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Apr 26, 2022 โ€ข 12 tweets โ€ข 5 min read โ€ข Read on X
๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Did you know that the the first lesbian character appeared in a film almost a century ago?

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ Today, we're marking #LesbianVisibilityDay by looking back at some iconic sapphic moments in cinema and TV.

๐Ÿ“บ Here's a brief history of lesbian visibility on screen. ๐Ÿงต
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช The 1929 German 'Pandora's Box' is considered the first film to have a lesbian character.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ A year later, Marlene Dietrich was the first lead actress to kiss a woman in 'Morocco'.

๐ŸŽž๏ธ But 'Mรคdchen in Uniform' in 1931 is considered the first lesbian-themed movie.
๐Ÿšซ But then, in 1934, the Hays Code came into force. It banned any depiction of homosexuality in American films.

๐Ÿ”ด The guidelines effectively removed #LGBTQ+ people from screens everywhere, and any queerness had to be coded.
๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Some films managed to sneak around the ban.

๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท The French all-female 1951 film 'Olivia' explored lesbian themes in a girl's school.

๐Ÿ‘ฉ While 'The Childrenโ€™s Hour' from '61 showed a rare sympathetic lesbian character, it ended in tragedy โ€“ typical for queer films of the era.
โŒ The Hays Code was finally repealed in 1968 and replaced by a new ratings system.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ 'The Killing of Sister George' was released soon after, breaking down taboos with a lesbian sex scene.

๐ŸŽฅ But lesbian films were slow to gain traction after the code's end.
๐Ÿ“บ But lesbian visibility on TV was on the rise.

๐Ÿ’‹ The BBC showed its first lesbian kiss in the 1974 drama 'Girl'.

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Mainstream shows like the 1980s 'Golden Girls' included lesbian guest appearances but TV's first regular lesbian character came with 'Heartbeat' in 1988.
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง British TVโ€™s most famous lesbian moment happened in 1994.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ TV soap 'Brookside' showed the first female same-sex kiss broadcast before the 9pm watershed.

๐ŸŒ When shown during the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, it became the first same-sex kiss on TV in 76 countries.
๐Ÿ‘ญ U.S. TV had to wait a further three years for a similar game-changing event.

๐Ÿ“ข Ellen DeGeneres' character in her popular sitcom โ€˜Ellenโ€™ came out โ€“ and so did DeGeneres herself.

โ›”๏ธ But the series was criticised by some for becoming "too gay" and was eventually cancelled.
๐ŸŒ At the turn of the millennium, lesbian cinema was increasingly popular around the world.

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ 'Fire' in 1996 was Bollywood's first lesbian film.

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท In 1999, South Korea got its first sapphic film with 'Memento Moru'.

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China followed two years later with 'Fish and Elephant'.
๐ŸŒˆ The 21st century ushered in more positive and regular depictions of lesbian lives.

๐Ÿ“บ 'The L Word' premiered in 2004, with TV's first lesbian ensemble cast.

๐Ÿ† In 2010, 'The Kids Are Alright' was one of the first lesbian films to gain a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ For the first time ever, lesbians now make up the majority of LGBTQ+ characters on TV, according to @glaad.

๐ŸŽฉ From โ€˜Gentleman Jackโ€™ to โ€˜Killing Eve,โ€™ some of TVโ€™s biggest series of today tell the stories of women loving women.
๐ŸŽฅ These are only a handful of important lesbian moments on screen.

๐Ÿ‘‡ Which one is your favourite? Share with us below!

#LesbianVisibilityWeek

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More from @Openly

Nov 17, 2022
โ“ Are we facing a trans ageing crisis?

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Around 1 in 200 Americans aged 65 and over are trans.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ As the first generation of trans people reaches old age, healthcare systems are unprepared.

๐ŸŒˆ For #TransAwarenessWeek, we spoke to trans people about growing old. ๐Ÿงต
๐Ÿ”ด Social isolation
๐Ÿ”ด Housing discrimination
๐Ÿ”ด Lack of safe medical spaces
๐Ÿ”ด ...and much more.

๐Ÿ‘ต The challenges trans elders face are often similar to those faced by trans people of all ages, but exacerbated as they get older, says Kylie Madhav, senior director at @sageusa.
๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Elizabeth Coffey was a star in the early films of cult film-maker John Waters.

๐Ÿฅ While breaking ground for trans representation on screen, she faced rejection when seeking medical care.

๐Ÿ’Š Later in life, hormone replacement therapy has caused issues, she told @Openly.
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Nov 16, 2022
๐Ÿ† Nominations for the #GRAMMYs are out!

