Let’s be real—most of us didn’t learn about queerness from school. We learnt it from pop stars in glitter, movies that snuck in a gay subplot, and YouTube interviews that made people feel seen. Here’s a list of the moments that actually taught the world what it means to be queer, confident, and unapologetic.
1. When Schitt’s Creek gave us a queer relationship without any trauma plotline
2. When Rihanna said “who’s going to stop me?” in that Loud album era, and we believed her
3. When Lady Gaga said “born this way” and we played it on loop in our Nokia XpressMusic
4. Sushant Divgikar taking over Indian reality TV (and our hearts)
5. Fashion reality TV teaching us about ‘chosen family’ before we knew what that meant
6. That Gauri Khan-produced scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho that was queerer than expected
7. Karan Johar’s autobiography admitting what Bollywood wouldn’t
8. The Dostana closet scene that caused gay panic among us for the first time
9. When Troye Sivan dropped Bloom and the queer internet exploded
10. Ayushmann Khurrana playing a gay man in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
11. When Sex Education gave us queer teens with real emotions, not just tragedy tropes
12. Four More Shots Please! and Umang’s coming out scene
13. The time Manvendra Singh Gohil came out as gay royalty on Oprah
14. Kalki Koechlin in Margarita with a Straw—queer, disabled, brown and real
15. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga saying the word “lesbian” out loud in a Bollywood movie
16. Kapoor & Sons gave us a gay character who wasn’t the punchline
17. Aligarh made us sit with the silence
18. When Made in Heaven gave us Karan’s storyline and didn’t hold back
Still waiting on a school syllabus that mentions Section 377, drag history, or chosen families? Same. Until then, we’ll be right here, replaying our queer pop culture curriculum and rewriting the rules.