Beyond Coming Out: Queer Visibility at SXSW

The marquees have dimmed, the stages are removed, and the crowds are gone. But the stories that unfolded at this year’s South by Southwest continue to echo — especially those told through an LGBTQ+ lens.

Creators, amid a political climate cooling toward LGBTQ+ visibility and major studios pulling back from inclusive storytelling, are making space for narratives that show queer life beyond trauma by highlighting stories of friendship, family, and ordinary joy. Through their work, they’re reframing what visibility looks like and insisting that LGBTQ+ characters don’t just exist — they live fully.

Growing up queer in rural New Zealand, Paloma Schneideman said she saw a lack of representation for young women, which compelled her to write and direct “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” She told Austin Free Press that her film “wasn’t a coming out story, but it was actually about those first kinds of needs,” something everybody can relate to, regardless of sexuality. 

Millicent Hailes, the director of “PERFECT,” wanted her story to focus on the joy of “chosen family,” and strength of friendship among LGBTQ+ individuals, rather than tragedy.

“There is a deep need for community — and sometimes that crosses over into codependence — that I think is prevalent in the queer community,” added

Sophie Sagan-Gutherz, a producer on “Sinner Supper Club.” But “that friendship there … friendship is a bit universal.”

Daisy Rosato directed “Sinner Supper Club” alongside her classmate Nora Kaye.

She sees her team’s entire film as an expression of queerness. Being queer “is very much integral to the film,” she said. “The way we shot the film, the way we edited the film, the story, the characters in the film, like, all of that’s queer.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) surveys LGBTQ+ representation in films released by 10 major media distributors each year. It found that the record high for that representation was 28.5% in 2023.

GLAAD’s survey of 2024 films tracked 181 LBGTQ+ characters — just 49 of whom got more than 10 minutes of screentime. The overwhelming majority (94.5%) of characters were described as gay, lesbian or bisexual, as opposed to a less-common queer identity. Regarding transgender characters, representation is nearly invisible, especially among mainstream studios. GLAAD’s 2024 study identified three trans characters across the 250 films assessed. 

That absence is felt among trans individuals and their families. 

“For trans-specific representation, particularly for trans kids, I think there is still an absence there,” said Adam Sieswerda, whose gender transition is captured in the documentary “Adam’s Apple.” “It’s important to show that trans kids have beauty in their lives. They have joy.”

Luchina Fisher, who turned to advocacy when her child came out as trans and whose fellow parents’ refusal to stay silent is documented in “The Dads,” echoed the lack of representation for trans individuals and their families.

“It’s important that we see ourselves reflected too, and what allyship looks like,” she said. “I think we just need more positive stories that show love and connection and community in action.”

Those reflections have a real impact: Seeing nonstereotypical queer and trans characters in media is one pathway for creating a common dialogue and validating one’s identity, according to a survey published in the Journal of Youth Studies. A Journal of Homosexuality study found that diversity in media boosts feelings of pride, inspiration and comfort among LGBTQ+ people.

Historically, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America restricted portrayals of queer or trans characters in film during the 1930s-60s via the Hollywood Hays Code. As public perception of queer and trans culture became more positive, media portrayals of LGBTQ+ identities grew. In the 1990s, queer stories on-screen climbed significantly. Since then, the Journal of Youth Studies survey shows that conversation has shifted from sheer visibility to diversifying how LGBTQ+ characters are represented in film and television.

“We had to fight for our presence. Now we get to fight for our share,” said Graham Nolan, who spoke on a SXSW panel about how to successfully market queer stories. That panel focused on the success of “Heated Rivalry,” a limited HBO Max series that began with a small budget and centers on two male hockey players falling in love. 

Big studios “need to understand the success of ‘Heated Rivalry,’” Nolan said.

Meghan Bartley, a panelist and head of corporate engagement at GLAAD, noted that 84 million people said they’re more likely to watch something with a queer storyline, indicating clear financial potential for studios to greenlight LGBTQ+ narratives.

Recently, conservative leaders have advanced anti-LBGTQ+ legislation and rhetoric, such as the White House’s declaration that there are only two genders and bans on trans women playing women’s sports. During the discussion on “Heated Rivalry” at SXSW, panelists discussed how media corporations that took public stands in favor of diversity a decade ago are pulling down their pride flags. 

“The federal government is targeting trans people and families of trans people, so they’re not just going after the kids now, they’re going after the parents, too,” Fisher said. 

“People want us to exist. They want us to have rights, but they’re being more quiet about it,” said Nolan, who co-founded a public relations firm called Do the WeRQ. He said that clients are taking his company’s calls, but they aren’t making the same public effort to advance LGBTQ+ representation and expand beyond stereotypes.

While some of these projects do not have the budget of a Marvel action movie, filmmakers still pick up the camera and tell the stories they want to see.

“We’re not waiting for the mainstream to greenlight our stories,” Fisher said. “We as artists have to value it first.”

For the filmmakers, it’s not about proving queer and trans people exist, but showing that they are complex. 

“There’s definitely a shift and people are wanting to see fully formed queer characters, you know, that they are messy,” Hailes said. “They do have desires. They can contradict themselves.” Schneideman added, “I think that would be really satisfying for me to just have all these, like, queer characters floating around there, like, you know, there’s no reason why.”

Learn more about the films mentioned and their directors here.