The 9 Best Lesbian and Gay Romance Movies to Stream Right Now

When Harper spontaneously invites her girlfriend to spend the holidays with her family, Abby sees this as the perfect opportunity to propose on Christmas day. However, on their way to the house, Harper reveals she never came out to her perfectionist conservative parents, and asks Abby to play the role of her straight roommate. 

Abby soon begins to feel like an outsider as her girlfriend’s exes show up and she becomes someone Abby doesn’t recognize. With family tensions running high, Harper must find a way to hold on to Abby, without ruining Christmas for everyone.

Under the pseudonym “Blue,” a closeted gay student at Simon’s high school posts a confession of his sexuality online, spurring the also-closeted Simon to begin communicating with him via email. Under the pseudonym “Jacques,” Simon forms a deep connection with Blue. 

Unfortunately their emails are discovered by another student, Martin, who threatens to out Simon unless he sets Martin up with his friend Abby. Following a chaotic series of misplaced love confessions, Simon is left alone, and finds new motivation to finally meet Blue. But will he show?

Related: Books for Fans of Love, Simon 

With homosexuality illegal in Kenya, Kena and Ziki must choose between happiness and safety. To make matters worse, their parents are political rivals whose careers are both tarnished by town gossip of the girls’ relationship. Despite the adverse conditions their conservative society has forced onto them, Kena and Ziki never waiver in their support of each other’s dreams and their belief that their love will endure.

Based on Timothy Conigrave’s memoir, Holding the Man follows the passionate love story of Tim and John, high school sweethearts who shared 15 years of marriage. Their relationship was strained by John’s unaccepting family, Tim’s infidelity and the progression of both their positive HIV results to AIDS. Yet, what they shared makes for one of the most inspirational and truly heartbreaking romances you’ll ever see.

When portrait artist Gerda Wegener asks her husband, Einar, to stand in as a female model for her latest painting, it awakens Einar’s life-long gender identity as Lili Elbe. Lili had struggled to maintain the identity of Einar all her life, and her continued male-presenting existence soon becomes too much to bear. 

A string of psychologist visits prove futile, with one even insisting Lili belonged in an asylum. Gerda tracks down Lili’s childhood friend, Hans, who recommends Dr. Kurt Warnekros, an early pioneer of sex reassignment surgery. Lili agrees immediately to the controversial but innovative 1920s method and heads to Germany with hope anew. 

Cheryl Dunye's debut feature is as controversial as it is sexy and funny. Cheryl is a twenty-something Black lesbian struggling to make a documentary about Watermelon Woman, an uncredited Black actress. Her research leads her into the lives of a host of lesbian women, including the white Diana, who each have a lasting impact on her life. 

With a particular focus on stereotypes perpetuated against Black women in film, Dunye crafts a realistic representation of what it’s like to be an African-American lesbian in a world intent on beating them down. 

Related: 14 Lesbian Romance Novels Everyone Should Read 

Rachel was elated to be marrying Hector, a really, really good guy. As she walks down the aisle, though, she makes eye contact with Luce, the florist, and does a double-take. The two keep running into each other after the wedding and it takes all they’ve got to stay away from each other for Hector’s sake. But true love has a funny way of enduring.

Elio, a 17-year-old precocious Jewish Italian youth, lives with his parents in rural Northern Italy. His father, a professor of archaeology, invites a 24-year-old graduate student, Oliver, to live with the family over the summer and help with his academic paperwork. As Elio and Oliver spend more time alone together, their bond grows and blossoms into a beautiful romance. But Oliver is at a different stage in his life than Elio, and must return to America as summer draws to a close. 

Related: Boy Meets Boy: 15 Gay Romance Books You'll Totally Love 

Based on the classic book by E.M. Forster, this heartbreaking story follows Clive (Hugh Grant) and Maurice in early 1900s England. Clive had no idea he was gay—until Maurice (James Wilby) confesses he has feelings for him. This movie is worth watching for Hugh Grant's hair alone, and lines like "I'm an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort.”