episode 16 when she poses as his wife for Batou's fake picture, and then at the end of Solid State Society, he's got his arm around her. It could be that the others in Section 9 could know it, that would explain why they never try to chase after her heart.

But really, with every scene involving the major's sexuality being totally ambiguous, it's likely she's just asexual.

----------------------------------------
"What is this? Catch the X-Men day?"
-Rogue

The Major definitely has had sex with women in the manga and it's pretty heavily hinted at in the 1st series of SAC - so she's at least bisexual.

However it gets a little more complicated in SAC episode 24 when Batou asks her why she doesn't just get a male body. She then says that she changed her body and braincase as circumstances required and that she'd just change her memories too. So it's not 100% certain that the Major is who we think she is, and may not even be who SHE thinks she is. So there's the possibility that she may have - or may in the future - changed sex.