People deserve to see themselves reflected in art, stories, and media. White, straight, and cis people have held the narratives for far too long.
For the LGBTQIA+ community (and we must remember the intersecting identities for people of color (POC), womxn and womxn of color (WOC), disabled, and more) gay marriages were not legalized until 2015 within the U.S., being queer was considered to be a mental illness in the DSM until 1973, and trans people are in a battle in the Supreme Court for their civil rights. These are just small bits of queer lives and we are not a monolith.
Queer people deserve to have stories that we can see ourselves in and queer stories should be for everyone as a way that maybe one day people will see us as people.
LGBTQIA+ artists and stories need to be supported more than just during pride month.
- Movies/TV Shows
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The Half of It
This film will be on Netflix come May 1st! This follows a shy teenager named Ellie as she helps a football player try to win over the girl that she is in love with.
Moonlight
This film is a coming of age story that follows a young Black man as he navigates growing up Black, poor, and gay in Miami and finds his place in the world.
One Day at a Time
This is a hilarious and heartwrenching reimagining of the TV classic, where a newly single Latina mother raises her teen daughter and tween son with the “help” of her old-school mom. This features a lesbian daughter and her non-binary partner. The sapphics won with this show.
Sex Education
This follows awkward and nervous Otis as he gets pulled into sharing sex advice, thanks to his therapist mom, and starting a sex therapy clinic at their high school with the girl he likes.
- Podcasts
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Food 4 Thot
This is a brutually honest, hilarious, and sex positive podcast where a group of multiracial queer writers discuss sex, relationships, identity, what they like to read, and who they like to read.
Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
This is a podcast that brings together queer voices to have intimiate conversations of queer history and the LGBTQIA+ heroes, witnesses, and activists.
The Heart
The Heart is a feminist community of creators who use documentary, memoirs, and personal essays to examine gender, sexuality, desire, consent, power dynamics, and all of the invisible things in the air between humans.
- Books
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I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver
This story follow Ben De Backer after they come out out to their parents as nonbinary, they are thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister. This tale shares their story of struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents’ rejection and as they fall in love for the first time.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
This is the bisexual book of my dreams, this is an alternative timeline where a woman won presidency in 2016 and follows their 21 year-old son, Alex Caremont-Diaz, who is Mexican American and falls in love for the Prince of Wales.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Author Kacen Callender shares a revelatory YA novel about a Black queer transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.
After the Eclipse by Fran Dorricott
This is a psychological thriller that follows Cassie sixteen years after her sister was abducted during the solar eclipse. She returns to town to care for her grandmother as another solar eclipse approaches and another young girl goes missing.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This story follows a woman interviewing the Hollywood star, Evelyn Hugo, from the 1950’s as she recounts her seven husbands, her Cuban heritage, and who was her true love.
- Music
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Aaron Porter
British singer-songwriter Aaron Porter shared with world his debut BOY, which is a queer R&B song that is perfect for dance-pop. He has stated that he is eager to “be a good role model for the younger generation”. He is opening doors by entering the typically heteronormative industry by being an openly gay artist who isn’t afraid to touch base on sensitive topics such as toxic masculinity.
Merlot
Merlot has been a prominent figure in New York City’s queer scene for a while and isn’t done yet. They made their debut in the music industry with R&B track, Bad For You, which is a sultry, sensual number where they proclaim to a lover: “I’m not gonna change baby, through and through / Cuz’ I’m bad for you, cuz’ I’m bad for you.”
Dizzy Fae
Dizzy is new to the music scene and is going to conquer the world of music and making sure everyone knows that she is an out-and-proud artist.
“If I can be anything, it’s that person that someone can look at and be like, ‘I feel you’,” Dizzy said in an interview. “How I feel about being queer and brown is probably how a lot of the world is feeling.”
I hope you enjoy these LGBTQIA+ recs and if you have any more for us, feel free to find us on social media!