The vast majority of Christmas romance movies still depict a white, heteronormative vision of Christmas and romance. Yet, in the last few years Hallmark, Paramount, Netflix and others are producing movies that diversify the Christmas movie landscape. In this post, I will explore how and to what extent this diversification is resulting in better representation for LGBT+ and BIPOC individuals.
It is worth clarifying at the start that this post is only considering Christmas films that have a core romantic plot and end happily for the central relationship. It is therefore not considering TV series like Dash & Lily or movies like Last Christmas. Like the presentation, this post is designed to start discussions and highlights potential areas of further interest rather than offer a fully formed argument.
In 2018 Hanh Nguyen stated that ‘one area that is underserved across all networks is the lack of LGBTQ representation in its Christmas movies’. When Hanh made that comment the landscape of Christmas romances with LGBT+ identities was decidedly lacking, particularly on network television. None of Hallmark’s long line of Christmas romances depicted LGBT+ identities and streaming services only offered Christmas romances that had LGBT+ side-characters. However, just a year later the landscape was already starting to change. In 2019 both Season of Love and Let It Snow were released to streaming services providing not one, but two queer-focused Christmas romances. Let It Snow, adapted from a John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle novel is an ensemble Christmas movie in the style of Love Actually. In contrast to the novel, it features a queer female romance between out and proud teenager Dorrie and closeted Cheerleader Kerry. During the course of the movie the two young lovers undercome their fears, embrace love and (for at least Kerry) come out to her friends for the first time. Similarly, Season of Love is also an ensemble movie that stars three same-sex romances and draws on classic romance tropes. These movies arguably laid the groundwork for the LGBT+ Christmas romances that have been released this year.
Happiest Season (2020) has been heavily promoted this year as the Christmas movie for queer women. With lesbian director, Clea DuVall behind the camera and numerous LGBT+ actors and crew on set anticipation was high for a tragedy-free queer Christmas romance. Even before being released, it was heralded as a great step in representation for LGBT+ people in Christmas movies as the first mainstream queer-focused Christmas romance. However, since the movies released many within the LGBT+ community have criticised the movies heteronormative storyline and the stereotypical plot that focuses on homophobia and coming out. Not only does this plot continue to perpetuate the image of the ‘tragic’ queer it is also one that many LGBT+ people, myself included, are tired of seeing.
Although Happiest Season has some funny moments the overall tone is not the typical light-hearted Christmas romance. For most of the movie Abby, played by Kristen Stewart is forced back into the closet by her long-term girlfriend and is presented as a ‘friend’ - not exactly the holiday anyone dreams about. Discussions of this movie during the Romance Reading Group event concluded that although this was a Christmas romance made by LGBT+ people it didn’t feel like it was made for LGBT+ people.
In other news Dashing in December (2020) is Paramount Network’s first gay Christmas romance and features a plot straight out of the Hallmark catalogue. Although this movie isn’t about coming out or other stereotypical LGBT+ plot lines it arguably mimics the heteronormative plotline of Hallmark channel Christmas movie staples. It focuses on small-town American charm, family values and the importance of being true to yourself – arguably presenting an overly idyllic view of life for LGBT+ individuals in small-town America. Although it is worth noting that one of the heroes is Latinx, offering viewers a sliver of intersectionality.
Finally, A New York Christmas Wedding (2020) highlights the lack of diversity within the LGBT+ Christmas romance catalogue as it is one of the few to feature a bisexual lead. It is perhaps the most explicitly ’queer’ focusing on issues of self-acceptance, love and the intersection between religion and queerness as it focuses on a tightknit multicultural Catholic community in Queens, New York. The majority of the LGBT+ Christmas romances being made revolve around cisgender gay and lesbian characters and therefore don’t reflect the diversity of the LGBT+ community.
Although progress has been made since Hanh’s comment, there is still a long way to go until a truly diverse, inclusive catalogue of Christmas romance movies exists as currently many genders and sexualities within the LGBT+ spectrum are still being underrepresented. Even those who are getting represented as arguably only being allowed to exist in a certain way.
Christmas romance movies featuring an ethnically diverse cast are still few and far between despite the commercial success of films like Last Holiday, which starred Queen Latifah and debuted at number 2 at the box office when it was released in 2006. 14 years later only 5 of the 23 films in Hallmark’s 2020 Christmas line-up feature a BIPOC lead and this is a dramatic increase from previous years.
The streaming giant Netflix has produced two Christmas movies featuring a Black heroine – The Holiday Calendar (2018) and Operation Christmas Drop (2020) but they both star Kat Graham in the leading role. Kat Graham famously played Bonnie Bennet in The Vampire Diaries and was already a well-known actress before being cast, perhaps suggesting she was seen as a safer choice when it came to casting a Black woman as a romantic lead?
Asian leads in Christmas romance movies are even less common. On Netflix, The Princess Switch duology stars Vanessa Hudgens who is a biracial actress of Filipino, Native American, Irish and French descent. However, despite Hudgens stating on social media and in multiple interviews that she is proud of her Filipino heritage, she is arguably a ‘white-passing’ actress in Hollywood and her career and the roles she’s played reflect this. In contrast, Anna Akana who is of Filipino and Hawaiian descent who starred as Kerry in Let it Snow has stated in interviews that she liked the part of Kerry because she wasn’t being cast in a stereotypical ‘Asian’ role.
Although there a few well-known Christmas movies to feature Latinx leads such as Nothing Like the Holidays(2008) and El Camino Christmas (2017) there are very few Christmas romance movies featuring Latinx leads. Holiday in Handcuffs starring Mario Lopez came out 2007 and the Stockholm syndrome plotline, arguably, hasn’t aged well. Similarly, Enchanted Christmas, which came out in 2017 starred real-life married couple Alexa and Carlos PenaVega and focused on a Latinx community during the Christmas season received little promotion and was just one in a long line of straight to TV Christmas romances.
As with queer Christmas romance movies, the landscape is becoming more diverse, but the vast majority of Christmas movies still feature white leads. As Ms Candice Frederick, an entertainment reporter and critic, said studios, especially in TV, are still "more willing to throw away millions of dollars on a white actor than an actor of colour” and this seems especially true when it comes to casting romantic leads for Christmas movies.