How did the rise of LGBTQ visibility, political progress, and digital technologies in the 2000s come together to offer the abundance of complex queer and transgender representations we see today? Media scholar Katherine Sender shows how LGBTQ visibility and political progress have combined with new digital media technologies and television platforms to produce an increasingly complex range of queer and transgender representations.
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I Beg You to Like Me (2022)
“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?
RAZ on Air (2012)
A transgender girl, RAZ is a BJ (broadcasting jockey) for a website, 'Afreeca TV' Though she couldn't get a job in an entertainment spot for the simple reason that she's not pretty, she's not a kind of common transgenders that we know. Her message board is plastered with abuse of her look and transgender people, but she still smiles and burp them off!
In Deep With Ryan Lochte (2020)
Four years after Ryan Lochte's scandal at the 2016 Olympics, the father of two tries once more to make his way onto the U.S. Olympic team and prove he isn't the same man he once was.
Transphobia (2015)
A film about a special friendship between the film's director Nur, who has moved from Kurdistan, and Rashan who, because of his sexual orientation, lives as a refugee in his own country. Two women from the same village who were both forced to flee but for widely different reasons.
The Reporter (2020)
Documentary about a Finnish reporter, Hannu Karpo. The movie follows Karpo's decades-long career as a journalist, and how he became a phenomenon and known by the whole nation.
A Queer City (2020)
A documentary following three young nascent drag artists as they navigate a rising queer scene in Norwich City - a place wherein they express their queerness and identities freely through performance, visual artistry, and community.
John Vaccaro and The Ridiculous (2002)
A 2002 interview with John Vaccaro, founder of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, recalling the actors’ walkout during rehearsals of The Conquest of the Universe, and his friendship with Charles Ludlam. The Theater of the Ridiculous was a radical theater genre that embodied queer, the word and the act, and set the embers of Gay Liberation aflame.
The Sketch (2023)
Upon his arrival in Paris, filmmaker Tomas Cali immerses himself in learning French, as well as the language of sketching. In an art studio, he meets transgender life model Linda Demorrir, who helps him to connect with himself and his new city in a profoundly different way.
Underneath the Sequence, Rage: a History of Drag (2025)
The art of drag represents an artistic transformation where individuals create characters by amplifying gendered traits, challenging established social norms. This practice, known for its spectacular performances, has evolved through periods of repression and acceptance. Through humor and self-mockery, drag disrupts conventions and is deeply rooted in the history of LGBT+ movements. This documentary traces the history of Drag in France and around the world, from William Dorsey Swann—a young emancipated slave considered the first drag queen—to RuPaul, Nicky Doll, and Paloma. Featuring contributions from historians, anthropologists, and sociologists specialized in drag, as well as testimonies from drag artists who are shaping or have shaped this history.
Sexing the Transman (2011)
This intriguing documentary explores the sexuality of transmen and the changes they experience as a result of their gender transitions from female to male. Transmen and their partners divulge the most personal secrets of their sex lives in revealing conversations and intimate interviews. Some erotic scenes are shown.
General Idea: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle (2008)
"GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a humorous, informative and ultimately poignant documentary about General Idea. Formed in 1969, they produced art that targeted and mimicked media, consumerism and celebrity, creating a revolutionary new spirit of art making. Interviews with AA Bronson, the sole survivor of the trio, lends personal relevancy to this story of art and sexual politics. GENERAL IDEA: Art, AIDS and the fin de siècle is a tale of love, fame, overwhelming loss and, ultimately, renewal." -AGO.net
CrocADyke Dundee (2015)
Dawn O’Donnell was a convent girl who became a professional ice skater, travelled the world and then landed up in 1950s Australia, a penniless lesbian. By the time of her death in 2007, she had stormed through Sydney’s gay underworld and built herself an empire of bars, clubs, steam rooms, sex shops and drag shows, inspiring The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This fascinating documentary explores the mythology (was she a mobster? an arsonist? a murderer?) and life of this shrewd, silver-haired, butch businesswoman.
The Sublime of Rectum (2018)
A visually provoking short film about one of the most extreme homosexual practices.
God Save Justin Trudeau (2014)
This documentary feature follows the much-hyped 2012 charity boxing match between Liberal MP Justin Trudeau and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau. A behind-the-scenes look at the fight to win, whether in politics or in the ring, gives new, surprising insights into what makes these ambitious political leaders tick, and reminds us that outcomes are never certain.
BL: Broken Fantasy (2020)
A documentary about the behind the scenes of BL or commonly known as "Yaoi series." Where does BL series come from? Why Yaoi fangirls are physically and financially dedicating themselves to BL?
Shelter at Home: Where Are They Now? (2020)
Beloved by audiences for over a decade, Here TV's original movie "Shelter" is celebrated with an in-depth discussion with stars Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe, along with director Jonah Markowitz.
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (2019)
Marion Stokes secretly recorded television 24 hours a day for 30 years from 1975 until her death in 2012. For Marion taping was a form of activism to seek the truth, and she believed that a comprehensive archive of the media would be invaluable for future generations. Her visionary and maddening project nearly tore her family apart, but now her 70,000 VHS tapes are being digitized and they'll be searchable online.
Halloweenie (1986)
A ridiculous mini-doc about Bill Daughton and his creation of a six-foot penis costume at the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, New York. See Daughton dressed up in the giant penis costume, walking around campus, catching the subway, and chatting with people about the costume on his way to the Halloween Parade. (Oddball Films)
The Right to Love: An American Family (2012)
Chronicling one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A Californian married gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their YouTube channel, Gay Family Values. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempt to strip it from them.
Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding (2015)
On February 5, 2015, Lance Bass and Michael Turchin made television history when their wedding, which took place Dec. 20, 2014, premiered on E!. LANCE LOVES MICHAEL — a 90-minute special — follows the couple from the early stages of planning right up to their vows on the altar.