While LGBTQ+ history is rich, it’s often not taught or widely known to a mainstream audience. Much of our history is hidden in the annals of archives or through oral tradition. How can we look to the future when we remain unclear about our past?
This history month, we’re examining how our stories have been told through television and film. These 15 series and films delve into the stories of our community, from the “first modern lesbian” to how the AIDS crisis played out here and abroad.
Television
Created by Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who, Queer As Folk), It’s a Sin follows a group of gay friends in the ’80s and early ’90s London as they deal with the looming AIDS crisis. We meet the cast of characters, including Richie, played by Olly Alexander, when they are 18 and follow their stories of love, illness and activism through their late 20s.
Available on Max.
Ryan Murphy’s award-winning series about New York’s ballroom culture aired on FX for three seasons. Starring transgender and nonbinary actors like Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Angelica Ross and Indya Moore, and stage and screen veterans like Billy Porter and Sandra Bernhard, Pose took viewers on a journey into the found family and ballroom houses based on the real-life histories of ballroom culture.
Available on Hulu.
This Showtime limited series stars real-life gay actors Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as clandestine lovers who first meet as governmental employees at the height of Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare era in the ’50s. The series explores the changing relationship between the two men over the decade, ending in the ’80s during the AIDS crisis. It was nominated for an Emmy and Television Critics Association award and picked up Peabody and GLAAD Awards.
Available on Showtime and Paramount+.
Anne Lister may have lived and loved in the 1800s, but thanks to the discovery of her diaries, she’s recognized as the first “modern lesbian.” Lister lived a nonconforming life quite openly in Yorkshire, England, owning property at a time when that was extremely uncommon. In Max’s series, Gentleman Jack, Suranne Jones plays Lister, a brazen businesswoman who ran her family’s estate, Shibden Hall, and romanced several high society women. From her years-long love affair with the married Marianna Lawton to her Ann Walker, whom Lister “married” in 1834, Gentleman Jack explores a period we rarely see in LGBTQ+ representation.
Available on Max.
Films and documentaries
Inspired by Vito Russo’s book of the same name, this 1995 documentary remains one of the finest made on the subject of LGBTQ+ representation in film. Featuring interviews with Hollywood stars like Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks and Lily Tomlin, The Celluloid Closet takes viewers on a journey from the beginning of LGBTQ+ representation in film, to the dark days of the Hays Code, to the emerging boom of queer and trans representation in the mid-90s.
Available on Prime and Apple TV+.
This 2020 Netflix documentary about trans representation in Hollywood has often been compared to The Celluloid Closet but stands on its own merits. The documentary features interviews with trans actors, writers and directors like Laverne Cox, Lily Wachowski and Trace Lysette, plus trans advocates and journalists. The film explores the way trans characters, and ultimately trans people, have been both villainized and celebrated throughout film and television history.
Available on Netflix.
This 1993 HBO film is based on gay journalist Randy Shilts’ bestselling book, “And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic.” The film dramatizes interviews and discoveries made by key scientists and journalists and highlights the challenges faced by the medical and LGBTQ+ communities in their fight to stop the deadly epidemic. Starring Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Ian McKellen and a large cast of Hollywood legends, the film won the 1994 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie.
Available on Max.
Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine
The 1998 murder of college student Matthew Shepard garnered worldwide attention, highlighting the issue of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes. In this documentary, director Michele Josue—one of Shepard’s friends—combines archival footage of Shepard and his family with interviews from Shepard’s now adult friends to tell the story of his life and tragic death.
Available on Tubi.
Gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin’s life gets the biopic treatment in this 2023 Netflix film. Starring gay actor Colman Domingo as Rustin, the film looks at Rustin’s work with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists leading up to the 1963 March on Washington. Ruston, who passed away in 1987 at the age of 75, spent decades working on civil rights, including LBTQ+ rights, in his later career.
Available on Netflix.
2014’s Pride is a British historical comedy-drama set in 1984 during the UK miners’ strike. The film follows a group of LGBTQ+ activists from London who form an unlikely alliance with striking Welsh miners. Despite initial tension, the activists, led by Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer), raise funds to support the miners, who face harsh opposition from the government. The film explores themes of solidarity, prejudice, and community as the two groups bond, overcoming societal divisions.
Available on Prime and Apple TV+.
Tucked away in the rural Catskills, Casa Susanna was a safe haven for trans women and cross-dressing men in the ’50s and ’60s. The documentary, directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, uses archival footage and images, plus interviews with guests who found community and themselves at Casa Susanna.
Available on Prime and PBS Experience.
Terry Donahue was a catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League when she met Pat Henshel in 1947. Their sixty-plus-year love is the centerpiece of this documentary by Donahue’s niece, Diana Bolan. We meet up with the couple as they prepare to leave their longtime home and move into an assisted living facility. A Secret Love is a heartfelt look back in time to the love that dared not speak its name and the bond that endured through nearly 70 years together.
Available on Netflix.
Curve Magazine founder Franco Stevens is the focus of this 2021 documentary, which looks back at Steven’s challenges and triumphs in running Curve from 1990 to 2010 and reclaiming ownership of the brand again in 2021. Stevens shares her experiences at the helm of Curve, including a lawsuit by French actress Catherine Deneuve, a life-changing injury, historic comings out, pioneering coverage and more.
Available on Netflix.
Circus of Books is a 2019 documentary directed by Rachel Mason, exploring the story of her parents, Karen and Barry Mason, who ran a legendary gay porn bookstore in Los Angeles for over 35 years. This couple became unlikely LGBTQ+ advocates by operating Circus of Books and creating a haven for the gay community during the height of the AIDS crisis. The film delves into their personal lives, the challenges of running the store, and the broader cultural impact of the store, which still operates today.
Available on Netflix.
Paragraph 175 is a 2000 documentary that examines the persecution of gay men and lesbians under Nazi Germany’s rule. The film takes its name from Paragraph 175, a provision in the German penal code that criminalized homosexuality. The documentary features interviews with several surviving victims who share their personal stories of arrest, imprisonment and survival. Through archival footage and personal testimony, Paragraph 175 sheds light on a largely overlooked chapter of Holocaust history.
Available on Prime and Apple TV+.