Post submitted by Brian McBride, former HRC Digital Strategist 

Looking for some LGBTQ-focused content to watch this weekend? Not one, but two fantastic pieces of LGBTQ media are slated for release this week.

On Friday, the groundbreaking show "Transparent" returns to Amazon Prime for its fourth season. The show revolves around a Los Angeles family grappling with the transition of their transgender parent.  

Emmy award winning director Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent, is the child of a transgender parent and is an outspoken advocate for the transgender community. Soloway also identifies as non-binary. The show has also made huge gains in LGBTQ visibility in television with HRC supporter Bradley Whitford becoming the first actor to win an Emmy for playing a trans character. Other HRC supporters in the show include Judith Light, Alexandra Billings, Kathryn Hahn and Amy Landecker.

“Battle of the Sexes,” a timely biopic of openly lesbian tennis icon and HRC supporter Billie Jean King and her match with Bobby Riggs, premieres in theatres this weekend.

The film’s release comes on the heels of the 44th anniversary of the famous “Battle of the Sexes” tennis tournament, which captured the nation and sparked a national conversation on gender roles in America. It solidified King’s status as a barrier breaking tennis pro and a pioneer in the feminist movement.

King is a longtime HRC supporter and received the National Equality Award at our 10th annual National Dinner. The tennis legend and social activist has long been a champion for social change, spearheading the women’s movement in her sport and cementing her legacy as a lifelong advocate for equality.

Both of these powerful pieces exemplify the importance of LGBTQ representation in television and film. They not only increase visibility of LGBTQ people, but help change hearts and minds around the globe.