The best queer media of 2023

Queer media had a big year of representation across the spectrum of LGBTQ+ identities. In 2023 from TV/Film to books to music, queer experiences were baked neatly into the cultural zeitgeist. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are some of our favorite queer media that kept us engaged and feeling seen.

Kokomo City

In 2023, Grammy-nominated producer turned director D. Smith made her film debut with Kokomo City. The documentary swept the festival circuit, pulling back the layers of Black trans women and their relationship with the broader Black community. A few months after the film’s success at Sundance, one of the subjects, Rasheeda Williams, aka Koko Da Doll, was murdered, and Kokomo City became an homage to her memory and the complex life as a Black trans woman.

Rustin

Netflix’s Rustin, starring Colman Domingo as civil rights icon Bayard Rustin, tells the story of the man behind orchestrating the 1963 march on Washington and his experiences as a gay black man in the 60s. Domingo portrays Rustin’s passion for freedom and unapologetic queerness in the liberation space. The film’s breakneck pacing doesn’t miss a beat but leaves you wanting to know more about Black queer folks’ lives in past eras.

Bottoms

Bottoms, with its highly queer title, follows lesbian best friends at the bottom of the social hierarchy of their high school who start a fight club to seem cool and get girls to like them. It’s a cult classic-style teen movie and a hilarious, gritty, authentic portrayal of sapphic angst. The cast features Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, and Marshawn Lynch, who have great comedic timing while keeping the film’s humanity and heart present.

We See Each Other

In the world of publishing, queer authors took over the bookshelves in 2023. One of those was Tre’vell Anderson’s novel We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film, which offered a streamlined canon of Black trans representation in TV and film. It’s an interactive…