15 best LGBTQIA+ characters in movies

Megan (But I’m A Cheerleader)

Megan from But I’m A Cheerleader thinks that she can’t possibly be a lesbian, because she’s a Christian cheerleader with a long-term boyfriend. When she’s sent to a gay conversion camp, she insists it’s a mistake, that she’s not like the other kids at True Directions. Turns out, Megan is the last to know, but she’s definitely gay.

That’s what endears Megan to viewers. Sometimes, you truly don’t know. Megan has thoughts about other girls all the time, but she figured that was normal. She wasn’t interested in having sex with her boyfriend, but that’s because she was Christian. That’s how many young, questioning teens rationalize their actions before finally realizing that they might be interested in the same sex.

But I’m A Cheerleader may be campy, but at the root, it’s poking fun at the ridiculous stereotypes that plague the LGBTQIA+ community, and men and women in general. The leaders at True Directions think that making the girls vacuum and trying on wedding dresses will turn them straight, but thankfully those young girls rebel!

Even though Megan takes her gay conversion therapy pretty seriously at first, seriously intent on being a heterosexual, she develops a crush on her fellow camper Graham. She realizes that it’s not worth it to try and change who she is, just because of what these people are telling her. They think Graham became a lesbian because her mom wore pants to her wedding!

She finally accepts the fact that she is a proud, lesbian woman, and it doesn’t matter if she’s a cheerleader, or if she likes Melissa Etheridge, because none of that changes who she is.

Once she comes to terms with her authentic self, she seems so much happier than she was earlier in the film. And who doesn’t love a happy ending?