Editor’s Note: As we wrap up 2024 with this list of notable queer media, it’s important to acknowledge its scope: the list largely highlights Hindi and American mainstream releases that are OTT-friendly. This focus reflects the dominance of specific media ecosystems while unintentionally sidelining other regions and perspectives.
The machinery of global entertainment often silences diverse queer voices by failing to invest in them. A glaring example is Netflix’s controversial deletion of nearly its entire library of Palestinian films on October 13 and 14, 2024—a move that came roughly a year after Israel’s aggression on Gaza. This erasure speaks volumes about how platforms prioritize certain narratives while marginalizing others, thereby promoting rainbow-washing. Read more here.
Despite these challenges, queer filmmakers continue to reclaim their narratives. A shining example is the Malayalam short film Velipadu by Jijo Kuriakose, which celebrates queer joy, rebellion, and reclaiming one’s agency, rather than limiting itself to tropes of coming out and societal acceptance. This year, many queer filmmakers have created remarkable short films, challenging the lack of investment in regional queer-focused feature films. Let’s also not forget movies like Layla, Amrou Al-Kadhi’s feature directorial debut that is 86% fresh (!) but hasn’t gotten the shoutout it deserves in the popular media-verse just yet.
In music, Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert, released just before the year ended, stood out as arguably the best breakout popular musical release of 2024. The now-viral track, Denial is a River, felt like a mirror held up to everything suppressed throughout the year—the anxieties of living in a world that refuses to confront the depth of our grief, the horrors we are witnessing, and the unraveling of systems once thought eternal. In its rawness and power, Doechii’s performance seemed to capture the pulse of a generation navigating the fractures of an unspoken, shared reality.
As we celebrate the stories that shaped 2024, let’s also advocate for a future where the queer gaze is uplifted across all regions and platforms, and where art continues to tell the stories the world needs to hear.
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Welcome to another edition of queer culture wrapped where we list down a bunch of gay stuff that happened in pop culture in the year 2024. This isn’t the whole scoop, so if we left something out, drop it in the comments!
We started the year with the devilishly delicious Saltburn, but Barry (bathwater drinker) lost the rizz as we inched closer to the end of the year (the song Murder on the Dancefloor stayed in our playlists on the other hand, even though Spotify wrapped was a dud). Beginning with the colour purple, 2024 was the year of the witches! Sapphic witches, to be specific (although I’m pretty sure there aren’t any other kind).
We already crowned ganji chudail the reigning champion of 2023 (she works with Nykaa now btw), but 2024 was the year of a whirlwind romance between Agatha Harkness and Rio aka Death in Agatha All Along over at Disney + (the same company that owing to its true nature removed a trans narrative from one of its more “family friendly shows”). Renne Rapp shined in the 2024 rendition of Mean Girls, and Grammys had another surprise in store for us by bringing back Tracy Chapman on stage to perform Fast Car. Arcane went out with a bang and ensured that the reign of sapphics (and confused gay roommates) is supreme. Even House of the Dragon gave us a wild and viral sapphic moment, which we ate up!
Also read: Agatha All Along Review: This Show Has Cast A Spell On Me
We had another showdown this year (akin to Barbenheimer)—Glicked! Gladiator II and Wicked, which was a riot of pink and green, and hit cinema screens on the same day. This was later followed by Babyratu!—this marked Babygirl and Nosferatu being released on the same day.
Wicked brought in a platonic romance to screen by subverting the usual tropes of a musical (replacing two women who are roommates as opposed to a cishet couple). It was enough to confirm to fans that these witches are indeed gay for each other. And yes, there was some controversy about the infamous ‘is your pussy green?’ poster, made using AI—a heated debate that underscored the complexities of art and ethics in the digital age. Wicked’s anti-fascist narrative found home in a year that was politically messy and underwhelming at the best. You can read a wrap-up of what happened here. And if you are not living under a rock, we request you to hold space for all of us working in queer media.
Velma (the series on the famous lesbo) received even worse reviews for its second season, but Steven Universe won the inaugural Velma Awards Legacy Award for its all-around excellence in LGBTQ representation. Speaking of animated shows, The Dragon Prince ended its fabulous run. Also the finale of season two (spoilers ahead!) of Helluva Boss gave us a really warm Christmas episode and an epic kiss that we will go awwww over for ages. We got a messy, jealousy-fueled drama in season two of Interview with the Vampire as well. There were a few other good endings: What we do in the Shadows reached its conclusion in its sixth season; arguably the best (vampire) comedy out there where everyone is gay. Shows like Deadboy Detectives and First Kill simply got cancelled. There’s a very sad list here to check out regarding the death of some beloved queer shows in the past year. Lastly, our beloved Heartstopper continued its charming run.
