The official round-up of the times last year was extra queer

BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS

2019 really was the rise of queer culture. Queer memes were all over social media and queer characters began to make their way into plenty of mainstream parts of our lives. We can’t to see what 2020 has in store for us lez/bi folk!

The Favourite cast said “gay rights”

A legend and hero who attended the BAFTA red carpet asked Olivia Colman and her co-star in The Favourite, Rachel Weisz, to say “gay rights” on-camera, becoming a major viral queer moment. 

Queer Eye’s Jess Guilbeaux 

Jess Guilbeaux, who made history as the first lesbian to appear on Queer Eye, captured our hearts in 2019 with her story of resilience and reinvention. After coming out as a teen, Jess’ adoptive parents disowned her, and she was forced to start living independently at just 16. So of course, it was incredibly moving to see the Fab Five help her out.

Booksmart

Booksmart was Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut and it depicted the queer experience in the least exploitative way possible for a mainstream film. The lead character, Amy, is a lesbian and the film explores her engaging in her first queer endeavours: chasing after her crush and having an awkward first sexual experience. Classic baby gay. 

Stranger Things

Season three of Stranger Things was called the queerest yet by LGBTQI fans, and rightly so, after finally introducing a lesbian character in the form of Robin (played by Maya Hawke). It was so refreshing that she wasn’t subjected to a huge coming out plot and her sexuality was revealed seamlessly towards the end of the series. 

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird

US soccer star Megan Rapinoe and her girlfriend Sue Bird became one of the internet’s most beloved couples last year. Rapinoe herself was hailed an American hero for both her role on the Women’s National Soccer Team and her infamous “I’m not going to the fucking White House” interview. 

Euphoria

Queer stars were seen elsewhere, too. Like Hunter Schafer from Euphoria, a trans girl who sparked a makeup revolution, and set our queer hearts on fire starring alongside Zendaya with an adorable on-screen romance.

Queer love triangle

This rumoured love triangle between Tessa Thompson, Janelle MonĂĄe, and Lupita Nyong’o had everybody talking. We all became personally invested, because we’re only human, and who wouldn’t be obsessed with this trio?

Indya Moore’s fashion moment

If you don’t know Indya Moore, they’re the brilliant actor behind Pose’s Angel Evangelista. At Daily Front Row’s annual Fashion Media Awards, Indya made a strong statement by wearing earrings comprised of portraits of 16 black transgender women who were murdered in the US in 2019. Speaking at the event, Indya said: “Trans people deserve safety, acknowledgement and respect.” It was a particularly poignant moment, full of respect and honour for the trans community.

Jodie Comer’s Emmy

In Killing Eve, Jodie plays the wicked killing machine whose life becomes entangled with that of Sandra Oh’s character, Eve. In 2019, she took home the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award at the Emmy’s. No surprise there!

The rise of the lesbian period drama

Gentleman Jack, Vita And Virginia, Colette, The Favourite – we were truly spoilt for choice in terms of period dramas in 2019. It seems we are becoming much more accepting of cinematic explorations of women-loving women and 2019 saw a huge rise in these heated and historic films.

Vivianne Miedema

The amazing moment when striker for The Netherlands and Arsenal, Vivianne Miedema, perfectly shut down this intrusive reporter.

Fleabag said BISEXUAL RIGHTS

A scene in series two of Fleabag saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character in a bar with businesswoman Belinda, played by Kristin Scott Thomas. When Belinda asks Fleabag if she is a lesbian, she responds: “Not strictly.” They eventually kiss and sadly Belinda rejects her, but it was great to Fleabag’s bisexuality make the series. 

Cara and Ashley sex bench gate

Cara and Ashley have been together since 2018, and Cara revealed on Ru Paul’s podcast what her sexual preferences, giving us all a pretty interesting insight… Enter: the sex bench. She said, “That whole courting process of power is very interesting. And it’s a difference with men and women. I’m always very submissive with men. Always. But with women, I’m the opposite.”

Christine And The Queens at Glastonbury

Headlining The Other Stage at Glastonbury, Chris gave the most beautiful, gender-defying speech we could have ever dreamed of before performing her song iT.

She proclaimed to enamoured Glasto-goers: “I used to feel like an outsider all the time when I was growing up, so I was creating solutions all of the time. One of them was theatre. With theatre everything was possible again, I could decide on my own rules. For example, if I want to sing for four minutes that I am a man, then it’s true, because I believe it. And this is exactly what I am going to do.”

The L Word reunion

The peak of the queer calendar in 2019 has to be the news of The L Word: Generation Q. Sadly, it hasn’t hit UK screens yet, but the constant teasers, trailers and cast updates were enough to get us through the entire year.

Only reading DIVA online? You’re missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, support queer content and buy the latest issue. It’s pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.

divadigital.co.uk // divadirect.info // divasub.co.uk

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