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Sunday, Jul 11, 2010 3:01 PM UTC

Cinema’s most pivotal gay sex scenes

As "The Kids are All Right's" refreshing love scene hits theaters, a look back at the hook-ups that got us there

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Topics: LGBT, The Kids Are All Right, Movies,

Cinema's most pivotal gay sex scenes

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Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are getting rave reviews for their new movie, “The Kids Are All Right,” which concerns two lesbians whose lives are turned upside down when their teenage children invite their sperm donor father, played by Mark Ruffalo, into their lives. Tears, joy, hilarity and awkward dinner parties ensue.

Yes, the movie’s family matters matter, but the film also deserves note for its frank and lighthearted depiction of lesbian sex. In one memorable scene, the women get it on in their suburban bedroom while watching their favorite gay porn, which features two muscular farmhands. Meanwhile, under the covers, Moore’s character uses a vibrator on her increasingly frustrated wife. Things are going well until a mishap with the television’s volume blasts gay porn grunting throughout the entire household. The scene isn’t exactly sexy, no, but it’s refreshing to see lesbian sexuality portrayed with a respect and humor rarely exhibited in mainstream movies.

Of course, Hollywood’s approach to gay sex hasn’t always been so straightforward. The treatment of gays in movies has changed tremendously over the past few decades. Here we review 9 of the most pivotal gay and lesbian sex scenes in cinematic history.

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Andrew Belonsky is a writer living in Brooklyn. His work has appeared on Death and Taxes, the Bilerico Project, Change.org and the Huffington Post. More Andrew Belonsky.

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