TTT: Pride month! Some LGBT rep in books/TV/film

Today's TTT topic  (hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl is 'books on my summer TBR', but as June is Pride month, I thought I'd mix it up a bit and talk about some LGBT+ stories and characters that I've come across in books, but also in TV and film. Some are kind of summer-y though? 

Maurice 

This isn't modern by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a classic I'd not read until recently, and I really liked it. Written in 1913 by E.M Forster (Room with a View, Howard's End) and published only after his death (in the seventies) it follows a very ordinary, middle-class gay man of the period, at school, university, and then in his adult life. It's interesting in that it's so similar in style and themes to Forster's other novels, but couldn't have been published alongside them - especially, the author reasoned, because the characters don't end up miserable or dead. 

And Tango Makes Three 

I came across this picture book in work and it's so lovely. Based on a true story, it's about two male penguins in New York zoo, who were sad because they didn't have an egg to hatch like the other penguin couples. And so the keeper finds one for them to raise! Would be a very cute picture book for a kid with two mums or two dads.

Things a Bright Girl Can Do 

This one is an award winning YA novel about the suffragettes, but of the three POV characters, one is gay and another is too, although possibly trans? It was a great, easy read, I learnt a lot about the suffragettes that I didn't know, and also quite a bit about the struggles of working class people during WW1. But the romances were nice too. Worth a read!

Love, Simon

I've not read the book (any good?) but I liked the film. It was the best teen rom-com I'd seen in a long time, just a sweet, simple romance with really likeable leads and just a great cast overall. 

San Junipero 

Probably the best known, and the most acclaimed of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror anthology series. I won't spoil it, but as Black Mirror goes, this is also known as one of the 'happy' ones. 

Crooked Kingdom 

I read Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows series' earlier this year, and they were a lot of fun. Good rep too. Again, don't want to spoil anything, but I love all the characters so much. There's a couple who get together in Crooked Kingdom - both POV characters - whose relationship is such a satisfying slow burn and they're so great together. I love them both individually and as a pair. 

Nashville 

One of my favourite ever series', Nashville was essentially a soapy but well-written drama about the Country music industry. Considering the subject, I'm guessing a chunk of their fan-base may have been quite conservative. So to introduce a character like Will - gay, but closeted as he's worried (rightly) that coming out would damage his career - was a really important move, I thought. He was such a good, likeable character too, and an important part of the central cast. I really liked the way the show handled his romance with Kevin.

Pride 

One of my all time favourites, this film is just so watchable and warm. Starring a cast of familiar British faces, it's based on the true story of LGSM (Lesbians and gays support the miners) who lent their support to the miners strike (and particularly to one Welsh mining community) during the 1980's. Just watch it, it's great. 

It's a Sin  

Everyone raved about this recent drama by Russell T Davies, which focused on the AIDS crisis of the early eighties, from the POV of a friendship group of gay students in London. It was a difficult watch, but part of that was due to the lovely friendship moments that made us fall in love with the characters before everything started to go wrong. The soundtrack was great too - oh, and Neil Patrick Harris almost stole the show in a small role. 

The Bold Type 

So The Bold Type is not the best show ever made. Ugly Betty, for one, was a much more addictive dive into life at a magazine. This is trying a bit too hard I think... But although it may be a bit too earnest, it does a lot of things right. I love that the boss lady is actually a nice person, and supports her staff. And I also liked the fact that one of the three female protagonists is bisexual, and her romances get equal, if not more airtime, compared to the other two girls. 

Have you seen any of these? What LGBT+ stories have you enjoyed?