Gay Sex Scenes That Made Movie History

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Jake Gyllenhaal (left) and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain

It would be hard to find anything new to say about Brokeback Mountain, and that's kind of the point. In addition to adding the word "brokeback" to the American vocabulary as slang for "gay," there has never been a gay-themed film that broke so many records — and hearts.

Brokeback Mountain was nominated for a staggering number of awards. To quote AfterElton.com's Michael Jensen, "During the awards' season leading up to Sunday night's Oscars, Brokeback Mountain became the most honored movie in cinematic history. It had more Best Picture and Director wins than previous Oscar winners Schindler's List and Titanic combined. Just to name a few, Brokeback won various awards at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA's, Venice Film Festival, NY Film Critic's Circle, LA Film Critics, National Board of Review, and the Independent Spirit Awards. (Click here for a complete list.)"

Nothing could be this big and not generate a certain amount of controversy. Brokeback was not a happy film, and given the shortage of counterbalancing images of gay men in mainstream cinema, its relentlessly grim story line was a little bitter to some gay viewers. It did not, however, shy away from the sexual nature of the bond between the two lovers, and their first sexual encounter was raw and explicit — so much so that it raised a great deal of controversy on its own.

Probably the biggest controversy of all, however, was that despite its record number of nominations and awards, Brokeback didn't win the Oscar for best picture, prompting an unprecedented outcry against the Academy for homophobia and an ad campaign paid for by the donations of fans praising the film.

Hotness: 7
Romance: 8
Significance: 10

Another Gay Movie (2006)
More genre-busting along the lines of Wet Hot American Summer without the straight characters or HellBent without the gore, this flick is a weird hybrid of American Pie and everything ever made by John Waters. Since the entire premise is the attempt of the four main characters to have anal sex before the end of the summer, there are plenty of sex scenes. They're not meant to be hot … which is good, since they're not. They're meant to be funny, and whether they are or not is a matter of taste. They're definitely, however, groundbreaking; this is the first stupid, raunchy, gross-out gay teen sex comedy ever.

Michael Carbonaro in Another Gay Movie

Hotness: 2
Romance: 2
Significance: 9

Where It Came From

Neither the golden age nor the Brokeback Mountain era came out of nowhere. When the Production Code for American films was abolished in 1967, it was possible for filmmakers to depict sexuality more openly. A number of films with gay themes were made in the '60s, including John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, the first X-rated film to be nominated for an Academy Award.

And then in 1969, the Stonewall Riots gave birth to the modern gay rights movement, and everything changed again.

A low-budget indie film called Song of the Loon was released, depicting gay male sexuality in romantic and positive terms. By contrast, the monumentally depressing film version of playwright Mart Crowley's Boys in the Band was a much more polished offering and got decent reviews and some critical respect. There was much bitter banter but no kissing and no sex.

Things brightened a little bit in 1971, when a critically acclaimed British film by John Schlesinger called Sunday, Bloody Sunday showed lovers played by Peter Finch and Murray Head exchanging a passionate kiss. Although the film broke ground both with that kiss and by taking the gay relationship for granted in the same way it took the bisexual character's heterosexual relationship, there wasn't a single overt male/male sex scene in the film.

Song of the Loon (1970)

In 1970, two very different films were released to two very different receptions. One was a campy movie called Song of the Loon, based on the novel of the same name. It was a gay romance with a western setting, but cinematically speaking, it was no Brokeback Mountain. In fact, although it was considered to be sexually very explicit by many viewers, it was tame even in comparison to Brokeback. It was notable for its positive depiction of love and sex between men, and particularly in its expression of the philosophy of free love. Production values are extremely low.

Hotness: 3
Romance: 3
Significance: 8