9 Unrated LGBTQ+ Movies and Where to Watch Them

This story originally appeared on Out.The MPAA — responsible for rating movies in the U.S. — is notorious for slapping LGBTQ+ movies with NC-17 ratings. The stigma around this dreaded rating means that theater chains will ban the film, and advertising gets tricky. An NC-17 rating is a commercial kiss of death, which is why Boys Don’t Cry and But I’m a Cheerleader both made cuts to satisfy the whims of the MPAA.But filmmakers who refuse to compromise their artistic vision face a tough choice: risk an NC-17 rating or disregard the entire rating system.While films like Passages, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Henry & June all got NC-17 ratings because they pushed boundaries, there is also a long list of LGBTQ+ movies with unflinching depictions of queer sex, full-frontal nudity, and even the actors having real sex with each other on screen that decided to leave their films unrated.So here are nine queer films that were all released as unrated because their filmmakers refused to compromise or give in to authority—and where to watch them.Shortbus (2006)Director John Cameron Mitchell decided to release his dramedy Shortbus as unrated because the actors are actually having sex on screen, which would have garnered it an instant NC-17 rating. While accusations that the film was pornographic were lobbed at Shortbus, Mitchell said that porn is devoid of artistic intent and that the sex in his film is “de-eroticized.” Shortbus follows a sexually diverse group of colorful New Yorkers who connect in an underground artistic salon.Where to watch: PlutoTVY tu mamá también (2001)Y tu mamá también, which follows 17-year-old best friends Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) as they spend a summer on a cross-country escapade with a gorgeous older woman, faced a ratings problem when it tried to get U.S. distribution. The beautiful film features a threesome scene that leads to a sexual awakening, people enjoying sex, and a couple of fleeting shots of penise