For decades, cinema has influenced society's perception on many social issues from social class to gender. Queerness has not been the exception. For much of the early 20th century, filmmakers were reluctant to portray queer characters in explicit terms due to censorship laws, so they relied on shy glances, queer-coded characters, and other implicit devices.

Thanks to the brave efforts of some queer artists, however, cinema has also helped transform mainstream attitudes and opinions of queerness, for the better. In this list, we will focus on ten of the many queer films that have helped changed the mainstream.

10 Un Chant d'Amour (1950)

Un Chant D'Amour
Connoisseur Films

Jean Genet’s sensual film Un Chant D'Amour has one of the most iconic homoerotic moments in queer film history. Set in a prison, two inmates share a cigarette by blowing the smoke into each other's mouths through a small hole. This kind of image was extremely controversial in 1950, so the film was banned in several countries, and according to Time Out the US Supreme Court deemed it obscene. This was the only film by the celebrated poet and writer, but its impact on the mainstream cannot be understated as it directly influenced queer filmmakers like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Tom Kalin, and Todd Haynes. While this film is rather experimental, and not really mainstream, its courage and willingness to be unapologetically queer was an inspiration to many of the best queer films.

9 Victim (1961)

Victim
Rank Film Distributors

Directed by Basil Dearden, Victim was the first English-language film to use the word "homosexual." This is a neo-noir suspense film about a London lawyer who is drawn into a gay blackmail case, starring Dirk Bogarde stars in a brave performance at the time. On its release in the United Kingdom, it proved highly controversial to the British Board of Film Censors, and was refused a seal of approval from the American Motion Picture Production Code in the U.S. Victim became a highly important film for the gay rights cause in the UK, as many believe it played an influential role in liberalizing mainstream attitudes and even laws on homosexuality.

8 Pink Flamingos (1972)

Divine in Pink Flamingos
New Line Cinema

The next film on this list comes from the master of being unapologetically queer: John Waters. Pink Flamingos rocked American society when it came out in 1972. Featuring gluttony, sex, drugs, murder, cannibalism, and the ever-iconic Divine eating feces, the film billed itself as "an exercise in poor taste" meant to provoke and shock straight viewers. The public either hated or did not know about the film at first, but it was widely celebrated by both the LGBT community and academics at the time for its comedic and punk mindset. It quickly became a cult film of international renown, with a 95-week run as a midnight movie in New York City, which led to mainstream recognition of Waters' work and the camp humor that characterized queer life. Pink Flamingos remains one of the most provocative queer films ever made, and its unruly and subversive tone influenced many queer films to come.

7 Paris Is Burning (1990)

Paris is Burning
Off-White Productions / Prestige Pictures

If Pink Flamingos showed the mainstream the edgy and subversive side of queerness, Paris Is Burning showed its playful and glamorous side. One of the most quoted queer documentaries in history, this 1990 film even changed the way we speak when it introduced a plethora of Black and Latino queer slang to mainstream audiences, many of which are part of common parlance today. Directed by Jenny Livingstone, the documentary follows some icons of New York's underground ball scene like Pepper LaBeija, Willi Ninja, and Angie Xtravaganza among others. The many characters in the film share their personal struggles with poverty, gender identity and sexuality, which in turn allowed for viewers to empathize with queer people of color.

The legacy and impact of Paris Is Burning lives on 30 years later. It introduced viewers to the colorful world of vogueing and inspired crucial cultural moments like Madonna's Vogue music video, directed by David Fincher, and the wildly popular RuPaul's Drag Race.

6 My Own Private Idaho (1991)

My Own Private Idaho
Fine Line Features

The 1990s were a crucial period for queer cinema in America. In the midst of the AIDS crisis and a culture war with puritan Republicans, queer artists turned to cinema to express their dissatisfaction. Dubbed by B. Ruby Rich as New Queer Cinema, this artistic movement may have started before the 90s but peaked in that decade thanks to the work of filmmakers like Isaac Julien, Todd Haynes, Gregg Araki, Derek Jarman, and among many others. These films had a great impact on mainstream views on homosexuality because they showed the real lives of queer people and helped remove the stigma that arose from the AIDS pandemic. Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho is arguably the best-known film of this era. Starring Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix in amazing performances as two gay street hustlers drifting on the streets of Seattle. Like most New Queer Cinema, My Own Private Idaho shows the edges of society with grit, humor, and experimentalism. The film is a touching portrayal of unrequited queer love, which humanized gay men at a time when it was sorely needed.

