Sometimes, life really is like a high school musical. And thanks to Tim Federle, the creator of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, queer kids got to feel like that’s true for them too.
In the show, inspired by Disney’s popular High School Musical films, Federle filled his version of East High, the high school in Utah where the films were shot, with queer students. “I didn’t feel you could tell a modern story about theater kids — or high schoolers, period — without many of them belonging to the LGTBQ+ community,” he says.
While the first season of the show had two out queer teens in the main cast, the final season, which aired this year, boosted the number to five (most played by out queer actors), along with a few others showing up in guest roles. It’s exactly the kind of teen media needed in the world right now, as it gives young people hope for the future.
“The world can be a tough place, and whether as a screenwriter or a director — and particularly when writing queer characters — I try to offer a little bit of levity without being a total Pollyanna,” says Federle, who is also known for cowriting the animated film Ferdinand and penning the novel Better Nate Than Ever.
For HSMTMTS, that levity included LGBTQ+ romance and love songs (a first for Disney), as well as finding joy and pride in a community of friends and teachers who celebrate them.
“If you want to see which way the LGBTQ+ world is going — and should go — listen to the next generation,” Federle says. Thanks to him, we got to know that next generation a lot better. @timfederle
Mey Rude
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Daniel ReynoldsDaniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Troye Sivan
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
It’s been five years since Troye Sivan’s second studio album, Bloom, was released to much acclaim. And Something to Give Each Other, which came out this October, was well worth the wait.
Sivan and his art routinely spark conversation in pop and LGBTQ+ culture. “Rush,” the album’s lead single that dropped in July, is no exception. It became (along with Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam”) the queer song of the summer. The steamy music video, an explosion of dancing, abs, and hedonism, unleashed its own rush of think pieces about popper use and body diversity in queer spaces.
Sivan, who as an actor had a role this year on The Idol — Max’s much-skewered scripted show on pop stardom— also made headlines for his candor this year. He revealed on the High Low podcast that, despite the reputation he received from 2018’s “Bloom,” which was widely received as a bottom anthem, he is, in fact, not a “power bottom.”
Whatever his preferences, Sivan has proven himself a versatile artist. The release of Something to Give Each Other was Troye’s proudest accomplishment of 2023 — along with the launch of Tsu Lange Yor. The Australian lifestyle and homeware brand, for which Sivan serves as creative director, sells candles and scents as well as home objects. “My brother and I started it together, had to trust our guts, find incredible people to work with, and have learnt so much along the way,” the 28-year-old says.
In art and in life, Sivan remains inspired by his community. “Through so much adversity, the LGBTQ+ community pushes to be a safe space for all — pulled together by pillars of love, support, chosen family, and freedom,” he says. “Queer people everywhere need to be protected and be able to celebrate themselves as loudly as they want.” @troyesivan