Also read: Heartstopped—A Review of the Novel That Gave us the Cutest Netflix Show
The law didn’t really do much with the disappointing verdict on the marriage equality case but as always, some new media came up which was all trendy. There was The Archies, and the fabulous coming-of-age film, Girls will be girls (and of course, we loved Kani Kasturi and her girl gang in All we Imagine as Light). Bhool Bhulaiya 3 for some reason tried to have a queer plot but the verdict is divided. The same goes for other movies in the Hindi film industry (Khel Khel Mein, Amar prem ki prem Kahani and more). which weren’t as captivating as we had hoped for. If you do wanna read more on what Bollywood offered through queer desire in the year, go over to Hollywood Reporter and read this piece by Prathyush Parasuraman.
Also read: Girls Just Wanna Unlearn Internalised Misogyny: A Review of Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will be Girls
The West brought us heavy hitters like Love Lies Bleeding, Queer, Challengers, All of us Strangers and more. For some, the verdict is out—a case in point is Emilia Perez, which famously featured a song about the various surgeries one can opt for as part of gender reaffirmation procedures. You can check some other movies on this list here and a list of the best queer moments on television from the year here. More on the best of the queer media here and here.
Our pop divas didn’t disappoint me as well. Taylor Swift dropped a new album The Tortured Poets Department (with some great and some really bizarre lyrics) and then some (hint: this wasn’t reputation TV). Plus, she ended her Eras Tour, winding it up as the highest grossing music tour of all time. This writer is also glad that someone else’s world tour got ruined. Katy Perry made a disastrous comeback and became a khia (look it up!).
Also read: Taylor Swift and her Undeniable Relevance
Rebecca Black of Friday fame made an amazing comeback. Dua Lipa unfortunately suffered the same fate, but she had a surprise in mind for her India performance. Beyonce was back (a bit embarrassing with the whole I love America thingy) and will probably win some Grammys (read: AOTY). Queen B also put up a fight against racism in country music and did an amazing Christmas special (so did Sabrina, where she performed the gayest duet with Chappel Roan—Last Christmas) .
And while Tinashe’s Nasty might have been viral as hell, 2024’s popular music scene belonged to so many pop queens—Billie Eillish, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Hozier, Charlie XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappel Roan, the latter of whom is definitely responsible for so many queens today. After all, she is your favourite artist’s favourite artist. Miley Cyrus did win our hearts with her Grammy performance of Flowers as well. No words can do justice to Brat, even though Kamala didn’t win (but hey, we got the iconic apple dance, the underwear color guessing remix with Billie, and the epic end-to-fight remix with Lorde).
Towards the end of the year, Luigi Mangione rose to internet stardom, becoming the undeniable heartthrob of the year—and we get it: very demure, very cutesy, and very mindful. But beneath all the glee and swooning, there’s an undercurrent we can’t ignore. Mangione’s popularity is bittersweet, a reflection of the angst simmering in popular discourse. It’s a reminder that even as we find joy in these cultural moments, our systems are failing us, and the cracks are becoming harder to gloss over.
Also read: No Chappell, I’m not Gonna!
Troye Sivan didn’t disappoint either and brought back the twink. Evil twinks also featured prominently in Dune II and movies like Anora. Drag Race continued as usual with stellar performances and juicy reveals, but the drama didn’t stop there—some queens brought the competition to the church in Conclave, another movie we highly recommend. Abigail Thorn of Philosophy Tube also dropped a new movie called Dracula’s Ex-Girlfriend (she also acted in House of the Dragon and The Acolyte). And while there will be endless lists of best queer movies of 2024, we are recommending 2 you should definitely watch—I Saw the T.V. Glow and The People’s Joker. The latter is also way better than the bomb sequel to joker (which is even worse than Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web). The only silver lining to this is Lady Gaga releasing Die with a Smile (ft. Bruno Mars) and Disease, a return to her beloved weird roots. Mars was also on the superhit and inescapable single Apt. ft. ROSÉ. There was also a kiss between Jenna Ortega and Sabrina Carpenter in the music video of the latter’s smash hit Taste, but we are focussed more on the references to horror movies tbh.
There were a lot of queer Olympians and Paralympians this year and we are very proud of all of them. We are not proud of the over sexualisation of many athletes though. We might not be a solo-poly-hijabi-amputee at the end of the day, but we can still hold some space for queer media. Oh, and if you are into ships, you can check out (prepared to get surprised) some AO3 ships here for a year-end lookback. There was something for everyone in this chaotic year and we do hope you are having a look-alike competition for your crush somewhere or watching videos of Moo Deng, or maybe just catching up on what Gypsy Rose is up to. And with that, this list wraps up—though let’s be real, we probably missed quite a bit. So, please drop your favorites in the comments to make sure they get the spotlight they deserve! 😉
