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9 Movies to Watch on Netflix for LGBTQ History Month

These films inspire and educate about our history and the continued fight for queer liberation for all.

LGBTQ History Month is in full swing, giving us a chance to reflect on the events, places, and people that have defined the movement for queer liberation that carries on to this day. To that end, here are nine of the best movies to watch on Netflix to honor the month and the activists, artists, and political leaders upon whose shoulders we stand.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

The mysterious death and incredible life of transgender civil rights activist Marsha P. Johnson are examined in this documentary from David France. Johnson is best known for her activism during the Stonewall Uprising and thereafter, during which time she co-founded the activist organization S.T.A.R., and was also one of the founding members of the Gay Liberation Front.

Tab Hunter Confidential

Actor Tab Hunter was a heartthrob during Hollywood's golden era who felt forced to stay in the closet to protect his career. He came out as gay in 2005, in his autobiography, upon which this movie is based. Hunter passed away in July of this year, at the age of 86.

Jewel's Catch One

Jewel's Catch One was a black gay disco in Los Angeles that served as a cultural and social hub for over forty years. Owner Jewel Thais-Williams was inspired to open the bar due in part to the discrimination she experienced in other establishments around West Hollywood as a black female.

In addition to the local community, the club also saw celebrities like Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Luther Vandross, and Donna Summer walk through the doors. The documentary explores the club's importance, which is now called The Union and is still popular among the LGBTQ community.

Strike a Pose

Strike a Pose asks what happened in the lives of the dancers who performed with Madonna on her 1990 Blonde Ambition World Tour, after which some went on to more high profile careers in acting, while others struggled with issues like homelessness and dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Milk

The Oscar-winning biopic (Best Original Screenplay, for Dustin Lance Black, and Best Actor in a Leading Role, for Sean Penn) Milk explores the life of civil rights leader and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person elected to public office in California. He was assassinated, along with Mayor George Moscone, in 1978. He is still recognized as one of the most important gay civil rights leaders in the history of the movement.

Breaking Free

In Breaking Free, Indian filmmaker and gay activist Sridhar Rangayan exposes the human rights violations that have occurred in the country, where at the time consensual gay sex was punishable by imprisonment. Earlier this year, India’s Supreme Court struck down that colonial-era law, Section 377 of the penal code, which had stood for 150 years. In light of that ruling, this film is a fascinating glimpse into the work that went into that reform, and the stories of the people whose lives were affected.

Growing Up Coy

The battle over transgender bathroom access was kicked off in part by a Colorado family suing for the rights of their trans daughter to continue using the girls' bathroom at her public school. The documentary follows elementary school student Coy Mathis and her parents, as they fight for their child's place in the world while at the same time fearing the publicity will make her life more difficult. The fight for trans students continues, with the Trump administration rolling back Obama-era protections.

The Freedom to Marry

The right to marriage equality was a long fought effort culminating in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, which brought legal same-sex marriage to the nation. In The Freedom to Marry, director Eddie Rosenstein follows the oral arguments and other action leading up to and immediately following the decision, as well as looking at the arch of his protagonist's life, Evan Wolfson, founder and president of the advocacy group Freedom to Marry, and a childhood acquaintance of the filmmaker.

Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson

The art of Edith Lake Wilkinson was almost entirely lost to history. The artist, who had a life partner named Fannie, was committed to a psychiatric asylum, and her paintings, made between 1914 and 1923, were put into trunks, shipped to a relative in West Virginia, and stored in an attic for forty years. Wilkinson passed away in 1957, but thanks in part to this film, her legacy lives on. Her artwork is in the collections of The Huntington Museum of Art, and The Provincetown Art Association and Museum.

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