Documentaries About Lesbians Worth Watching!
Some may think that documentaries about lesbian are ... bluesville / snoreville city? Groovers, documentaries about LGBTQ+ women are SO worth watching. Even as an SEO "whore" I won't title this as the ... "The [X] Best Documentaries About Lesbians". My curated compilation of lesbian documentaries dating back to the 1960s, I hope, will touch you and, highlight some of the Homophobia and struggles experienced by our LGBTQ+ community across the world, then and still now some. These documentaries about lesbians also offer hope due to the courageous lesbians who have bravely voiced / documented their experiences. Groovers, don't just watch lesbian movies - support lesbian documentaries, too. Why?
In most countries, though being a lesbian has not been deemed illegal, HATE discrimination against those who love their same sex partner still now, can end them up in jail / ... the DEATH penalty. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOTB) is now held, annually, on May 17 and was established in 2004 to commemorate the World Health Organization's decision in 1990, to declassify homosexuality as a "mental disorder"!
One of the first LGBTQ+ documentaries in the UK, was recorded
...
by the BBC, in 1953, under the title "Homosexuality - The Condition, The Cult and The Crime" - a radio documentary about male homosexuality. In the 1950s, (male) homosexuality was illegal in the UK and, was a very taboo topic, so the ground-breaking radio programme lay on the BBC's shelves for four years. A revised version, titled "The Homosexual Condition" was broadcast on the BBC's Home Service radio station on 25th July 1957 at 10pm (this was even before the BBC introduced 'the watershed' in 1964. Later, the documentary was (conveniently?) "lost". Apparently, all that survives of the documentary "The Homosexual Condition" is a transcript of the original programme? In 2022, it was brought back to life in a play "The BBC's First Homosexual", in the New Adelphi Studio, at the University of Salford. The play is based on the transcript of the original recording, internal BBC memos and, letters from members of the public following its broadcast.
Most documentaries of any genre may receive their highest audience reach via television, so bare in mind that the first mass-produced television set in the world, The Baird "Televisor" (named after (bonnie Scottish Laddie) John Logie Baird), started being sold in for example the UK, from 1930 (until 1933) and was expensive, so was only for the elite who had more cash than flash.
The documentaries of LGBTQ+ Women, herein, include some LGBTQ+ women's biographical documentaries who contributed to the creative arts and other sectors of society. It was amazing to hear their voices - but, at their time, they had been silenced with regard to sapphic disclosures. I would have liked to include more but I am finding that my web pages are often being used as an uncredited source for third party clickbait posts - check out my other pages which feature early UK television documentaries featuring lesbians.
Be Inspired And, Produce Your Own Lesbian Documentary :)
During my research (second UK lockdown), what was heartening to see, is that there was an upsurge of Youtube docs in 2022 (perhaps, proliferated during COVID lockdowns?). I thank ALL the amazing LGBTQ+ documentary directors and LGBTQ+ researchers who made these documentaries. Over and above, I thank the BRAVE LGBTQ+ community participants who told their stories - some are known to have lost their jobs, landlord have given them notice ... after the documentaries were broadcast. Groovers, we are fortunate to live in this era where films, documentaries and news reports can be made on an iPhone. Indeed some iPhone shot movies have won awards such as Tangerine (a a transgender sex worker movie) which was shot with three iPhone 5S phones. Even if you don't have the budget get your iPhone out - there are so many LGBTQ+ stories which need to be told. My sympathy goes to LGBTQ+ directors and participants who can't make their documentaries / films because of homophobia / that Homosexuality is still illegal in their country. Worried about Coming Out? Check out some Coming Out FAQs.
Surf Safe
Worried, if you are in country where the government has access to your browsing records and where LGBTQ+ is still illegal. If so, please consider a Virtual Private Network (VPN - but not sure if they 100% disguise your internet identity).
Also check out other pages on my site:
UK Lesbian History Timeline | History of Lesbian Terminology
1962: Sylvia Beach - Rare Interview
Sylvia Beach (1887- 1962) was an American bookseller, publisher and an out lesbian who became an important light in the literary life of 1920s Paris when her bookshop was a gathering place for expatriate writers and French authors. It was due to plucky Sylvia Beach that James Joyce's iconic book, Ulysses (1922) was published. Sylvia's life long partner was stellar Adrienne Monnier.
Lesbian Documentary Dir: ?
1965: ITV's "This Week - Lesbians"
Could this documentary feature the first lesbians interviewed on British TV? In 1965, ITV's weekly current affairs television programme "This Week - Lesbians", attempted to answer the question ... "What is lesbianism? What causes it, "problem of homosexuality"... and can it be cured?"!.
As my web pages are often used as a source for uncredited third party clickbait posts - check out my other pages which feature more early UK television documentaries featuring lesbians.
Lesbian Documentary Dir: John Phillips.
1966: Natalie Barney - Rare Interview
Natalie Clifford Barney was an American expatriate writer and out lesbian who lived in Paris. She is most famous for hosting a nuturing literary salon in Paris for some of the greatest creatives of the time (1908 to 1968) ... and, her amazing, clandestine lesbian salon / "dating club".
Lesbian Documentary Dir: BBC2