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ @kimpetras, @ladygaga and @RandyRainbow are among the many #LGBTQ+ artists nominated for the 2023 Awards.

๐ŸŽถ Let's take a look at some of this year's queer nominations. ๐Ÿงต Grammy Awards trophies
๐ŸŽต @brandicarlile is one of the most nominated artists this year โ€“ coming in just behind @Beyonce and @kendricklamar, and being tied with @Adele on seven nominations.

๐Ÿ’ฟ For the second time, she might snap up the coveted 'Album of the Year'. Brandi Carlile arrives at t...
๐ŸŒˆ @RandyRainbow has been nominated for his first-ever Grammy.

๐Ÿง  The comedian and songwriter is up for the 'Best Comedy Album' award for 'A Little Brains, a Little Talent'.
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Oct 19, 2022
๐Ÿ’ญ Do you know how to use gender-neutral pronouns in your native tongue?

๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ On #InternationalPronounsDay, we're taking a deep-dive into non-binary pronouns in a range of languages.

๐ŸŒ Join us on a linguistic trip around the world.
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spanish

Pronouns, nouns and adjectives are gendered in Spanish.

The suffixes -o and -a are the most common gender markers, but many non-binary people now replace them with an -e instead.

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง English

Although not entirely genderless, the English language is more inclusive than many.

While you've probably heard of the increasingly popular 'they/them' as alternative pronouns, others are also becoming popular.

Many use neo-pronouns, including 'xe', 'ze' and 'co'. People protesting for trans and non-binary rights
Read 12 tweets
Oct 8, 2022
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Welcome to Lesbos, Greece.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ The Greek island is inhabited by 115,000 Lesbians, but has also given its name to women loving women worldwide.

๐ŸŒˆ For #InternationalLesbianDay, let's take a look at the history of the word "lesbian". ๐Ÿงต Photo of harbour on LesbosPainting of Sappho
๐Ÿ›๏ธ From the Iliad to the Odyssey, Lesbos has had a central part in Ancient Greek history.

โœ’๏ธ One of its most famous inhabitants was the 6th century B.C. poet Sappho, whose lyrical poems explored her love of women and their beauty โ€“ sometimes even venturing into the erotic. Fresco of Sappho
๐Ÿ‘ฉ Sappho was regarded as one of the greatest poets of her time.

๐Ÿ“œ Today, not much is known about her life, and much of her work has been lost over the centuries.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ But Sappho's homoerotic writing โ€“ and possible personal life โ€“ has been discussed since Hellenistic times. Drawing of Sappho
Read 9 tweets
Oct 7, 2022
โœŠ๐Ÿฟ Black, British and queer โ€“ but often overlooked.

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง It's #BlackHistoryMonth in the UK and we're looking at those who shaped Black British queer history - and those still changing the world today.

๐ŸŒˆ Here are some of the Black #LGBTQ+ pioneers you should know. ๐Ÿงต Reginald Foresythe plays the piano Photo portrait of Claude McKay Ken "Snakehips" Johnson performing Photo portrait of Rotimi Fani-Kayode
Ken "Snakehips" Johnson (1914-1941)

๐ŸŽท A jazz bandleader and dancer, Johnson was a leading figure in Black British music in the '30s and '40s.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Part of the first Black British band in residency at the infamous Cafรฉ de Paris, he died when the club got bombed during the Blitz. Ken "Snakehips" Johnson performing
Demi Stokes (b.1991)

โšฝ๏ธ The @ManCity and England player was part of the Euro 2022 winning team, which has been credited with spiking interest in women's football.

๐Ÿ† Stokes came out publicly last year by announcing she was expecting a child with her partner Katie. Demi Stokes holds up a trophy
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Sep 30, 2022
๐Ÿšจ America's most frequently banned books are LGBTQ+.

๐Ÿ“š U.S. schools banned more than 674 titles in the past year featuring LGBTQ+ themes or characters, @PENamerica found.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ 9% of these had trans storylines.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ Let's take a look at the most censored queer books. ๐Ÿงต Book cover of Gender QueerBook cover of Beyond MagentaBook cover of All Boys Aren...Book cover of This Book Is Gay
"Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe

โ›”๏ธ Kobabe's 2019 debut graphic memoir is the most banned book in America, having been outlawed by 41 school districts.

โœ’๏ธ The coming-of-age story follows Kobabe's exploration of gender identity while coming out as non-binary. Book cover of Gender Queer
"All Boys Arenโ€™t Blue" by @IamGMJohnson

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๐Ÿšซ Queer sex and sexual trauma are the reasons cited by 29 districts for removing the book from their shelves. Book cover of All Boys Aren...
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