Let's Talk LGBTQ Entertainment, Again

By Jessica Mahmoud on May 16, 2017

Here’s another part two post! As a recent grad, I’ve got a lot of spare time and I’m excited to get more consistent on my blog posts. In the midst of a time where I think the LGBTQ+ Community needs some self care and enjoyment with some representation, check out this list of LGBTQ+ Entertainment, Part 2. Check out Part 1 here.

All opinions are my own!

Book List

The Miseducaton of Cameron Post, by Emily M. Danforth

I read this book the summer after I came out as lesbian and really enjoyed it. Content warning on the fact that Cameron is sent away to conversion therapy for her gay identity, but that’s not what the book is really about in a tortuous way. It is a nice coming of age story when there are not many of them. If you have or do read it, you can see an interview with the author here.

I think books of stories and lives of the LGBTQ+ Community can be really powerful in the way that they can be relatable. The books below fall into this category:

Oddly Normal: One Family’s Struggle to Help Their Teenage Son Come Terms With His Sexuality, by John Schwartz

Outspeak: Narrating Identities That Matter, by Sean P. O’Connell

Queer Kids: The Challenges and Promise for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth, by Robert E. Owens

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout, by Laura Jane Grace with Dan Ozzi

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, by Susan Kuklin

And finally …

“You Can Tell Just by Looking”: and 20 Other Myths About LGBT Life and People, by Michael Bronski, Ann Pellegrini, and Michael Amico

I feel like I’ve used this book before to help me write some of my past blog pieces. In similar fashion, I think it’s mostly an enjoyment in the way writers are talking about these topics.

Musicians

Angel Haze: I first found Angel Haze on an episode of MTV’s Catfish. They are open about their gender identity, and I love they are changing the world of rap music. You can learn more about them here.

Halsey: Halsey is an openly bisexual pop singer who gets a lot of coverage in the media. Halsey expressed her queerness at a concert, where she kissed an audience member. I think it’s very powerful to be out and proud as a musician, but unfortunately Buzzfeed wrote an article about it that fed right into misconceptions of the bisexual community that you can read here. I was happy to see that Halsey responded to it, which you can see here.

Troye Sivan: Troye is another pop singer part of the LGBTQ Community. He was born in South Africa and raised in Australia (Patridge). His coming out story can be found on YouTube, where he still vlogs and makes more personal videos. In this interview, Troye talks about how powerful his identity is on a musical platform.

Tove Lo: I’m a big fan of Tove Lo, a pop singer, and found my research reading of this interview on her sexual orientation to be even more fun to see. In our generation of sexual fluidity, it was fun to see her publicly call herself a hobby lesbian and admit that she’s never had a relationship with a girl before. In our world of labels, I think it’s really cool that as a public figure, Tove is open about this.

Against Me!: While I am personally not a big fan of the band, Against Me! is a punk rock band whose lead singer, Laura Jane Grace, is a transgender woman. You can read more about Laura’s story in the 2016 book, Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock’s Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout (Grace).

Films

Almost Adults and Life Partners

I put both of these together because while they are different, they have similar storylines. Both are about two women who are friends, where one is straight and one is gay. That’s all I’ll tell you! Also, “Almost Adults” was made by the comedians of the YouTube channel UnsolicitedProject.

Tangerine

Tangerine is about the lives of two transgender prostitutes. The coolest thing about this film is that it was all shot on an iPhone 5s, but honestly you really can’t tell. It’s available on Netflix and premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2015 (LEOW). See the trailer here.

Love is All You Need?

If you’ve ever heard the term breeders to refer to straight people, you’ve probably seen the short film Love is All You Need? If you haven’t, you can watch it here. Originally, this was about one story, but it’s now been made into a two hour full-length movie with multiple stories. The plot line is that to be straight is wrong and to be gay is the norm. You can catch the trailer here.

Appropriate Behavior

Appropriate Behavior is about a bisexual woman who is from a Persian family dealing with coming out and living her life openly. It deals directly with the fears that some folks face when their cultural identity doesn’t always accept their LGBTQ+ identity. It’s funny, and quirky, but still real. You can see the trailer here.

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List

Finally, this one is so fun! There’s a lot of ambiguity of identities, and if you want to learn about it beforehand, the trailer is here. However, I recommend just checking it out!

YouTube

(Due to copyright laws, I didn’t attach videos, but did hyperlink to their YouTube channels and videos)

Shannon Beveridge (Now this is living)

Getting popular from Tumblr, Shannon’s channel really shows what it’s like to live openly and honestly. Some of her videos include A Letter to You, her most recent Coming Out Video, and her newest video Being Gay in a Sorority.

Shannon also just got a Shorty Award for their LGBTQ+ YouTube Channel winner. You can also find a really cool video made about her story here.

Riley J Dennis (Riley J. Dennis)

As a vlogger for Everyday FeminismRiley makes awesome educational videos about the LGBTQ+ Community, along with lots of other topics. Some of these include nonbinary gender identity, a video explaining they pronouns, and her newest video on trans women having beards.

Miles McKenna (MilesChronicles)

MilesChronicles is very comical in the way they make jokes about the LGBTQ+ Community, but all in good fun. Some of their videos include Watch This if You’re Gay, Coming Out to Strangers, and Weird Hacks to Find Your Gender. Miles also hosts a show called Hella Gay that you can watch here. They also talk about their identity, like their video coming out as nonbinary this past January.

