It’s LGBTQ+ History Month in the United States, and so I want to share some of my favorite Queer documentaries with you all. Queer people are more likely to have to find their own roots—the majority of us grew up with straight parents and surrounded by straight community. Our queer culture is still a part of us, though, and connecting with older queer people as well as watching movies and reading books to educate myself has been an integral part of my evolving understanding of my own sexuality and gender. I highly recommend taking the time to explore this history, and the documentaries below are a great place to start.
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Disclosure
Director: Sam Feder
Release Date: 2020
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If you haven’t seen this movie by now, you’re behind. Disclosure is the fantastic documentary about transgender representation in Hollywood. So many famous queer people, including Laverne Cox, talk about how the trans and gender non-conforming people they saw on-screen growing up affected their own sense of identity. It’s a deeply moving and frustrating piece that shows us just how far we still have to come.
Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate
Director: Benjamin Cantu
Release Date: 2023
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I’m so glad I stumbled across this on Netflix during my aimless scrolling. This film takes us into Nazi Germany in the days before and during the Nazi regime. It was fascinating to see the way fascists have historically come for gender nonconforming people first and then come for the gay and lesbian people who think they can “acceptable gay” their way into conformity. If this sounds eerily familiar to our current situation in the United States, that’s for a reason! Although there was a strong overuse of live action dramatization, the story told here was fascinating and worth the watch.
The Case Against 8
Director: Ryan White, Ben Cotner
Release Date: 2014
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A pretty large portion of the people reading this website grew up in a post-8 era. You guys had the privilege of knowing you’d be able to get married to whoever you wanted to since the day you realized your sexuality. If that sounds like you, watching this movie is incredibly important. The Case Against 8 takes you behind the scenes of the legal battle to get to know the people behind it. This was super eye opening for me, especially as we enter an era of even more hotly contested Supreme Court cases aimed at human rights.
Chely Wright: Wish Me Away
Director: Beverly Kopf, Bobbie Birleffi
Release Date: 2011
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Celebrities are still closeted in the music industry and Hollywood today. One of the very first women to come out on a public stage, especially in the country music industry, was Chely Wright. She’s an absolute legend, and this documentary, while at times a bit disjointed, explores her life and the process of her deciding to come out on a national scale. Her bravery and the impact she made cannot be underestimated.
A Secret Love
Director: Chris Bolan
Release Date: 2020
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Many of the movies on this list are a bit depressing, so this is an uplifting one to end you with. A Secret Love is about the enduring romance of two old lesbians who met playing baseball during World War II. I cried a hundred times over the course of this movie, but every time it was because seeing lesbian love on my screen made me emotional. It’s a must watch for anyone with a Netflix!
What LGBTQ+ documentaries would you recommend?
