Pride 2024: A Q+ Celebration!
June 19
The Stroll
The Stroll is an HBO documentary that tells the story of the Black and Latina trans women from the 1980s and 1990s who engaged in sex work in the Meatpacking District of New York City. This part of New York, which has now been gentrified and is a very expensive part of the city, was a dark and sinister place indeed. But it was home to many trans women of color during a time when they struggled for representation and acceptance. Like the title of the documentary, this region of New York was also aptly named The Stroll.
The film presents real, archival footage from the era, as well as still photographs that document the happenings. Among this is actual archival footage of the infamous Ru Paul, who visits the area with a film crew. Trans women who lived in the city during the 1980s and 1990s narrate their experiences and share the history of the area during that time.
The film candidly documents the harassment the New York City trans community suffered at the hands of the New York Police Department. Rudi Giuliani’s reign as Mayor was a challenging time for the trans women who called the city home as the policies he enacted were designed to force them out of the district, and of New York. Obviously, the gentrification of the area was successful, but what emerged as a result was a group of determined trans women who effectively signed up for the fight of their lives.
The Stroll is a necessary reminder that the queer community in general has a lot to thank trans women of color, and specifically those involved in sex work at this time, for. These women inserted themselves into the middle of a massive civil rights movement in the United States, for which the community is now reaping the benefits from.
Where to watch? If you reside outside of the United States, check your local listings. However, within the U.S. The Stroll is available to stream on Max now.
How to Get Away With Murder
How to Get Away With Murder premiered on ABC in the United States in 2014 and ran six solid seasons until May 2020. It stars Viola Davis as Annalise Keating, a bisexual law professor, and five of her law students who find themselves in the middle of a murder plot.
When it comes to queer representation, this show is a crowd favorite. It’s revealed in the second season that the show’s leading lady, Annalise, had a relationship with a woman in her past – a serious one! At the time, strong bisexual representation was sorely lacking from primetime television. Annalise’s big reveal placed her front and center as television’s leading bisexual character. As the show progressed, several seasons later, Annalise enters a relationship with a different woman, who stands shoulder to shoulder with her in all her pursuits.
However, Annalise isn’t the show’s only LGBTQ+ character. Audiences are introduced to Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee) from the onset of the series. He’s an openly gay character that’s integral to the narrative direction of the story. Connor’s relationship with Oliver (Conrad Ricamora) was considered groundbreaking at the time because of the graphic sex scenes – something that primetime television tended to shy away from when it came to LGBTQ representation.
Connor is an enigmatic character who goes after what he wants. He’s proud and unapologetic about his sexuality, and he owns himself in every way. His relationship with Oliver is romantic, passionate, and was written for the purpose of providing a real, honest representation of what life can be like for young gay men in the United States.
How to Get Away With Murder won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015. Throughout its reign, the show also received ten Emmy nominations, and actually secured one win!
Where to watch? How to Get Away With Murder is currently available to stream globally on Netflix.
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Boy Meets Boy is the story of Paul and Noah. This has been described by readers as something of a gay teen fantasy story – quite literally. Paul lives in a world where being gay is completely accepted by those around him. He came out at the tender age of five and experienced no trouble doing so. His life is free from all the issues related to queerness that people in the real world deal with every day.
The homecoming queen at Paul’s high school used to be a guy called Daryl, and now she’s also the star quarterback on the football team. The cheerleader at this school ride around town on big, loud motorcycles, and the Gay-Straight-Alliance was not formed to be a safe space for queer kids, but in fact, a movement intended to teach the poor rhythmless straight kids how to dance.
Even though Paul’s life looks perfect from the queer perspective, he himself is actually just a regular teenager dealing with regular teen things. He thinks he’s found the love of his life in Noah, but like so many guys do at that age, he completely screws it up. Paul is hell-bent on winning Noah back, but his school community doesn’t like his chances.
In the meantime, he winds up getting involved with his ex again – which, come on bro! – and wades through complex situations with his besties, who happen to be both gay and straight. He’s a teen with some very real teenage problems. Despite this, he’s determined to win Noah over and so is the chaos that is Boy Meets Boy.
Boy Meets Boy was published in 2003. David Levithan has won the Lambda Literary Award for Children’s/Young Adult three times since then.
Where to buy? Boy Meets World is available for purchase at all reputable booksellers.
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