Steph (Ello Steph)

Also discovered on Tumblr, Steph recently left YouTube, unfortunately. However, she has awesome videos on her channel! She used to work for Buzzfeed and after she left made a video called The Truth About Working At Buzzfeed. Taking a comical approach, other videos include, Accidentally Liking Your Crushes Instagram, Do Straight Girls Have Gaydar?, and The Ten Types of Lesbians You Will Date. Finally, before leaving she made a great video about YouTube’s restrictive mode.

Connor Franta (ConnorFranta)

Connor Franta used to just make comedy and prank videos, but then he made a coming out video. YAYY!! Since then he’s made a Coming Out: One Year Later video, My One Gay Regret, and more personal videos, which is great.

Marina (MarinaShutup)

I love Marina!! Her Feminist Fridays are so educational, and almost a year ago Marina used YouTube as her platform to come out as bisexual, and has since added more LGBTQ+ content to her channel, which is awesome! Some of these are about feeling Bi enough, whether bisexuals should use the word gay, and more recently, if bisexuality is transphobic.

Chase Ross (upperCHASE1)

I recently found Chase Ross and just his trailer is amazing! His videos are all about the trans community on things like top surgery, how-to for female to male trans folks, information for family and friends, and much more.

R.J. Aguiar (TheNotAdam)

I also recently found this channel, that mainly focuses on the bisexual community, which is rad because they need more visibility. This channel is all about comedy, but is also really educational. Some of his videos include Biphobia at Pride, his Ask a Bi Guy series (here’s the first one!), and Ask a Bi Girl.

Podcasts

Not too long ago I found the Anti Slut-Shaming, Feminist podcast Guys We Fucked. While I’ve loved all the shows comedians Kristina and Corinne have hosted, here are three that talk about the LGBTQ+ Community that I’ve come across.

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I hope this list gave you some fun ideas when you need some LGBTQ+ representation. Be sure to follow the hyperlinks and check out the sources below!

Sources

Bronski, M. (2013). “You can tell just by looking” : And 20 other myths about lGBT life and people. Boston: Beacon Press.

Cooper, M. (2017). Tove Lo’s LGBTQ Advice: ‘Be You, Don’t Be Ashamed & Don’t Apologize.’ OUT. http://www.out.com/music/2017/3/10/tove-los-lgbtq-advice-be-you-dont-be-ashamed-dont-apologize

Gross, T. NPR Fresh Air. For Laura Jane Grace, Punk Was A Form Of Armor. http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=522581237

Keating, S. (2015). The Evolution of Angel Haze. Buzzfeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonkeating/the-evolution-of-angel-haze?utm_term=.lp1LM2e5p8#.ex1wVE6Qnx

Keating, S. (2016). What Does A Queer Pop Star Look Like In 2016? Buzzfeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonkeating/what-does-a-queer-pop-star-look-like-in-2016?utm_term=.guN1Wy6Lvx#.us5DA4VEKG

Kuklin, S. (2016). Beyond magenta : Transgender teens speak out. London: Walker Books and Subsidiaries.

LEOW, K. (2015). INDEPENDENCE TRANSCENDENT. Moviemaker, 22(114), 56-63

O’Connell, S. (2001). Outspeak : Narrating identities that matter. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Owens, R., Jr.,. (1998). Queer kids : The challenges and promise for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth (Haworth gay & lesbian studies). New York: Haworth Press.

Partridge, K. (2015). Troye Sivan. Billboard, (37). 116.

Pilcher, R. (2016). MTV. http://www.mtv.co.uk/halsey/news/halsey-responds-to-buzzfeed-article-about-her-sexuality-sorry-im-not-gay-enough-for-you

Picardi, P. Troye Sivan’s Cover Interview: On Queerness, Representation, and the Power of Music. (2017). Teen Vogue. http://www.teenvogue.com/story/troye-sivan-cover-interview-coming-out-queerness-trump

Reise. (2012). Autostraddle Book Club: Emily Answers Your “Cameron Post” Questions and We Throw and Feelings Fest. Autostraddle. https://www.autostraddle.com/read-a-fcking-book-club-miseducation-of-cameron-post-149393/

Schwartz, J. (2013). Oddly normal : One family’s struggle to help their teenage son come to terms with his sexuality. New York: Gotham Books.

The Ninth’s Annual Shorty Awards Winners. http://shortyawards.com/9th/winners

Walker, R. Now This Is Living. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/96453948

Wood, L. (2017). Great LGBTQ YouTubers You Need To Know About To Fight YouTube’s Restricted Mode. MTV. http://www.mtv.co.uk/life/news/great-lgbtq-youtubers-you-need-to-know-about-to-fight-youtubes-restricted-mode#4VhhkyKwwAQjb6rG.99

Additional Reads

Bloom, A. (2002). Normal : Transsexual CEOs, cross-dressing cops, and hermaphrodites with attitude (1st ed. ed.). New York: Random House.

Evans, J., & Cook, M. (Eds.). (2014). Queer cities, queer cultures : Europe since 1945. London: Bloomsbury.

Grace, L., & Ozzi, D. (2016). Tranny : Confessions of punk rock’s most infamous anarchist sellout (First edition. ed.). New York: Hachette Books.

Jobin-Leeds, G. (2016). When we fight, we win : Twenty-first-century social movements and the activists that are transforming our world. New York: New Press.

Originally Posted on Color it Queer

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