Valentines Day 2012: 13 Most Romantic LGBTQ Kisses on TV and in Film

Opinion

By Melanie Jones: Subscribe to Melanie's RSS feed

February 14, 2012 5:25 PM EST

There are few things harder to resist than watching a really sweet (or really steamy) kiss, and Valentine's Day is no exception. Curling up with a romantic film or watching characters from your favorite TV love story is a Valentine's tradition for people in and out of relationships.

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But when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning couples on the screen, there's almost as long a way to go for equal rights in television and film as there is in real life.

Name an iconic kiss scene from a romantic movie, and the images that pop into your head will almost always be straight couples: Rhett and Scarlett in "Gone With the Wind," Rose and Jack in "Titantic," maybe even Allie and Noah in "The Notebook."

Now try to think of a kiss scene with a same-sex couple. Kurt and Blaine in "Glee" and shows devoted to LGBTQ relationships like "Queer as Folk" and "The L Word" are likely some of the few that can come to mind.

How about romantic, uplifting movies with transgender characters? Now I'm betting it's hard even to think of one.

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There have been a lot more gay and lesbian couples on big and small screens recently, and many of them serve as more than a punchline or a ratings ploy, an earlier trend documentaries like "The Celluoid Closet" take pains to document and discuss.

But even as more and more actors come out of the closet, and gay and lesbian couples continue to battle for equal rights in America, most LGBTQ

kisses on TV and in movies model themselves after the manipulative bi-girl trope of "Cruel Intentions" or the almost-there gay kiss in "Philadelphia." Fans of "Modern Family" couple Mitchell and Cameron had to wait two seasons to see the dads kiss on screen.

This Valentine's Day 2012, take a moment--take several--to celebrate those fictional romances that defy the stereotypes, and which portray LGBTQ couples simply as what they are: two people who are very much in love.

From David and Keith in "Six Feet Under" to Megan and Graham in "But I'm a Cheerleader," here are some of the most romantic and moving LGBTQ kisses in television and film. If you're not swooning by the time you're done, you might want to get your heart checked.

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