• Pose – TV series (2019-2021) – Series about NYC’s African-American and Latino drag ball culture scene.
  • Paris Is Burning – Rated R (1990) – A documentary about transgender subculture in the 1980s.
  • Tangerine – Unrated but for adult audience (2015) – Story about a trans sex worker who discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her.
  • Moonlight – Rated R (2016) – Oscar-winning film about a gay Black man told in three different periods of his life.
  • Out – Unrated (2020) – Disney animated short about a man’s hesitation about coming out to his parents with a cute puppy. What’s not to love about a mischievous puppy?
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race – TV series (2009-Present) – Drag competition show and cultural phenomenon.
  • My Beautiful Laundrette – Rated R (1985) – A story of two young men falling in love in London with a backdrop of the tension between the Pakistani and English communities; stars a young Daniel Day Lewis.
  • The Queen – Unrated (1968) – Documentary on the Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant.
  • – Unrated (2020) – Disney animated short about a man’s hesitation about coming out to his parents with a cute puppy. What’s not to love about a mischievous puppy?
  • It’s a Sin – TV series (2021) – British miniseries set from 1981 to 1991 depicting the lives of a group of gay men and their friends who lived during the AIDS crisis in the UK.
  • But I’m a Cheerleader – Rated R (1999) – A naïve teen is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
  • Looking – TV Series (2014-2015) – Three best friends in San Francisco share the nuances and complexities of contemporary gay relationships.
  • The Boys in the Band ­– Rated R (2020) – A visitor turns an evening upside down when he interrupts a gathering of gay men in NYC in 1968.
  • The Normal Heart ­– Rated R (2014) – In 1980s New York, a writer and his friends join forces to expose the truth about the emerging AIDS crisis.)
  • Weekend – Unrated (2011) – A one-night stand unexpectedly turns into something far more reaching.
  • BPM (Beats per Minute) – Unrated (2017) – A story about a young man who joins an AIDS activist group in 1990s Paris.
  • The Kids Are Alright – Rated R (2010) – Story of lesbian couple raising teenagers.
  • How to Survive a Plague – Unrated (2012) – Documentary about the battle of AIDS activists to bring attention to the disease while hoping to lead the drive to find a cure.
  • Circus of Books – Unrated but for adult audiences (2019) – Documentary about a couple who take over an adult book store, which becomes the biggest distributor of gay porn in the country.
  • Weekend – Unrated (2011) – Story about two men who meet and begin a fling before one of them plans to leave the country.
  • Philadelphia – Rated PG-13 (1993) – Story of gay lawyer with AIDS and his legal battles with his law firm.
  • Beautiful Thing – Rated R (1996) – A gay coming-out story about two boys in tough south London neighborhood.
  • Love! Valor! Compassion! – Rated R (1997) – A story of a group of gay men dealing with the AIDS epidemic, love and friendship.
  • Broken Hearts Club – Rated R (2000) – A story of a group of gay friends in West Hollywood.
  • Brokeback Mountain – Rated R (2005) – An Oscar-nominated movie about two cowboys who fall in love in the American West; Jake Gyllenhaal to Heath Ledger – “I wish I knew how to quit you.”
  • Milk – Rated R (2008) – Story of Harvey Milk, an openly gay man elected to public office in San Francisco in the 1970’s; starring Sean Penn.
  • The Imitation Game – Rated PG-13 (2014) – Story of Alan Turing, a gay code breaker during WWII and the discrimination he faced.
  • Call Me by Your Name – Rated R (2017) – Story of first love set in beautiful Italian countryside.
  • God’s Own Country – Unrated (2017) – Story of sheep farmer in rural Yorkshire struggling with his sexuality and falling in love.
  • Love, Simon – Rated PG-13 (2018) – Gay coming-out story about a high school kid who falls in love.
  • Boy Erased – Rated R (2018) – Story of a young man sent to a conversion therapy program.
  • Rocketman – Rated R (2019) – Elton John’s story in a fantasy-tinged musical extravaganza.

Special Mention for Broadway Shows with LGBTQ-themes:

  • Rent
  • Fun Home
  • Spring Awakening
  • The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
  • Head over Hills
  • Cabaret
  • Kinky Boots