1. Sex Education Season 4
Sex Education is a British teen sex comedy series following the lives of teenagers and adults in Moordale as they deal with various personal dilemmas, many related to sexual intimacy and relationships. The last season of the hit Netflix show gave us everything and more to wrap up the series including the diversity of its cast and characters. Season 4 spreads awareness on transphobia, bisexuality, gender transitions, and unhealthy relationships. Above all, it highlights the importance of representation and inclusivity in entertainment. We loved the ending to this show as it made us laugh, cry, and perfectly wrapped up the stories of these beloved characters.
2. Bottoms
Written by Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennot, Bottoms is about queer best friends PJ and Josie who start a fight club to impress their crushes and try to have sex before graduation. The film pokes fun at typical high school movies and leans into satire and comedy. We loved the movie because of its star-studded Gen Z cast and its sometimes bizarre but goofy scenes while also bringing representation and issues of misogyny to the screen.
3. Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko
Pop star, actor, and director Hayley Kiyoko debuted her first novel, a coming-of-age romance based on her hit song and viral video of the same name, Girls Like Girls. In the book, 17-year-old Coley feels alone after having to move to rural Oregon after losing her mother. But when she meets Sonya, the attraction is immediate. While a romance book at its core, Girls Like Girls carries other powerful themes about acceptance and being brave enough to fully be yourself.
4. Red, White & Royal Blue Movie
Based on the bestselling book, Red, White & Royal Blue focuses on the relationship between Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States and Prince Henry, grandson of the King of England. Their original feud and rivalry turns into a forced friendship but later turns into something even deeper. After falling in love with the characters in the book, the movie adaptation is fun and lighthearted and embraces inclusion.
5. Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo and Juliet Remix (Remixed Classics, 7) by Caleb Roehrig
In the seventh book of the Remixed Classics series, a queer teen boy discovers first love amid a bloody, centuries-old feud. The Remixed Classics series has authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own lens to bring down the cishet, white, and male canon. Romeo and Juliet is reimaged in this heartwarming and powerful version, as important themes of queer relationships, consent, gender roles, and identity.
