This Pride Month, let’s dive into the range of queer representation offered on our streaming services- minus all the gloom and doom and one-note queer characters, of course! This list spans over many different genres, rich with multifaceted characters who’re more than just their sexuality- just like real human beings! checkout the list of Netflix shows with LGBT characters below
Netflix Shows With LGBT Characters Including lesbian movies on Netflix
Mindhunter (2017-2019)
Image: Mindhunter/Denver and Delilah Productions
Starring as one of the three main characters in this murder thriller show, Wendy Carr is a clever, sharp-tongued psychology professor, and a lesbian. Wendy is multifaceted and her sexuality is handled with subtlety, she accepts herself but is secretive at the workplace, due to harsh attitudes around the subject.
Sex Education (2019-2020)
Image: Sex Education/Eleven Film
While “Sex Education” boasts a whole slew of LGBT+ characters, it all begins with Otis’s gay best friend, Eric. Eric is quirky and fashionable, without being reduced to an archetype. His dimensionality comes from his Christian faith, his relationship with his father, and the hardships he’s dealt with. Eric is also of Ghanaian and Nigerian descent, making him radical within the queer representation.
I Am Not Okay With This (2020)
Image: I’m Not Okay With This/21 Laps Entertainment
Sydney’s got a secret, and it isn’t her huge unrequited crush on best friend Dina– it’s her ability of telekinesis. “I Am Not Okay With This” makes Sydney’s rage-driven superpowers a culmination of her teenage angst. She’s angry, plain, and queer: a rarity amongst YA protagonists.
The Half of It (2020)
Image: The Half of It/Likely Story
Intelligent high-schooler Ellie helps, Paul, woo popular Aster. The twist? Ellie’s in love with Aster too. Ellie is a vital example of queer Asian-American representation, and the film doesn’t make Ellie’s sexuality a topic of trauma. Instead, her sexuality and ethnicity are handled with grace, by writer, Chinese-American lesbian, Alice Wu.
Atypical (2017-2019)
Image: Atypical/Weird Brain
“Atypical” handles one of its main characters, Casey’s, queerness in a radical, refreshing way. Casey is allowed to wholeheartedly date a boy first, and later Izzy, squashing any possible “bi-erasure”. Sure, Casey likes girls, but she’s also a mouthy, messy teenager, juggling family troubles and her own passions alongside her sexuality.
Teenage Bounty Hunters (2020)
Image: Teenage Bounty Hunters/Tilted Productions
Sterling’s messy and relatable queer panic is an unexpected but pleasant surprise in a seemingly run-of-the-mill quirky teen comedy. Subverting the trope, it’s her arch-nemesis she’s got the hots for, creating an engaging dynamic for queer viewers. “Bounty Hunters” doesn’t reduce Sterling to her sexuality, she’s other things too: a model student, a Christian, and, well, a teenage bounty hunter.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2020)
Image: The Mitchells vs. the Machines/Columbia Pictures
Enter protagonist Katie Mitchell: a filmmaker who creates weird art, doesn’t understand her father, fights robots, and saves the world– and oh, she’s also a queer! Katie states that she’s always felt a little “different”. Throughout, Katie’s clearly queer-coded, and then she’s not, but in the film’s final moments, we’re given explicit confirmation of her gayness.
The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
Image: The Haunting of Bly Manor/Intrepid Pictures
An exploration of grief and inner demons, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” is less a ghost story and more a gothic romance- a queer one, at that. Wrapped up in queer metaphors, the show explores repressed lesbian protagonist Dani’s past trauma, and love story with gardener Jamie.
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What do you think of this list? Do you think these characters are accurate representations of queerness?
Leave your thoughts in the comments!
