Testing positive for covid on my last day of high school was not ideal, however it did provide me with the necessary free time to fuel my obsession for the hit Netflix series and webcomic, Heartstopper. I truly did not stop consuming content for my five days of isolation and at this point, I cannot count the times I’ve seen the show in its entirety, though I believe it’s getting close to double digits. I do not regret a second. If you are not familiar with the show, Heartstopper, written by Alice Oseman, originally started as an online comic released in September of 2016. Today, Oseman is working on their fourth volume with the show recently renewed for a second and third season. The story follows two boys, Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), a “straight”, popular rugby boy, and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), a quiet drummer who was recently outed as gay, and their growing relationship as unlikely friends turn to lovers. This story is not only heart-warming, but also so important for the LGBTQ commnuity and more how queer characters are presented in the media. In my blog post, I will further explain why I believe this and specify how the show validates the identities of its queer characters.
One aspect of the Heartstopper storyline is the relationship forming between Charlie’s two friends Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney). While the three of them formerly went to an all boys school together, Elle recently switched to a nearby girls school. With Tao and Elle spending more time apart, their feelings for each other strengthen. In many shows or movies, the language used to describe relationships between cis and trans people is harmful and invalidating, but Heartstopper trains audience members to view Tao and Elle’s growing relationship no differently than they would view any other heterosexual relationship. One way the show does this is in a conversation between Charlie and Tao. When Tao warns Charlie about having crushes on straight boys, he says, “As you token straight friend, it’s my duty to remind you that sometimes people are straight.”
This line, while subtle, is incredibly important to the show. By clarifying Tao identifies as straight, the show later affirms Elle’s identity. Tao having a crush on Elle uplifts the fact that trans women are women, no exceptions. In addition, the only concern they both have with their crushes on each other is the thought of ruining their friendship. As Tao talks about why he hesitates to tell Elle his feelings, he says, “The last thing she needs is me throwing a curveball and messing up our friendship.”
There is NEVER any discussion of Elle’s transness being an issue because that should never be an issue in the first place. By simply normalizing a relationship between a trans girl and a cis man, Heartstopper changes the audience members preconvienced biases about trans characters.
Heartstopper also uses language to break down biphobia, particularly the invalidation of bisexual men. Biphobia often takes shape in the erasure of bisexuality, meaning certain people believe one cannot be attracted to multiple genders. This assumption comes up in the Heartstopper comic. Before Nick and Charlie get together, Nick’s friends spend time discussing his sexuality. Miss Singh, the rugby coach, comments on their conversation, “You can’t tell whether people are gay by what they look like. And gay and straight aren’t the only two options. Anyway, it’s very rude to speculate about people’s sexuality.”
While Heartstopper aims to normalize LGBTQ+ identites, it also breaks down harmful ideology surrounding the queer community. Additionally, it replaces negative talk surrounding queer people with positive examples of queer discourse. After Nick and Charlie’s first kiss, Nick feels unsure about his sexuality. However, his new friends, Tara and Darcy, validate his questioning. Darcy adds in that, “Tara didn’t know she was a lesbian until [they’d] kisses like 6 times.”
While the quote itself is intended to make readers laugh, it also promotes the idea that self discovery takes time. As friends surround Nick with positive encouragement, he feels more comfortable and confident in himself. This newfound self-understanding ultimately leads to Nick identifying as bisexual. After going out with Charlie for a few months, Nick feels he finally understands his sexuality and at the end of the first season, he decides to come out to his mom.
While coming out scares him, Nick confidently tells her about both his boyfriend and his sexaulity. This scene shows incredible growth for Nick in not only overcoming his internalized homophobia but wanting to share his relationship with others. In addition, when his mom tells him that it’s okay if he doesn’t like girls, he assures her that “it’s definitely not just guys.” This interaction shows positive behavior on both sides; his mom supports him no matter his sexuality, and Nick feels secure in his identity. As bisexual men are not particularly prevelent on screen, Nick’s character is an incredible role model for both masculine guys who may be questioning their identities and audience members who may be concerned about the legitimacy of bisexuality.
