15 best LGBTQIA+ characters in movies

Damian (Mean Girls)

There couldn’t be a list of LGBTQ characters without Damian from Mean Girls. The “too gay to function” best friend of Janis is the ultimate GBF, but he is not about to just sit around and let you use him as an accessory.

In the movie, Damian is the right-hand man of Janis Ian, and they befriend Cady on her second day of school at North Shore High. He doesn’t hesitate to talk to the new girl from Africa when no one else seemed like they were going to. He and Janis take Cady under their wing, and warn her about The Plastics so she could steer clear.

The reason Damian has gone down in movie history as not just a great Gay Best Friend, but also as a great character in general, is because he utters some of the best lines in the entire movie. And that’s saying a lot for a movie that is quoted on a regular basis even more than 10 years after its release. Damian is responsible for shouting “She doesn’t even go here!” and for uttering the unforgettable “And none for Gretchen Wieners, bye.”

Damian is also a great friend to Janis. Despite the fact that she’s clearly a bit of a social pariah, because of Regina George’s rumors that she’s a lesbian (which shouldn’t have made her a social pariah anyway), Damian is still always by her side. He wouldn’t care if she was a lesbian, and he doesn’t care what she wears or how she looks, because she’s his friend and he loves her anyway.

Lastly, Damian is on this list because he’s unapologetically himself. In the movie, when he’s performing in the school’s winter concert, guys in the audience chuckle over his choice to sing Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Even when they throw a shoe at him (who throws a shoe?!), he whips it right back at them and continues singing!

High school can be hard for gay teens, but Damian paved his own way in those halls.