Top 12 Inspirational LGBT+ TEDTalks

TED has a simple slogan that accompanies its famous collection of educational talks: “Ideas Worth Spreading”. And that they are: TEDTalks have discussed almost every topic under the sun and given valuable insight from people’s lived experiences to share knowledge, ideas, and beliefs. This can be particularly useful, however, for LGBT+ people looking to share more about our community, identities, beliefs and how for example those beyond our community can be a better ally. For those of us within the community, these talks can offer an insight into lived experiences we’ve never even considered, and help bring us together as a unified entity. To that end, we’re sharing 12 of our favourite LGBT+ TEDTalks.

Sally Kohn - “Let's try Emotional Correctness”

Sally Kohn opens the talk by explaining that she is a progressive lesbian talking head on US network, Fox News. Throughout the talk she examines how she’s faced mountains of abuse for being herself in her work, from the people who watch, and how ultimately underneath all of that, emotional correctness; the compassion we show one another, is the underlying link between the increasingly polarised political divides. It’s time, Kohn, says, to bridge the gap between liberal and conservative, and look forward to more emotional correctness.

Jamie Windust: “Support for Trans People isn’t Radical, its Urgent”

“Looking back on your time as a 16 year old can feel like looking back on another life”, Jamie says opening their talk about recognising and accepting Trans people, and supporting them at a time that has been incredibly difficult for many trans people. In this incredibly emotional TEDTalk, Jamie discusses their own experiences as a gender non-conforming person, and their struggles to authentically be themself, as well as exploring far right abuses that fuels transphobia.

Lindsay Amer - “Why Kids Need to Learn About Gender and Sexuality”

In this informative, explorative, and musical short talk, Landsay Amer talks about her web series and work with talking about LGBT+ matters to children, simplifying complex concepts to teach them to young people to raise more accepting, empathetic children and to break cycles engrained in socialisation that reinforce homophobic and transphobic views.

Tiq & Kim Katrin Milan - “A Queer Vision of Love and Marriage”

Tiq and Kim Katrin Milan are a queer couple that explore the power of love as a tool for creating revolution socially. Tiq is a trans queer man, and Kim is a cisgendered queer woman that have built a relationship on understanding differences between one another and celebrating the need for conversation to build strong bonds. As a queer couple, their relationship challenges norms that have been established historically on what a family should look like, and the Milans are convinced that this should be a model for what is possible for the family going forward.

Jenny Chang & Lisa Dazols - “This is What LGBT+ Life Looks Like Around the World”

Chang and Dazols recognised that living in California, they had had a relatively easy time with their identities compared to members of community elsewhere around the Globe. They decided to rectify that by travelling around the world, to 15 countries across Asia, Africa, and South America, to meet LGBT+ activists and learn from their lives about the struggles many in our community still face. Join them as they listen to the stories of activists fighting battles we’ve taken for granted for a long time.

LZ Granderson - “The Myth of the Gay Agenda”

Through humour, LZ Granderson explores the consistent homophobic messaging we hear in the form of the “gay agenda”, and through his own experiences growing up as a gay man, he explores what it means to be part of “the gay life style” and “the gay agenda”. The serious message cuts straight through the comedy to make you understand that the fight for love, and for freedom to live as you are without worrying about being part of the “gay agenda” is one that we all have our part to play in.

Joel Burns - “A Message to Gay Teens: It Gets Better”

Not in the traditional style, this TEDTalk is an excerpt from Council Member Joel Burns to the Fort Worth City Council about the scourge of homophobic bullying, against young people who are gay or percieved as gay, and the damage it has and the lives it takes. Appealing for schools and social spaces to become a safe space, this intensely emotional talk, which turns to address LGBT+ students directly, carries a strong message: “It Gets Better”.

iO Tillet Wright - “Fifty Shades of Gay”

Exploring how we label each other, in our pursuit of bonds and acceptance, iO Tillet explores how his own experiences as a child actor, coming from a very progressive background, shaped his experience of the world and that “gray” area of gender and sexuality. Photographing 2000 people that identify as LGBT+, iO Tillet asked them to assign a percentage of how gay or straight, male or female they felt, and discovered some shocking results.

Lillian Faderman - “Harvey Milk’s Radical Vision of Equality”

This TEDTalk is a masterclass in queer history as it examines how Harvey Milk evolved from being the owner of a camera shop to a political icon for the LGBT+ movement. Through a strong desire for political reform, Milk evoked a radical vision to make the community the heart of society, as he worked tirelessly to unite the people of Castro in San Francisco, as one of the first openly-gay elected officials. His push for pro-LGBT+ rights, and his community (who dubbed him “The Mayor of Castro Street”), changed the San Francisco - and the US - LBGT+ struggle up to, and beyond, his assassination.

Dan Clay - “Why You Should Bring Your Whole Self to Work”

This funny, heartwarming talk by Dan Clay explores the lines we draw to live second lives, as Dan toned down his personality at work so as not to appear “too gay”, whilst maintaining a virtual persona as drag queen Carrie Dragshaw. Whilst he kept the two separate, this became impossible after Carrie went viral and his work found out. For all his panic and anxieties, Dan was able to embrace himself and bring his whole self to work to be his strongest.

Fahad Saeed - “How The World Learned to Say LGBT”

Fahad Saeed is a diversity trainer, activist, and a gay Muslim born to immigrant parents, who in this talk examines the facets of his identity that build a truly intersectional reality for everyone. Asking the audience to examine their own intersectional identities, and how we interact with one another, Saeed explores how by redefining these identities, we can have positive repercussions for ourselves and those around us.

Yoruba Richen - “What the Gay Rights Movement Learned from the Civil Rights Movement”

In this informative talk, Yoruba Richen examines how the interests and movements behind African American and LGBT+ progress have so much in common, and how it is all part of a greater cycle that matches the progress of people towards equality. By exploring how the Civil Rights Movement and the LGBT+ Rights Movement were pitted against each other after the Proposition 8 vote, incorrectly, Richen tears down preconceived notions of walls that separate us to highlight that in reality, we are more connected in our struggles than ever.

Bisi Alimi - "There Should Never Be Another Ibrahim"

Bisi Alimi is an openly gay Nigerian Activist, who in this talk discusses his friend Ibrahim, who died of AIDS in a country where religion rules and social conservatism is central. Through examining his story, Bisi advocates for equality, and examines sexuality, power, and change. The Bisi Alimi Foundation now advocates for LGBT+ rights in Nigeria and works to educate and support activists to challenge discriminatory power structures.