This past decade has welcomed more and more inclusive movies that highlight LGTBQ+ voices and experiences. Instead of sticking to negative tropes, such movies eschew stereotypes, making of these characters much more than their sexual identity.
Movies over the past decade have done a better job of casting LGBTQ+ actors in roles, too. While not all of the actors portraying the queer-identifying characters on this list are queer themselves, their depictions are some of the most affirming for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through their struggles, insights, and humor, these characters show that queer life is as dynamic and variegated as it is for anyone else.
Elle Reid (Grandma, 2015)
Lily Tomlin’s portrayal of a lesbian septuagenarian grandmother reeling from the death of her long-term partner is full of equal parts life and heartache. Elle, a poet in Los Angeles, receives an unannounced visitor: her estranged 18-year-old granddaughter, who is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.
The two embark on a journey together across Los Angeles, learning a lot about each other and their personal pains in the meantime. Grandma includes an almost all-female cast, as well as trans characters. While all the performances are compelling, Tomlin stands out as a boomer who is finally able to look back upon her life and accept how it transpired, both good and bad.
Alike (Pariah, 2011)
Adepero Oduye is stunning to watch as the 17-year-old Alike. Alike, on the verge of adulthood, is finally coming to terms with her sexuality. A lesbian, Alike feels best when she’s wearing masculine clothing and hanging out with other women like her. Alike’s parents, though, watch her bloom into herself with silent judgment.
Alike knows they will do not approve of what they deem her “inappropriate lifestyle,” and she’s caught - like so many teenagers in her position - between her own desires and the need to feel accepted by her family. Ultimately, she chooses to live her life by own rules, and while her family sadly rejects her, she stands confident in her decision. As she tells her father, “I’m not running; I’m choosing.”
Trini Kwan (Power Rangers, 2017)
Trini Kwan is the Yellow Power Ranger, and in the 2017 reboot of the franchise, she’s portrayed as a member of the team who is questioning her sexuality. As the first big-budget queer character from a mainstream action flick, the impact of Trini’s sexual identity is far-reaching and symbolic for LGBTQ+ fans of the Power Rangers.
In the movie, Trini wrestles with her attraction to women, and she has a hard time divulging her struggles to those around her. For a character in a manga-inspired, live-action movie about a group of superheroes who morph into magical fighting machines, Trini sure is a believable, relatable character.
Cassandra “Diggy” Andrews (Dope, 2015)
Dope is a critically-acclaimed film about a group of black teenagers growing up in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood. Malcolm and James are best friends with Diggy, an androgynous teenager growing more and more comfortable with being a lesbian.
While Diggy’s church-going friends promise to help her “pray the gay away,” she’s more interested in being a normal teenager and riding bikes around town with Malcolm and James. Dope doesn’t overemphasize Diggy’s sexuality. Like Malcolm and James, she’s a member of the gang working through the same issues presented to black teens in America.
Emma (Blue Is The Warmest Color, 2013)
This French film explores a passionate affair between a high school student named Adele and a college student named Emma. Adele, less confident about her sexuality, wavers with Emma. Despite the fiery romance that develops between them, Adele betrays Emma by reuniting with her ex-boyfriend while still pursuing a relationship with her new lady love.
A movie about the intense nature of young love, Blue is the Warmest Color depicts Emma as a creative and fearless lesbian who goes after what she wants. Her overt, uncompromising sensuality is a direct affront to traditional views about women and how they should act.
Lionel Higgins (Dear White People, 2014)
The film that inspired the television show of the same name, Dear White People stars a gay student named Lionel, one of the few black students at the prestigious Winchester School. With its exploration of both racial and sexual politics, Dear White People proved to be a breath of fresh air for movie audiences tired of a lack of diversity in movies.
Tessa Thompson, a queer black actor, also stars in the movie as Sam, a student, writer, and activist who convinces the shy and reserved Lionel to get involved in the growing movement against the racist actions of white students on campus.
Marina Vidal (A Fantastic Woman, 2017)
This Academy Award-winning film follows the life of trans woman Marina after the death of her older partner Orlando. Marina is treated in a discriminatory fashion by Orlando’s ex-wife and children, who attempt to force her out of the apartment she shares with him. She’s implicated in his death, despite the medical evidence he died from a sudden brain aneurysm.
Throughout it all, Marina remains calm and collected. When tensions escalate and the transphobic actions of Orlando’s family reach their climax, Marina turns into a fighter, refusing to let her aggressors compromise her ability to grieve and move on. The film ends on a triumphant note, with Marina, a singer, performing in front of a packed audience.
Mark Ashton (Pride, 2014)
Mark Ashton is both a character in this British film and a real man who helped organize the country’s Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners campaign in the 1980s. This queer icon worked alongside other gays and lesbians to forge a partnership with striking Welsh miners in 1984.
This revolutionary was on the forefront of queer rights activism, and he understood the connections between his community’s struggles and the struggles facing the miners. In the film, Mark proves to be a powerful orator and community organizer. Unfortunately, the real Mark Ashton died from AIDS-related issues in 1987.
Elio Perlman (Call Me By Your Name, 2017)
One of the most beautiful films about first romance ever made, Call Me By Your Name focuses on the short-lived love affair between 17-year-old Elio and 24-year-old Oliver. Over the summer of 1983, Oliver lives with Elio’s family in Italy, studying under Elio’s father, an archaeologist.
The passion that develops between Elio and Oliver is pure and real, and Timothee Chalamet’s portrayal of the teenaged Elio earned him an Oscar nomination. Although neither character identifies as gay in the movie, and while both also have sexual relationships with women, Elio’s queerness takes on a quiet confidence that Oliver never achieves.
Sushmita (Common Gender, 2012)
This 2012 Bangladeshi movie is the first to feature Hijra, or members of a third gender all over the Indian subcontinent. This is also one of the first films in world cinema to feature two non-binary main characters.
The plot of the film involves a burgeoning romance between a Hijra named Sushmita and a local Bangladeshi man. The love affair is treated with the kindness and excitement given to heteronormative romances in other movies. Sushmita’s central role in the film opens up many doors for future portrayals of non-binary characters.
