Top 10 Queer Moments Of The Decade
Written by Gylf Forsberg, Culture Staff Writer
As a community, LGBTQIA+ individuals have seen a lot of changes in the last few years, with increased representation, rights and revolutions. As the decade comes to a close, it is a great time to look toward the future—but also look back on the past ten years and reflect back on the top 10 events that have helped shape the queer community.
10. Queer Musicians
The 2010s saw several greats emerge in the music industry who identify under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. Artists like Frank Ocean, Troye Sivan and Perfume Genius delivered certified bops, and breakthrough artists like Kim Petras, Tegan and Sara and King Princess challenged the gender norms of the music industry. The music from these artists sometimes delves into the experience and struggles of queer culture, but more often than not, they just present their art as exactly what it is…music. Critical and popular success was claimed by many of these artists and we can only hope this continues into the next decade.
9. We’re Here, We’re Queer…We’re Back
The late 2010s saw an explosion of television reboots, and queer storylines were not forgotten. Several shows which saw success in previous years were remade or rebooted with the beloved characters of these shows brought back for a new generation to love. “Will and Grace”, which was one of the first primetime shows to have a majority of the leading characters identify as queer, came back to the screens along with reboots of “Queer Eye”, “Tales of the City” and the upcoming “The L Word: Generation Q”.
8. Delegate Danica Roem
In 2017, Danica Roem unseated a 26-year incumbent delegate from Virginia. Roem became the third openly transgender individual appointed to a state legislature, and the first to win reelection in 2019 for her position in the Virginia House of Delegates. Facing transphobic campaign ads and bigoted constituents, Roem continues to stand as a pillar of the trans and queer community.
7. Category is…POSE
“Pose” first aired on June 18th, 2018, and bringing to the screen the largest cast of openly trans actors in television history. The series, now with two seasons under its belt and a renewal for a third, follows the lives of members of the New York ball culture of the 1980s and 1990s. Following popular success, the series gained several nominations and wins at the Emmy Awards, including a win for Billy Porter as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Porter became the first openly gay, black man to win the accolade. The series continues to tackle queer issues—HIV, violence against trans women, chosen families—in a way that fosters hope. Seasons one and two are available to stream now and season three is expected the summer of 2020.
6. La La Land Moonlight Wins Best Picture
The 2017 Oscars had possibly one of the most uncomfortable moments in award show history—cue the Emma Stone “oh my god” GIF. When announcing the winner for Best Picture, it was incorrectly announced that “La La Land” won, when in fact “Moonlight” did. The film’s win was incredibly significant, as it portrayed the intersection between black culture and homosexuality. With a powerhouse cast, Moonlight tackled topics such as masculinity and race, while illustrating an experience central to several people’s story.
5. Adam Rippon & Gus Kenworthy
Figure skater Adam Rippon and skier Gus Kenworthy were the talk of the 2018 Winter Olympics coverage, with rumors of their romance and other whisperings flying around. This, although juicy, was not the main reason for the hubbub—Rippon and Kenworthy were the first two openly gay men to compete in the history of Winter Olympics, AND both took home medals from the events. However, they did not get to this point without struggle, of not only the rigor of the games, but both athletes facing an onslaught of wishes for failure and death threats as well. However, the two athletes stood tall and showed the strength and resiliency of the LGBTQIA+ community.
4. The Bingeworthy Laverne Cox
“Orange is the New Black” took pop culture by storm when Netflix dropped the original series that follows the lives of female inmates at a prison. While the show has several examples of lesbian relationships, the breakout storyline and star, I believe, is Laverne Cox. Cox portrays Sophia Burset, a trans hairdresser who works in the prison. Trans characters were not something absent from television and film, but Burset was one of the first trans characters to be portrayed by an actual trans actress. Cox paved the way for others, being the first openly trans black women to star in a mainstream television show.
3. Defining Moment
Nearly 40 years after declassifying homosexuality as a mental illness, the American Psychiatric Association ceased to refer to transgender people as “disordered.” For years, the psychiatric community as a whole believed homosexuality to be a mental disorder, listing the sexuality as a mental deviancy. While this was expelled from the books in the 1970s, trans individuals were described as disordered until late in the 2010s. In 2018, the World Health Organization re-released their International Classification of Diseases, and gender incongruence was no longer listed as a disease…finally.
2. Love Wins
In the summer of 2015, the fight for marriage equality came to a tipping point. This decision came 19 years after President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States decided it unconstitutional for states to ban same-sex marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority opinion stating, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were.” This decision proved an important and defining moment for LGBTQIA+ rights, not only in the 2010s, but to the movement as a whole.
1. Stonewall 50 and World Pride
In the summer of 1969, the queer rights movement came to a head with the Stonewall Riots in New York City. The 50th anniversary of what some consider to be the first “Pride” served as a time to look forward, but also remember the great queer individuals who came before us. In June 2019, New York City hosted World Pride, a festival celebrating both the queer identity and the diverse community that surrounds it.
“This is a landmark anniversary for every LGBTQI person, not just for activists like me,” says Thanos Vlachogiannis, a Greek LGBTQIA+ activist, “It makes me feel grateful for the freedom that the riots originated, but also reflect on the people we have lost and keep losing due to homophobia and transphobia. At the same time, Stonewall is about celebrating the victories of our movement and knowing that every day we make history by standing strong as LGBTQI individuals.”
People like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera taught us to stand up for injustice. Harvey Milk taught us to fight for change, and Edith Windsor taught us to never stop fighting. As we move forward into the next decade, we must remember these lessons taught to us and carry them with us into the future.
Sources:
Bernstein, Jon. “’Nothing like This Has Ever Happened’: How TV Drama Pose Breaks New Ground.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, June 1, 2018.
Borge, Jonathan. “In Season 3 of Pose, A New House of Evangelista Will Form.” Oprah Magazine. Oprah Magazine, August 22, 2019.
Oliver, David. “Millions of People Are Traveling to New York for WorldPride. Why Are Some Opting to Skip?” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, June 27, 2019.
Out Magazine. “Adam Rippon & Gus Kenworthy: American Idols.” OUT, March 7, 2019.
“Same-Sex Marriage Fast Facts.” CNN. Cable News Network, September 4, 2019.
Sayler, Zoe. “A Brief History of Openly Gay Olympians.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, February 9, 2018.
Simon, Caroline. “Being Transgender No Longer Classified as Mental Illness. Here is Why.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, June 20, 2018.