Multiple streaming services, Netflix included, have recently begun to make more and more LGBTQ+-related content, realizing that there are queer audiences eager to watch stories about people who go through similar life situations and have similar experiences. But even before the dawn of streaming services, multiple LGBTQ films were being made, while documentaries fell by the wayside. That only changed in the last decade or so.
These days, streaming services have started producing several documentaries about the lives of LGBTQ people, the history of the community, and the challenges it faces alongside their fictional content. Whether they be in the mood for something heartwarming or heart-wrenching, anybody interested in the LGBTQ history has multiple documentaries to choose from on Netflix
A Secret Love (2020)
The titular A Secret Love took the audience by storm, showing that sometimes the most complex relationships are also the most loving ones. In this documentary, Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel talked about hiding their love from their families and the rest of the world for almost seven decades.
A Secret Love tells the story of their lives and their mutual bond, which lasted until Donahue’s death a year before the documentary was released. It will be interesting to watch for sports fans as well, since Donahue used to be a professional baseball player.
Disclosure (2020)
Hollywood doesn’t reflect the “real world” as often as it should, which makes films that do so stand out even more. Disclosure is one example, focusing on the way Hollywood portrayed transgender people in the past and how it influenced the lives of transgender people in American culture as well.
The documentary includes multiple known transgender actresses like Jen Richards or Laverne Cox, and it discusses the way that transgender people have been – mostly inaccurately – portrayed in multiple films. Luckily, as more and more transgender people portray transgender characters, there’s hope that Hollywood could change in the future.
Circus Of Books (2019)
Some of the best LGBTQ documentaries focus on people who led extraordinary lives but aren’t as known as they should be. In Circus of Books, the director Rachel Mason focuses on her parents, Karen and Barry Mason, who used to run a pornography store in Los Angeles in the 1970s, when LGBTQ culture was still shunned by most people.
The documentary manages to be both fun and touching, and it offers a unique view into a world that is now gone. Considering its time setting, it also touches on multiple troubling topics in the community, such as the AIDS crisis.
Halston (2019)
At the moment, Netflix has been promoting their Halston biopic miniseries, where Ewan McGregor plays the titular real-life fashion designer Roy Halston. But before that, a documentary titled Halston came out focused on Halston’s life, detailing both his work and his personal relationships and exploring his premature death in 1990.
It tells the story of an extraordinary man who changed the face of fashion and corroborates it with interviews from Roy Halston’s family, friends, as well his the people who used to work with him.
The Death And Life Of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
The LGBTQ movement had a lot of prominent figures who helped to make it into what it is today. Marsha P. Johnson in particular was instrumental in creating the LGBTQ rights movement. The documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson focuses on her entire life, the start of the movement and, as the title suggests, her death as well.
Once again, it gives the audience the chance to explore history, since Marsha P. Johnson died back in 1992. Even though the police decided she committed suicide, many people continue to believe Johnson was murdered.
Tig (2015)
Tig Notaro is both a successful actress and a writer. In the documentary Tig, Notaro doesn’t hide her life from the audience and shows her many experiences that people will be able to find themselves in.
That includes her battle against breast cancer, mourning the death of her mother, or her effort to have a baby. The documentary also heavily features Tig’s relationship with her fellow actress Stephanie Allynne. And considering Tig’s past as a stand-up comedian, it’s funny as well as touching.
Bridegroom (2013)
The documentary film Bridegroom is sure to make many viewers sad, but it touches on a topic that deserves to be talked about. In its center lies the relationship of two men, Shane Bitney and Tom Bridegroom. They were planning to get married but all their plans vanished when Tom died after he fell from a roof.
What makes the documentary even sadder is that Tom’s family didn’t allow Shane access to Tom’s body or let him attend Tom’s funeral. In an open and honest way, the documentary presents challenges many LGBTQ couples face to this day.
God Loves Uganda (2013)
Even though the American LGBTQ community hasn’t had it easy, progress still has been made. However, people in other countries aren’t so lucky – and Uganda is one of them. According to the realistically cruel documentary God Loves Uganda, LGBTQ people are persecuted there and hated. It’s not an easy watch, but it serves as an excellent eye-opener that proves the human race has a long way to go before it will become truly tolerant.
We Were Here (2011)
The Circus of Books isn’t the only documentary on this list that touches on the important topic of the AIDS crisis. In fact, the documentary We Were Here predominantly focuses on it. More specifically, it tells the story of how the epidemic started in San Francisco in the 1980s.
It offers a view into those times through interviews with people who lived in San Francisco throughout these troubles. Thanks to the large array of people who appear in the film, We Were Here is both captivating and informative.
Paris Is Burning (1990)
Nowadays, LGBTQ documentaries are much more common, but that wasn’t always the case. When Paris is Burning aired in 1990, it was a big surprise. The documentary focused on the drag scene in the 1980s. And even though it was set as an educational documentary about drag, the strongest parts of the film were the interviews with people who added more insight into the ups and downs of LGBTQ+ life in America.