Related: 18 Best Keanu Reeves Movies, Ranked

5 All About My Mother (1999)

All About My Mother
Warner Soge Films

1999 was a rather important year for trans representation in film. Boys Don't Cry, which told the real-life story of Bradon Teena and his experience as a trans man in Nebraska, was released to critical acclaim and a Best Actress Oscar for Hillary Swank. It was Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother, though, that best portrayed the complexities of gender identity and the trans experience, taking heed to its challenges but also recalling its joy. The film focuses on a mother who has recently lost her son, and enters the Barcelona drag scene to look for his father. In the journey, she befriends a trans woman named Agrado, a masterful performer who dazzles the audience with her monologue about the trans experience. The film features lush cinematography, colorful set design, and an ensemble cast of strong and interesting women including Penélope Cruz and Cecilia Roth. Almodovar has made many films that deal with queer issues, but this one is a perfect combination of high camp, with the Sorkian melodrama that characterizes his later films. All About My Mother made history when it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1999.

4 Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Brokeback Mountain The Independent

When it was released in 2005, no other LGBTQ film had made as big an impact on mainstream culture as Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. Adapted from a short story, the film stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who develop a romantic and sexual relationship while working in a remote mountain, and is a tender and romantic portrayal of queer love. Set in the '70s and '80s, it is a perfect representation of 2000s queer cinema, as that decade saw a lot of historical dramas about queerness like The Hours, Far From Heaven, Milk and A Single Man. Brokeback Mountain received universal acclaim, grossed $178 million worldwide, and was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film ended up winning only three Oscars, including Best Director, but the warm reception paved the way for other mainstream queer films to come.

3 Weekend (2011)

Weekend
Peccadillo Pictures

Andrew Haigh's Weekend made an impact by focusing on the ordinary, with one of the most intimate cinematic portrayals of modern relationships, gay or straight. Russell and Glen are two normal gay men who live in Nottingham. One night, they meet and have a casual hookup that spirals into a whole weekend of sex, intimacy, and real emotion. Weekend stood out thanks to its naturalistic performances and realistic portrayal of gay relationships in the age of technology and hookup culture. The emotional stakes of the film grow quietly as viewers become attached to the characters, but it never goes into the realm of camp or melodrama. It is a subtle film that doesn't focus on queer issues or clichés, showing mainstream audiences the more sensitive and mundane side of queerness. According to The Criterion Collection, "rarely has a film been as honest about sexuality—in both depiction and discussion."

2 Carol (2015)

Carol
The Weinstein Company

Todd Haynes has been a fixture of queer cinema since the mid-eighties, but Carol is one of his most popular, and one of the most important lesbian films ever made. Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt, Carol tells the story of a forbidden love affair between two women from very different backgrounds in 1950s New York City. It is a beautiful and touching story brought to life by the ever-amazing Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett. MovieWeb praised the script because "it doesn’t just pit Therese and Carol’s relationship against a homophobic 1952, but pits the two against one another as Carol’s desire to retain her daughter Rindy necessitates terminating the affair—the plot depends on Carol choosing Therese or Rindy—on Carol’s character." Carol was the first lesbian film to receive a bevy of Academy Award nominations, and even though it didn't win any, the film's influence and legacy only grow every day as it is seen as one of the best films of the 21st century and an excellent example of the modern melodrama.

Related: Best Rooney Mara Movies, Ranked

1 Moonlight (2016)

00-social-moonlight
A24

If Weekend mastered queer naturalism and Carol best exemplifies queer melodrama, Moonlight stands somewhere in between, while being in a whole different universe of its own. Directed by Barry Jenkins, this 2016 film looks like a Wong-Kar Wai film thanks to its dreamy cinematography, sounds like a Spike Lee film with its hip hop soundtrack, but feels unlike any other film out there. Moonlight tells the story of Chiron using three different actors, from boyhood to adulthood, as he learns how to navigate the complexities of masculinity, intimacy, and queerness. The film combines expressionist fantasy with emotional potency to create a queer love story for the ages, but its most impressive feature is the deep interiority of its main character who most queer viewers can relate to in some way. In a very peculiar ceremony, Moonlight became the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, achieving a significant milestone for queer cinema.