- All Over Me (1997)
15-year-old Claude and Ellen are best friends until one summer, they aren’t. We all know how hard it is being a teenager, and this movie addresses it all.
Then, Claude meets cool girl Lucy (Alice from the lesbian shows The L Word and The L Word Generation Q!) who turns her world upside down.
A little side note: it’s refreshing the ‘gayness’ of the movie just happens – it’s not talked about it as much.
- Bound (1996)
Not just some lesbian kissing, not some suggestive intimacy, but within 20 minutes of the movie, there’s a very explicit scene.
The movie is also feminist, Violet is a badass woman, she’s a woman of the street and proud of it. Yeah, this one’s a goldie!
- Go Fish (1994)
Created by lesbian couple Guinevere Turner and Rose Troche, Go Fish is an all-female picture about Gen X lesbian life around Chicago’s Wicker Park.
So if you’re not into experimental films, this is not one for you! But if you are, definitely check it out!
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
Initially, I only wanted to include movies from the 20 th century in this classic lesbian movies list, but since a large portion of this movie was made in 1999, this movie still counts in my opinion!
A woman hides out in a residence after surviving a car accident on Mulholland Drive (but has amnesia). The residence is Betty’s aunt’s LA home.
Betty helps Rita (a name chosen from a movie poster) find out who she is and their connection grows. And then they sleep together!
Yet, the lesbian narrative is not the focus of the movie – because it’s a David Lynch movie, it’s all pretty lucid!
- The Watermelon Woman (1996)
We need more black lesbian movies and more diverse representation in lesbian films! Yes, we want more lesbians in movies, but we also want more diversity.
So it’s a movie in a movie, which is already interesting, but what’s more interesting: Cheryl is interested in black women in film.
Cheryl works in a video store and finds out black women weren’t always credited and that’s how she starts her film about ‘The Watermelon Woman’ (how the fictional black actress Fae Richards in the 30s was credited).
And yes, quite a few of these lesbian romance movies have a happy https://hookupdate.net/nl/wing-overzicht/ ending, but of course, we would love to see more movies of lesbians with a happy ending
This movie is really complex if you think about it too much, but it’s such an important movie that illustrates how white lesbian history and black lesbian history are very separate.
- But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
Where to start with this one? For the most part that we were watching this movie we thought: wait, what is this?
Teenager Megan (played by Natasha Lyonne, who we all know as Nicky from the lesbian Netflix series Orange Is the New Black) is sent to conversion therapy True Directions because her family and friends think she’s a lesbian.
But I’m a Cheerleader is directed by queer female director Jamie Babbit. And RuPaul makes an appearance as an “ex-gay”.
Lesbian Romance Movies
- Saving Face (2004)
Finally, an Asian lesbian love story! There are many Asian lesbian movies, and we are super happy with this one.
Also directed by a Chinese-American lesbian (Alice Wu), this movie is about Wil who’s juggling life as a surgeon and being part of a close-knit Chinese family who doesn’t acknowledge her being a lesbian.