The Best Queer Love Scenes of the Decade Show LGBTQ+ People at Their Most Tender Moments

Love, Simon made history last year as the first movie by a major Hollywood studio to centre on a gay teen romance; with all the teen movies that focus on straight relationships, it goes without saying that something like this was a long time coming. Seeing yourself represented onscreen is crucial to feeling validated in your identity, so the portrayal of two teenage boys discovering their sexuality (and subsequently, their attraction to each other) is incredibly important for teens struggling through what is usually the worst part of an LGBTQ+ person's life to see. Sexuality aside, the tender kiss between Simon (Nick Robinson) and Bram (Keiynan Lonsdale) is one of the most touching moments from a teen movie in recent memory.

In the same vein as Love, Simon, it's equally as important for queer kids to see versions of themselves on TV as it is for teenagers. On ABC's hit series Ugly Betty, lovable nephew Justin Suarez (Mark Indelicato) struggles through a long road of uncertainty and denial before embracing his sexuality at the end of the last season — which all begins with a kiss from his future boyfriend Austin (Ryan McGinnis). The portrayal of young gay affection on screen was groundbreaking at the time, and was a satisfying resolution not just for Justin, but for all young queer fans of the show who were watching.

Since its premiere two summers ago, FX's groundbreaking series POSE has broken record after record for trans and queer people in Hollywood, and it continued to do so through its second season this year. Ballroom emcee Pray Tell (Billy Porter) begins dating young Ricky Wintour (Dyllón Burnside), and their first sex scene together made history for its portrayal of two black gay men (who also happen to be HIV-positive) making love on primetime television. More of this, please!

For many reasons, Steven Universe has become a champion for nearly every kind of LGBTQ+ identity imaginable. The proposal and marriage between heroines Ruby and Sapphire made history as the first same-sex marriage proposal and wedding on a children's animated show, but that's not even the biggest reason the occasion was so important. It can be easy for a show — especially a cartoon — to be filled with corny dialogue, but Ruby and Sapphire's wedding vows to each other will never not make us shed a tear. Showing a relationship between two women filled with loving words has undoubtedly helped countless kids feel like they're perfect just the way they are.

To this day, Moonlight remains one of the most touching and real stories to be told on the silver screen, and was groundbreaking at the time of its release for its humanizing portrayal of life as a gay black man surviving a tough upbringing. The kiss between main character Chiron (Ashton Sanders) and his friend Kevin (Jharrel Jerome) takes place on the beach under the stars — not necessarily something revolutionary for a romance scene — but the fact that it was a kiss between two black teenage boys who weren't ashamed of what they were doing speaks to the importance of Moonlight as a cultural touchstone.

There are few feelings that are as exciting and innocent as teenage love, and Blue Is the Warmest Colour showed us what it looks like to have a love like that blossom into a deep relationship years later. Navigating high school as a lesbian can be hard enough, but Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) finds her way with the help of blue-haired Emma (Léa Seydoux). What begins as a sort of queer mentorship eventually turns into a relationship: the two share a kiss at a picnic together, and the moment beautifully captures the innocence and exhilaration of that first young love.

When POSE first premiered on FX, it made history with the largest cast of trans characters ever on a TV show, and the first season exposed many people to what romance and sex looks like for a trans woman like Angel (Indya Moore) in her relationship with Stan Bowes (Evan Peters). While their relationship was mainly centreed on sex and romance and not pure love, Angel's relationship with fellow House of Evangelista member Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) on season two is a beautiful example for straight men to love trans woman on the deepest possible level, rather than for sexual or fetish-related reasons. Papi tells Angel he loves her after their first kiss and shows the all-important point that trans people are as worthy of love as anyone else.

The Way He Looks is a Brazilian coming-of-age movie that tells a heartwarming story of love, friendship, and the complex relationship between the two, especially for young people. Leo (Guilherme Lobo) is a blind boy who moves to São Paulo not knowing anybody, and eventually is befriended by classmate Gabriel (Fabio Audi). At first, their relationship is platonic, with Gabriel often accompanying Leo and acting as his set of eyes, but it eventually blossoms into an adorable affection for each other. Given that Brazil's current president is one of the most actively homophobic world leaders today, movies like this are increasingly important in countries where being LGBTQ+ is more dangerous — and often illegal.

On Netflix's One Day at a Time, homosexuality is a major plot point in season one and beyond as Elena (Isabella Gomez) comes to terms with her identity. In season two, she finds her first partner — a non-binary classmate named Syd (Sheridan Pierce) — and they seal their freshly minted relationship with a kiss. Seeing that Catholic school, being Latina, and being queer don't exactly mix, the support that Elena receives from her family is a refreshing and much-needed thing to see on TV.

The unprecedented growth of trans characters on TV and in movies this decade means that there have been more opportunities than ever to showcase what relationships look like for trans people, and the different ways gender identity and sexuality play in these characters' love lives. On Netflix's reboot of the beloved Tales of the City franchise, we watch the romantic development of Jake (García) as he grows away from his girlfriend (Margot Hong) — whom he was in a lesbian relationship with before his transition — and discovers his attraction to men. Flaco (Juan Castano) becomes Jake's first gay experience, and the scene where Jake discloses his identity highlights the pitfalls that many trans people face in relationships, where transness is often a disqualifying factor for many cis people regardless of sexuality. Flaco embraces Jake for all that he is and later tells him "it feels incredible to be desired by you," which is just one of the many ways that Tales of the City beautifully portrays a healthy, loving queer relationship.