In 2022, it doesn’t take much work to find media about the queer experience. However, people continue to wait with bated breath for Disney’s next first gay character who gets more than two seconds’ worth of screentime.
Although we agree that Disney having official gay characters would be a landmark for the history of queer media and encourage more representation, we have to say that casual audiences shouldn’t rely on mainstream media to get their fill of representation, especially when so many queer creators provide for that niche. Now more than ever, queer and non-queer creators are free to make fiction that speaks true to an LGBTQIA+ audience. Looking at their works not only allows you to see yourself in them but supports these storytellers and gives them a platform to tell more stories.
Compiled here are a few pieces of queer-made and queer-coded podcasts, graphic novels, books, movies, and songs we’d like to share with you! We chose not to disclose clear tags on the identities these pieces of media talk about because identifying a piece of media by who it caters to strips a story from its function: telling a good story. Instead, this list is meant to allow people to discover new pieces of media that they could identify with on their own!
Monstrous Agonies (16+)
Set in a universe where monsters live alongside humans, Monstrous Agonies follows a radio show host as they help hapless members of the creature community in their weekly advice column. Throughout the series, monstrousness becomes an allegory for queerness, race, and disability, and it’s a delight hearing how the “Agony Aunt” deals with each of their diverse set of viewers. It’s an absurd, helpful, funny, and fantastic one-woman show.
Neighbourly (13+) No house is what it seems on Little Street and the all-knowing narrator details what goes on behind each inconspicuous door. From a lesbian couple dealing with a sentient house to an indigenous child getting trapped in a copycat Alice in Wonderland, Neighborly is a surreal fantasy/casual horror series that shows that nobody is what they seem in a quiet neighborhood like Little Street.
The Penumbra Podcast (16+) Originally starting out as an anthological series, The Penumbra has grown to be a show that centers on two stories. Follow Juno Steel, a cynical non-binary detective with a troubled past, as he’s slowly sucked into the world of the upper echelons of Mars and their mysteries in his eponymous sci-fi noir series. Or, go on an adventure to a realm where tensions run high between humans and monsters as they fight for dominance and where people slowly discover new things about themselves and come to terms with how being different isn’t a bad thing in The Second Citadel.
On a Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden (13+)
Unsure of where to go in life, Mia signs up as an architectural restorer. The more she bonds with the rest of the crew and restores broken heritage sites in outer space, the more she reflects on her first love and decides to cross the galaxy to receive the closure she never had when her girlfriend first disappeared. With intricate art and fantastical imagery, On a Sunbeam is a gorgeous space opera about love and growing up.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (16+)
Freddy knows that her relationship with Laura Dean is an unhealthy one but she can’t help coming back to her lively, larger-than-life arms. As she emails her woes to a relationship advice column and stays oblivious to the problems of her friends around her, Freddy learns what it means to love someone and what it means to love herself in this beautifully illustrated story about realizing that some things aren’t meant to be.
The Witch Boy, by Molly Ostertag (G) In Aster’s family, boys grow up to be shapeshifters while girls are raised to be witches, and all those who don’t follow this tradition are… Well, there’s a reason no one talks about the family’s great-uncle. Despite this, Aster struggles to tap into shapeshifting and secretly yearns to practice magic. The Witch Boy is a middle-grade graphic novel that shows that LGBTQIA+ topics like questioning one’s gender can be discussed in a child-friendly and accessible way.
Transcendent, edited by K.M. Szparza (16+)
An annual short story anthology centered around trans writers on the trans experience in science fiction and fantasy, Transcendent emphasizes that queer authors queer both genre and literature in a unique and touching way: in a way that speaks to them.
The Brilliant Death, by Amy Rose Capetta (16+)
The daughter of a powerful family, Teodora di Sangro secretly hides her magic. When her father is poisoned and the young sons of each family are called to the capital, Teodora dons the identity of her brother. With help of another witch, she discovers the extent of her own power and the freedom that comes from exploring one’s gender identity and sexuality.
The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness (16+) Growing up on a new planet, Todd Hewitt is raised to believe that all the women have died from a disease that caused men and animals to hear each other’s thoughts. When he discovers a girl in the forest, though, he has to rethink every lie he’s been fed as he’s forced to decide which kind of man he chooses to be. This series has a lot of heavy topics in it, including toxic masculinity, misogyny, racism, and colonialism, so be warned before you pick it up.
Luca (G)
Luca, a timid sea monster, finds a life above water with his friends Alberto and Guilia as they pursue their dream of owning a Vespa. But upon his parents discovering he’d been going up to the surface, Luca runs away to Portorosso, a fishing town known for hunting sea monsters. As Luca avoids the threat of getting caught, either by angry villagers or his overprotective parents, We watch as he tries to live a life that he wants, free from hiding.
The Half Of It (13+)
Writing homework and other people’s school papers was nothing more than just a side hustle for Ellie Chu until an inarticulate football player requests something different: a love letter. Despite her initial refusal, she begins connecting with the addressee which soon blossoms into romantic feelings, all under the guise of her being the football player, Paul. Watch as they navigate not just the way to make a convincing book and art lover out of Paul, but also the meaning and true nature of love.
Moonlight (15+) About a young black man at the height of the crack epidemic, Moonlight follows Chiron through his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as he grapples with his identity, sexuality, and the expectations society set for him as well as the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing in this period of time.
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