1. By Maureen & Kenny

2. 1900s – 1920s: Silent Films Very few openly queer characters 1895: The Dickinson Experimental Sound Film Origin of “The Sissy” archetype Several openly gay directors 1920s saw films pushing more boundaries

3. 1930s: Hays Code Morocco (1930): woman dressed in tuxedo kisses another woman Hays Code passed in 1930, after strong pressure from religious conservative groups – Set strict regulations for film content – Filmmakers found ways to creatively circumvent these regulations

4. 1930s – 1950s: Avoiding the Hays Code Openly gay & lesbian characters weren’t erased, but were made into villains Gay themes were coded in scripts (but queer audiences could figure it out) – Red River: guns as phallic symbols – Ben-Hur: “body servant” – Rebel Without A Cause: Plato – Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: gym scene with Jane Russell

5. 1960s: Where’s The Progress? Viewed as a decade of liberalism & liberation, but movie industry hadn’t quite caught up Gay & lesbian characters were depressed, guilty, unstable, suicidal (or eventually died) – Advise and Consent: blackmail – The Sergeant: guilt, unrequited love, suicide

6. 1970s: Queer Positivity The Boys in the Band (1970) – Gay men were happy – Sense of belonging & community – “If we could just learn not to hate ourselves…” Cabaret (1972) – Sally fails to seduce Brian, thinks he’s gay – They try being a couple later, it’s weird – They wind up having sex with the same guy

7. 1980s: Moving Forward & Backwards at the Same Time Queer characters were portrayed as villains again – Cruising: serial killer murdering gay men, portrayal of gay men as sex-crazed – Night Shift: gay stereotypes & prison rape paranoia But progress was also made – Making Love: positive, stable gay male relationship – Victor Victoria: increased gay & trans* visibility – The World According to Garp: John Lithgow as transwoman – Before Stonewall

8. 1990s: And Here We Go… Significant increase in queer visibility – Philadelphia: AIDS crisis – The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: trans* visibility – Boys Don’t Cry: real-life story about a trans man Presence of LGBTQ characters on TV – Both Ellen DeGeneres and her sitcom character coming out

9. 2000s Queer As Folk: first hour- long drama about LGBT people (gay & lesbian) – First gay sex scene on TV – Portrayed “real” gay issues The L Word: lives of lesbian, bisexual, trans* people Logo launched in 2005 – Mainly gay programming – Criticized for “watering down the gay”, heteronormativity, gay male focus

10. L GBTQ