Thread by @Openly

📽️ Did you know that the the first lesbian character appeared in a film almost a century ago?

👩‍❤️‍👩 Today, we're marking #LesbianVisibilityDay by looking back at some iconic sapphic moments in cinema and TV.

📺 Here's a brief history of lesbian visibility on screen. 🧵

🇩🇪 The 1929 German 'Pandora's Box' is considered the first film to have a lesbian character.

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 A year later, Marlene Dietrich was the first lead actress to kiss a woman in 'Morocco'.

🎞️ But 'Mädchen in Uniform' in 1931 is considered the first lesbian-themed movie.

🚫 But then, in 1934, the Hays Code came into force. It banned any depiction of homosexuality in American films.

🔴 The guidelines effectively removed #LGBTQ+ people from screens everywhere, and any queerness had to be coded.

📽️ Some films managed to sneak around the ban.

🇫🇷 The French all-female 1951 film 'Olivia' explored lesbian themes in a girl's school.

👩 While 'The Children’s Hour' from '61 showed a rare sympathetic lesbian character, it ended in tragedy – typical for queer films of the era.

❌ The Hays Code was finally repealed in 1968 and replaced by a new ratings system.

👩‍❤️‍👩 'The Killing of Sister George' was released soon after, breaking down taboos with a lesbian sex scene.

🎥 But lesbian films were slow to gain traction after the code's end.

📺 But lesbian visibility on TV was on the rise.

💋 The BBC showed its first lesbian kiss in the 1974 drama 'Girl'.

🇺🇸 Mainstream shows like the 1980s 'Golden Girls' included lesbian guest appearances but TV's first regular lesbian character came with 'Heartbeat' in 1988.

🇬🇧 British TV’s most famous lesbian moment happened in 1994.

👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 TV soap 'Brookside' showed the first female same-sex kiss broadcast before the 9pm watershed.

🌍 When shown during the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, it became the first same-sex kiss on TV in 76 countries.

👭 U.S. TV had to wait a further three years for a similar game-changing event.

📢 Ellen DeGeneres' character in her popular sitcom ‘Ellen’ came out – and so did DeGeneres herself.

⛔️ But the series was criticised by some for becoming "too gay" and was eventually cancelled.

🌍 At the turn of the millennium, lesbian cinema was increasingly popular around the world.

🇮🇳 'Fire' in 1996 was Bollywood's first lesbian film.

🇰🇷 In 1999, South Korea got its first sapphic film with 'Memento Moru'.

🇨🇳 China followed two years later with 'Fish and Elephant'.

🌈 The 21st century ushered in more positive and regular depictions of lesbian lives.

📺 'The L Word' premiered in 2004, with TV's first lesbian ensemble cast.

🏆 In 2010, 'The Kids Are Alright' was one of the first lesbian films to gain a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.

👩‍❤️‍👩 For the first time ever, lesbians now make up the majority of LGBTQ+ characters on TV, according to @glaad.

🎩 From ‘Gentleman Jack’ to ‘Killing Eve,’ some of TV’s biggest series of today tell the stories of women loving women.

🎥 These are only a handful of important lesbian moments on screen.

👇 Which one is your favourite? Share with us below!

#LesbianVisibilityWeek