BY: Amanda Jane Stern

Teenage years are tough for everyone. You find yourself weirdly between childhood and adulthood, always feeling more mature than you are. Couple that with raging hormones, or lack thereof, and a still-maturing brain, and you’re in for your strangest years. Our teen years are also the years of sexual and self-discovery for many of us; if you find yourself not fitting in with our overwhelmingly heteronormative society, then those problematic years may be more challenging. Below are ten great movies about the formative teen years and accepting your sexuality. All of these movies have optimistic endings.

 

Alex Strangelove (2018)

This Netflix original production follows a high school senior Alex Strangelove (Daniel Doheny). He’s nerdy, but a relatively popular student. And he’s dating Claire (Madeline Weinstein). There’s only one problem; he’s terrified of the idea of having sex with her. When he meets fellow teen Elliott (Antonio Marziale), it all starts to make sense.

 

Beautiful Thing (1996)

Set in London’s housing projects, teen neighbors Jamie (Glen Berry) and Ste (Scott Neal), who are both questioning their sexuality, share a world-changing night when Ste stays over at Jamie’s. While Ste’s father and brother are cold, callous men, the pair gain acceptance from Jamie’s mother, Sandra (Linda Henry), and neighbor Leah (Tameka Empson).

 

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

In this cult-classic, Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan, an all-American girl. She’s a cheerleader, with excellent grades, and a hunky football player boyfriend. When her parents start to worry she may be a lesbian, they send her away to gay conversion boot camp, True Directions. There, she meets and falls in love with the rebellious Graham (Clea DuVall).

 

Dating Amber (2020)

Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew) are closeted high school seniors in 1990s Ireland. They decide to pretend to date each other for the rest of the school year to end the homophobic bullying they experience. But, when Amber falls in love with Sarah (Lauryn Canny), they embark on separate journeys of self-acceptance.

 

Edge of Seventeen (1998)

Set in the mid-80s, teenage Eric (Chris Stafford) finds himself questioning his sexuality when he falls for his summer co-worker Rod (Andersen Gabrych). As he explores his sexual identity, he finds acceptance from his former boss Angie (Lea DeLaria) and her cohorts at a local gay bar.

 

Get Real (1998)

Steven Carter (Ben Silverstone) is a closeted gay teen living in a small British suburb. The only person who knows he is gay is his neighbor and best friend, Linda (Charlotte Brittain). When he runs into popular athlete and fellow student John Dixon (Brad Gorton), in a gay cruising spot, the two begin a secret relationship.

 

Handsome Devil

Ned (Fionn O’Shea), a gay student at a rugby-obsessed boarding school, develops a close friendship with new student and star rugby player Conor (Nicholas Galitzine). Where Ned is already more assured of his sexuality, Conor, expelled from his previous school for fighting, is still hiding in the closet.

 

Love, Simon (2018)

This romantic comedy follows closeted gay teenager Simon (Nick Robinson). When an odious classmate threatens to expose his online romance with an anonymous fellow male student, Simon must learn to accept himself and come out. Love, Simon is the first gay rom-com ever made by a major Hollywood studio.

 

Pariah (2011)

Dee Rees’ feature film debut follows African-American 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye). She lives in Brooklyn with her parents and sister and spends time with her openly lesbian friend Laura (Pernell Walker), of whom her mother disapproves. As she comes to terms with her identity, she realizes she must choose her happiness over anything else.

 

Summer Storm (2004)

Tobi (Robert Stadlober) is a German teenager on a successful rowing team. He is also secretly in love with his best friend and teammate, Achim (Kostja Ullmann). During a summer rowing retreat, his group meets the openly gay rowing team “Queerstrokes.” After an amorous encounter with gay rower Leo (Marlon Kittel), he learns to accept his sexuality.

 

BONUS MOVIE: Moonlight (2016)

This coming-of-age LGBTQ+ movie doesn’t quite fit with the other films on this list, in fact it’s antithetical in many ways. The film follows Chiron, a Black guy in Miami, through three distinct chapters in his life: as a young child, as a teen, and as an adult. While the other films on this list highlight teen characters who embrace their sexuality in high school, Chiron does the opposite. Faced with constant bullying over his presumed sexuality, Chiron represses his true nature to conform to a specific ideal of masculinity. It isn’t until the final chapter of the film, when he reunites as an adult with the boy he shared a romantic encounter as teens, that he can finally start to break down those barriers and accept himself. The film paints a beautiful, and heartbreaking portrait of toxic masculinity, and the importance of finally being true to yourself.