Black Mirror, San Junipero

In a year of doom and gloom for the LGBT+ community, Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series offered lesbian and bisexual women a truly wonderful episode featuring a mixed race, bisexual and lesbian love story that didn’t end in tragedy. The episode, which follows the romance between Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis) and Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) was met with praise from lesbian and bisexual women across the world, who took to social media to express their praise for the episode’s LGBTQ and diverse representation.

Broadway musical Hamilton

The cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton took a strong stance on US Vice President-elect’s Mike Pence views on immigration and LGBT+ inclusion, choosing to address the VP directly while he was in the audience for a Hamilton performance. At the end of the show, actor Brandon Victor Dixon delivered a message saying: “We are the diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us.” The message was reportedly penned by the show’s writers when they learned that Vice President Pence planned to attend.

Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots

Last year Cyndi Lauper re-wrote her song ‘Just Be’ from the gender-busting musical Kinky Boots to support trans equality. The music legend penned the music for the musical, which features a traditional shoe factory change their manufacturing line to produce boots for drag queens. The new version, ‘Just Pee’, hits back at attacks from conservative anti-LGBT groups, who continue to attempt to roll back crucial LGBT+ rights protections across the US in order to ban transgender women from female toilets.

Gaycation

The Gaycation series, aired by VICELAND, follows actress Ellen Page and her best friend Ian Daniel on a personal journey to explore LGBTQ cultures around the world. From Japan to Brazil, Jamaica to America, the series discovers the multiplicity of LGBTQ experiences, showcasing deeply moving stories of struggle and triumph. Gaycation celebrates the state of LGBTQ identities across the globe.

India Willoughby on Loose Women

Last year, India Willoughby became the first trans woman to present on an episode of Loose Women. Fans of the ITV panel show were thrilled by the journalist’s performance on the show and tweeted their hopes that she would become a permanent fixture, saying “Loving India. Breaking barriers, addressing stigmas, making way for a new era of acceptance and inclusion in society.” Willougby has since returned as a co-host.

Orlando Vigils

In 2016, one of the deadliest massacres in recent U.S. history took place in an LGBT+ nightclub in Orlando, Florida. While people around the world reacted in horror at the shooting, the LGBT+ community came together to honour the 49 people killed with a series of vigils, which were widely publicised by International press. In the UK, vigils were held across the country, from Glasgow, to Liverpool and London. News sources including the BBC, the guardian, the Independent and the Telegraph widely covered the vigils, shining a positive light on an otherwise dark moment in LGBT+ history.

Rio Olympics

The 2016 Rio Olympics had the highest number of publicly out LGBT+ athletes in Olympic history. Over 60 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes competed in the Games, which was covered in a fiercly positive light by international news sources. The Games also featured Brazilian transgender model Lea T at the Opening Ceremony, making them the most progressive Olympic Games yet.

Russell T Davis’s Lesbian Kiss

Russell T Davies reworked Shakespeare’s ethereal comedy, inserting a number of same-sex relationships, including a lesbian kiss between Titania and Hippolyta. Davies stated that he included the kiss “because it’s 2016; that’s the world now,” adding: “Only idiots might have a problem with that.” The 90-minute production aired on BBC and changes included rewriting the plot so that Theseus dies, while his intended wife Hippolyta shares a kiss with Peake’s fairy queen.

WINNER!   Rylan and Dan Host This Morning

Rylan Clark-Neal and his husband Dan made history when they presented ITV’s flagship show, This Morning, becoming the first gay couple to host the daytime show. Covering for regular hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. Rylan and Dan presented for two hours, while fans poured their praise on the couple via social media.

Supergirl’s Sister Comes Out

The popular CW Network show Supergirl delighted LGBT+ fans with a coming out story during its second season. The storylined followed Supergirl’s adopted sister Alex Danver struggle with her sexuality, before ultimately coming out as a lesbian.Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg said “It just made so much sense to us. It was actually something that we had discussed doing last season and didn’t think we were in the right place to be doing it. But coming into this season, it just felt so natural and like such a strong storyline to give to Alex this year.”