It may seem like we’re going backwards. The US Supreme Court is now hearing cases trying to reverse same sex marriage. We are not going to lose what is a human right.

For generations, LGBTQ+ people were told to stay quiet, stay small, and stay out of sight. Today, that silence is still breaking everywhere. From Olympic stadiums to Supreme Courts, film festivals to Nobel ceremonies, queer people are not only present but winning.

These wins, whether gold medals or legal rulings, are more than moments. They’re proof that progress isn’t abstract. It’s lived, visible, and unstoppable.

Winning in Sports

For most of the 20th century, LGBTQ+ athletes were forced to hide or retire. Visibility could mean exclusion. Yet visibility also became its own form of victory.

Tom Daley

• Renée Richards (USA, 1976) – Transgender tennis player who won the right to compete as a woman, setting a precedent for trans athletes.
• Martina Navratilova (Czech/USA, 1981) – One of the greatest tennis players in history, who came out at the height of her career.
• Billie Jean King (USA, 1981) – Tennis icon and early advocate for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
• Justin Fashanu (UK, 1990) – First openly gay professional footballer in top-flight men’s football.
• Robbie Rogers (USA, 2013) – Returned to Major League Soccer after coming out, breaking new ground in men’s sports.
• Tom Daley (UK, 2013–2024) – Olympic gold medalist and advocate for LGBTQ+ youth.
• Megan Rapinoe (USA, 2019) – World Cup winner and outspoken voice for equality.
• Quinn (Canada, 2021) – First openly trans and non-binary Olympic gold medalist.
• Gus Kenworthy (USA/UK, 2016–present) – Olympian and mental health advocate.
• Emma Hayes (UK, 2024) – One of football’s top coaches, a visible ally and leader for inclusion.
• Carl Nassib (USA, 2021) – First openly gay NFL player to compete in a regular season game.

Each of these athletes redefined what strength looks like. Their courage turned private identity into public history.

Winning in Courts and Parliaments

From the 1970s onward, law and politics began to catch up with lived reality.

• The Netherlands (1971) – Decriminalized same-sex relations, decades ahead of many nations.
• Sweden (1972) – First country to allow legal gender change.
• Denmark (1989) – First nation to recognize same-sex civil unions.
• South Africa (1996) – First constitution in the world to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
• Spain (2005) – Legalized same-sex marriage, leading a wave of reform across Europe.
• United States (2015) – Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
• Taiwan (2019) – First Asian country to achieve marriage equality.
• Chile (2021) – Legalized same-sex marriage after a decade of activism.
• Slovenia (2022) – First Eastern European country to legalize same-sex marriage.
• Namibia (2024) – Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriages performed abroad.
• Thailand (2024) – Passed marriage equality law, a historic first in Southeast Asia.

Legal victories are often quiet revolutions. Each ruling, each law, expands freedom and security for millions.

Winning in Politics, Culture and the Arts

Representation turned survival into visibility and visibility into art.

Photograph taken at the home of John Waters. Published in the Los Angeles Times.
Gift; Michael Geissinger; 2016; (DLC/PP-2017:007). Photographer released restrictions on September 15, 2016

• Harvey Milk (USA, 1977) – One of the first openly gay elected officials, immortalized in film and art.
• Divine (USA, 1970s–80s) – Cult icon of queer cinema through John Waters’ films.
• David Bowie (UK, 1972) – Made androgyny a global conversation.
• Freddie Mercury (UK, 1970s–1991) – Frontman of Queen, whose legacy still defines queer presence in rock.
• RuPaul (USA, 1990s–present) – Turned drag into global mainstream entertainment.
• Ellen DeGeneres (USA, 1997) – First major TV star to come out on air.
• Laverne Cox (USA, 2014) – First transgender actress nominated for an Emmy.
• Billy Porter (USA, 2019) – Emmy, Tony, and Grammy winner redefining masculinity and glamour.
• Lil Nas X (USA, 2022) – Brought unapologetic queerness into hip-hop.
• Janelle Monáe (USA, 2017–present) – Blending art, identity, and activism.
• Hannah Gadsby (Australia, 2018) – Global success with Nanette redefined how comedy can tell queer truth.
• Emma D’Arcy (UK, 2023) – Mainstream fantasy TV finally meeting non-binary representation.
• Niecy Nash-Betts (USA, 2023) – Queer Emmy winner celebrated for complex, authentic roles.
• Pedro Pascal (Chile/USA, 2023) – Public ally using fame to support queer and trans communities.

Visibility through culture changes the collective imagination. Each story told replaces stereotypes with truth.

Winning in Science and Society

Science has always contained quiet rebels.

• Alan Turing (UK, 1950s) – Codebreaker whose work shortened World War II and founded computer science, persecuted for being gay, later pardoned.
• Ben Barres (USA, 2000s) – Transgender neuroscientist who changed how the brain’s glial cells were understood.
• Lynn Conway (USA, 1970s–2020s) – Transgender computer scientist whose work shaped chip architecture and modern computing.
• Dr. Rachel Levine (USA, 2021) – One of the highest-ranking transgender officials in U.S. history.
• Dr. Nergis Mavalvala (Pakistan/USA, 2020) – Queer astrophysicist leading research in gravitational waves.
• Ann Mei Chang (USA, 2020s) – Advocate for diversity in global innovation and technology.

Each of these figures made contributions so profound that the world had to adjust to see them clearly.

Expanded Chart: LGBTQ+ People and Their Wins

The Real Victory

Every medal, law, and performance carries the same message: we belong.

Queer victories are not about tolerance, they’re about transformation—turning what once was forbidden into everyday normality. The world, temporary setbacks aside, in its slow and beautiful way, will keep catching up.