As you may have gathered by now, I cannot say enough about this story. Both the Heartstopper show and webcomic have done so much good worldwide, and I’m excited to see how the series continues to break down stereotypes and promote positive queer culture in later seasons.
Hey! I love this because it’s Heartstopper, but on a more serious note, I think you did an amazing job at explaining Heartstopper’s diverse cast in regards to the LGBT+ community. I also liked your little snippet of how Tao being in love with Elle proves she is a woman! (I didn’t even think about how affirming that was until now!) Additionally, Nick’s bisexuality is such a nice thing to see on screen because everyone has the idea that it’s usually just one-sided sexual attraction, and I’m glad you pointed that out. Everything about the Web comic and show do a lot for the community, and helps everyone in some way. I’m glad to see a post was made on how beautiful Heartstopper is and how you helped others see that :). Great job! – Bryan
I am so glad someone chose to wrote about “Heartstopper!” Your point about Tao and how his straight identify affirms Elle’s identity is very astute, and something I did not pick up on when I watched the series. Though, I also wonder if that is the intent–to normalize LGBTQ+ identity in a way that does not fall into certain tropes, and instead focuses on the human behind the sexuality or gender. I agree wholeheartedly that this show has done amazing things and will hopefully continue to do so.
Your post is really interesting. I’ve never seen Heartstopper, but after reading your post I feel like I definitely need to! I feel like most shows feature only one or two gay characters as a way to “diversify” the show. However, this just adds to the stigma about the LGBTQIA+ community. The vast representation in Heartstopper is much more representative of actual society while also showing that being gay or trans is not someone’s whole identity but only one fraction. I’m excited to watch the show!
I was so excited to read your post about “Heartstopper”, as it is also one of my favorite shows Netflix has released and I have watched it an obscene amount of times. When I first watched this show, I kid you not, it was simply just hours of me crying happy tears on the couch, because it warmed my gay little heart so much. It made me incredibly happy to see a show that included so much LGBTQ+ representation, yet it was not all about the characters being gay or trans or whatnot. It is simply just a rom com but instead of featuring a heterosexual couple it features a queer couple and lots of other LGBTQ+ characters. A lot of shows that feature queer or trans characters, make the entire plot about the characters being gay or trans, but this show just shows LGBTQ+ people living their lives, it normalizes it, which is huge for LGBTQ+ media. (Emphasis on them never calling out or making a big deal of Elle being trans, because it should not be a big deal). As a bisexual person, Nick’s character really resonated with me. I absolutely love this show. Highly recommend reading the comic as well!
I have seen Heartstopper and I absolutely loved it! I hadn’t realized the significance of certain lines until I read your analysis–like how Tao calling himself the token straight friend affirms Elle’s gender identity. When I watched the show, I really appreciated how it approached the difficulty of coming to terms with bisexuality. As someone who identifies as bisexual and struggled for years over whether I was or not, this show reminded me that that is not an uncommon experience. Questioning is absolutely valid and it doesn’t make someone less bisexual or make their sexuality less valid.
I really enjoyed Heartstopper when I first watched it, and I was always invested in Tao and Elle’s relationship. I found your statement of Tao affirming Elle’s identity to be quite insightful, and it wasn’t something I had considered myself. I feel that many trans relationships fall into the unfortunate trope of “I love you despite…” rather than simply “I love YOU.”
Funny story, I also watched this while in quarantine, but instead of my last day of high school, it was reading week of last year’s second semester (oof)! Very good point about the trans relationship representation. I didn’t even catch the reference to Elle’s trans identity at first, showing that the show doesn’t feel the need to center this information with some big reveal. Tao and Elle’s relationship also makes the point that men and women can be friends and that that friendship can be so valuable that the idea of starting a relationship at the possible cost of it can be scary. You also bring up a really good point about masculine bisexual guys having a role model. Just because someone figures out they like another gender too doesn’t mean that they have to change their presentation to be more obviously gay or straight. I’m glad to see that so many other people like this show, and I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one smiling and crying at the end.