We’ve talked about so many lovely things this month! I was going to say that I wish we had time to also talk about my favorite LGBTQIA+ characters, and then I remembered that every day can be a queer day, so I’ll just save that for later. Alas, this is the last queer-specific TTT post for this month since I’ve already got next week’s queued up, but I thought it’d be fun to talk about some of my favorite LGBTQIA+ movies & TV shows since I’ve watched a ton this month.
Gosh, I still remember seeing Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) in theaters when it released and just thinking, “Holy shit. This has got a powerful cast, is about one of the world’s favorite musicians, and is 100% going to draw a big audience because of that, AND IT’S GAY.” I thought Rami Malek did an absolutely mesmerizing job as Freddie Mercury. He just broke my heart. I will never forget the AIDS concert scene because that’s it, when people ask me why I go to concerts, I just want to show them that specific scene because that’s it, that’s the whole reason why, and I’m still baffled at the fact that someone managed to capture that feeling.
Representation: POC bi mc, white gay li
Of course Call Me By Your Name (2017) is on this list! One of the few examples of a movie I’ve seen before I’ve read the book (yup, still haven’t read it), and wow. My goodness. This was also one of those movies that my friend, Jen, kept hounding me to watch. It was this and the live action Beauty and the Beast, and I honestly cannot tell you why I kept refusing to watch both, just that I didn’t want to, I was in a phase of my life where movies were the last thing I wanted to watch, it was a bad time all around. And I still remember finally texting her to sheepishly admit that I’d finally watched it and needed to scream about it because WOW. I also still remember just cackling over Erin’s face when I finally showed this to her and she was like “YOU DIDN’T TELL ME IT WAS GOING TO BE THIS GOOD.”
Representation: white gay mc, white bi li
We just recently watched The Half of It (2020), and I knew that I had this post to write still when we were watching it, and I knew pretty early on in the movie that it was going to end up on this list. This was honestly just one of the softest movies I’ve ever watched, and it was queer. Like? I feel like I’ve seen a lot of straight soft movies, but one with sapphic characters? What? Hello, yes, I’d like to thank 2020 for at least one good thing? I’m still bummed about the very slight swerve into straight territory that this tried to take, but it was barely half a second of it, and it moved on pretty quickly back to just platonic best friends, so, in the end, I’m still shouting about this book.
Representation: POC lesbian mc, white(?) bi li
Look, you can’t just say gay Daniel Radcliffe as a writer and expect me not to spontaneously combust. Kill Your Darlings (2013) is one of those movies that tries to murder me all over again every time I watch it, and it’s just really out there doing the Dark Lord’s work. This movie is powerful, painful, and–well, I can’t think of another p word, but it wrenches out my heart and stomps on it every damn time. It makes me flail to watch Dan & Dane fall for each other right up until I’m screaming to just let them be soft and gay together. Plus, writers. I’m always game for a writers movie, especially these chaotic little weirdos.
Representation: Jewish gay mc, white gay li
Don’t even come near me with Moonlight (2016). This movie is a gift, and if you haven’t seen it, open a new tab RIGHT NOW don’t you dare keep reading this post and START WATCHING IT IMMEDIATELY. Fair warning, I’m going to say that for the next movie, too, so you’re apparently going to need about four hours to read this post. This movie is SO GOOD. Talk about soft and gay, holy magic. I would, no exaggeration at all, watch three full seasons of this movie. Like, give me thirty hours of its nothingness and slow burn and gentle pace. I want to watch this on repeat for the rest of my life.
Representation: Black gay mc, Black bi li
Okay, is Ben Whishaw one of my favorite actors? Yeah, honestly, he probably has snagged the number two spot by now, and he’s not budging. (Chris Evans is my forever #1.) And is Lilting (2014) one of the saddest movies you’re ever going to watch, but, like, in a soft, sweet, slow kind of way? Heck yeah. Like, how perfect that these two ended up in the alphabet next to each other because you also need to open a new tab–you’ve finished Moonlight, came back here to read this paragraph, and now you’ve got to start all over again–and watch this as soon as possible. I told Erin that this was a “soft sad gay”, and her response after was, “You really need to work on how you describe things. Like, maybe put capital letters before your soft sad gay so I realize it’s all those things, but amplified tenfold.”
Representation: white gay mc, POC gay li
Gosh, if for nothing else but the scene where Simon’s dad cries while he’s telling Simon that he loves him–give us more men who cry! My dad is one of these, and I loved being able to see that kind of father figure on screen in a hugely popular movie. Like, not only do we get to smash patriarchal bullshit in Love, Simon (2018), but it’s gay, too! And I know that we need more movies like Moonlight to be taking the spotlight over straight white ones, especially because it deals with all of these things (emotional men, beautiful queer relationships). I’m just so happy that we also get to see soft fathers and questioning teenagers and all the love.
Representation: white gay mc, Black gay li
I mean, did Queer Eye (2018-2020) have to bless us with a new season during Pride? No, of course not, but they’re just that great. I know that there are a lot of issues with QE, too, and I’d like to take a second to note that I’m aware of them, and I’m not blindly rec’ing this without saying that yes, it’s done some pretty racist stuff, and yes, a lot of the queer community feels like it’s made being LGBTQIA+ into some kind of glittery charade. Pretty much every movie on this list has it issues (except Moonlight, it’s perfect, don’t @ me), and it’s okay to recognize those issues and still enjoy something. Obviously, this is coming from a place of privilege that I can still enjoy it while acknowledging that it’s got some pretty big flaws, and I’m not making light of those flaws at all. I do still love it, though, and it’s given me a lot of hope and joy over the past couple of years. That, and every time Antoni cries, I become a weeping mess, so it’s also helped me work through a lot of emotional days, hahaha.
Representation: for main cast: white gay, Black gay, POC gay, white gay(?), white nb
Hi, yes, welcome to the only other wholly perfect show on this list–Sense8 (2015-2018). You’re welcome for bringing this into your life if you didn’t already know it existed. If you’ve seen any gifs from me in a post this month, it’s probably been from Sense8, and I am literally going to go to my grave still holding a grudge with Netflix for cancelling it. Is this the best show ever filmed? Yes, actually, it is. There is not a single thing about Sense8 that I don’t love with my entire soul, and if I was some kind of way more insane than normal rich person, I would put all of my money into continuing this show forever, and that’s just the honest truth.
Representation: I don’t want to actually try to guess at everyone, but they all have polyamorous relationships with each other in some shape or form, so, in my head, they’re all bi, but that’s not actually stated, so among the white characters, you’ve also got Black, POC, and trans.
It’s me! Your friendly neighborhood Shadowhunters (2016-2019) TV show fangirl! This show was the best, and you can’t convince me otherwise! The fact that, for quite a while there, the only romance happening was between two men? On Freeform, no less, a hugely popular television station that’s whole thing is it being a family channel? Godsdamn. Anyway, I’m literally going to be on my Shadowhunters train for the rest of my life. I even didn’t totally hate the movie, so like, I don’t know what to tell you, this show is one of my favorites, and I will love Matthew Daddario & Harry Shum Jr as Alec & Magnus until the day I die.
Representation: white gay mc, POC bi li
Mary and the Words 
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