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The Netflix show may be aimed at teens but it has a special appeal for some older fans.
Runaway Netflix hit Heartstopper was a huge hit with teenagers when the first series came out last year.
But while it may have been targeted at a younger audience - just like Alice Oseman's hugely popular graphic novels series of the same name - it ultimately had a much broader appeal.
The series centred around the blossoming same sex relationship between school friends Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor).
The storyline follows Nick's coming out journey as he realises he is bisexual and series two, which drops on Netflix on Thursday, will follow Charlie and Nick's deepening romance.
For the young LGBTQ+ community, Heartstopper is about representation, identity and first love, while the show also tackles other teen issues such as bullying and friendship problems.
Older viewers have also been drawn to the series with its universal themes and nostalgia for rose-tinted schooldays (even if they weren't always so rose-tinted).
For some though, it's had a more profound effect.
Fiona - not her real name - says the show helped her to open up about her sexuality for the first time, in her 40s.
"Saying that Heartstopper made me realise I was bisexual is a bit of an oversimplification. There was probably a part of me that always knew but didn't really know how to label it because there weren't any people talking about bisexuality when I was growing up," she explains.
More people identify as bisexual than gay or lesbian, a new study recently suggested.
Fiona herself is married with a young child and her husband has been very supportive as she has begun to open up about her sexual orientation.
But it was a very different landscape in the 1980s.
She says that growing up through the Aids crisis and Section 28 was damaging, recalling once hearing Aids described by adults in hushed tones as the "gay plague".
"There was a lot of trauma and horror associated with not being straight.
"Because I liked boys as well, I just kind of pushed that side down. It [bisexuality] was always floating around in my head but I had those negative ideas of what it means to be bisexual."
She also feels that there's been a lack of bisexual storylines on our screens, which hasn't helped. Last year's Glaad report, which charts LGBTQ representation on TV in the US, noted that there was a four per cent decrease in bisexual characters compared with the previous year.
While there have been prominent bisexual characters in recent TV series, such as Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Darryl Whitefeather in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, it was Heartstopper's Nick Nelson that made everything click for Fiona.
"When I saw his journey, the emotions he felt... the more I thought about it, the more I thought this is something I can relate a lot to the past.
"It was like jigsaw pieces floating around and watching Heartstopper was the thing that finally... they all fit into place.
She says that while the show has "been really important for young people... because it normalises those feelings... there is a generation of older people who are realising they are bisexual because Heartstopper is helping them to go through the things they went through as a teenager and recognise it".
Heartstopper doesn't sugar-coat the issues that still exist today in coming out; Nick is part of a very macho school rugby team, for example, which includes some members who are openly homophobic.
"The fear of coming out to friends is very relatable. That's something I'm still going through at the moment," says Fiona.
But she notes that Heartstopper is also a "simple love story... that isn't drenched in trauma", which she feels is significant.
"There was a big phase where every gay storyline involved HIV... you couldn't just have simple love stories like straight people."
Watching Heartstopper led to Fiona tentatively begin to explore her newly uncovered identity.
"I just subconsciously started using the [bisexuality] label for myself to see how felt. It's like unlocking a part of your identity that's always been hidden.
"Everything just clicked and I was crying at the end when Nick comes out to his mum."
Fiona recently attended her first Pride event but while her husband has been an ally, she isn't ready to come out to her wider family yet.
"My family are very heteronormative. I'm a bit of a misfit because they do (traditional) gender roles, women do this and men do that, and I've always kicked against that."
While Fiona's coming out journey is at her own pace, Connor revealed on Twitter last year that he was bisexual, but suggested he was forced to come out after pressure on social media.
"No-one should be forced to come out when they're not ready, they should be able to do that in their own time. He was pushed into a corner where he felt he had to do that, it was completely unacceptable," Fiona says.
Connor himself said recently: "One of the really powerful things about Heartstopper is that it's a voice for a lot of people.
"We do try and teach people that no matter what, it's OK. It's okay not to know, and it's OK to explore and it's okay to work things out. You'll get there. It's going to be the best thing ever when you do."
Series two will see the relationship between Charlie and Nick grow and mature.
The pair are "super, super optimistic and hopeful about their relationship," Connor says.
"But it's maybe not as easy as they thought it would be, to suddenly be as out and proud as they want to be."
Dr Julia Shaw, a psychologist and author of the book, Bi: The Hidden Culture, History and Science of Bisexuality, says bisexual people face "double discrimination, expressed to them by both homosexual and heterosexual people".
"There's an assumption that for bisexual women, it's probably a phase, whereas for bisexual men, it's kind of the opposite... the assumption will be that you're actually gay but just not willing or brave enough to come out yet.
"Often bisexual people are seen as not queer enough to be fully part of the queer and homosexual community," she adds.
Dr Shaw also recognises the importance of representation on screen.
"Parasocial relationships are when we have relationships with... or get to know people on screen, or in other media contexts," she explains.
For example, the viewer may feel a genuine connection with Connor's character through shared experiences.
"We know that parasocial relationships are important for changing people's hearts and minds when it comes to queer issues.
"So if you feel like you know someone [who is gay or bisexual] in your real life, or through the media, you're much more likely to accept that that's a sexuality that really exists."
She adds: "I think that bisexual representation in the last five years has shot up massively, although it's still not proportionate.
"I think Heartstopper is one of the first representations of a delicate portrayal of bisexuality in boys in a way that we haven't seen before."
Oseman herself, who identifies as asexual and aromantic and uses both she and they pronouns, says: "We want to see our struggles represented accurately in the media, but we also often want media that makes us feel hopeful, comforted, and happy, and I like to think Heartstopper does both those things."
So what would Fiona say to Oseman if she met her now?
"Thank you for giving my generation the representation that we didn't have. I don't know if she will ever realise what impact she's really had."
The front doors of Community Unitarian Universalist Church of Plano, 2875 E. Parker Road, which church officials say has been targeted by a hate group since at least June 25, were damaged early Sunday, July 23, in a firebomb attack, according to reports in the Dallas Morning News. The church went ah...
Need input re including communities into a list
Hey guys,
I'm maintaining the health community on lemmy.world universal link, in particular a list of communities related to health: https://lemmy.world/post/396561
I want to ask, should I include some lgbtq+ communities, and if so, which ones?
I try to limit the list to comms that are specifically aimed at matters of health, so e.g. healthy cooking but not all cooking, (potentially) skin conditions but not all skin care etc. And also some satirical/meme ones (aspiememes etc.)
With that in mind, I'm thinking to maybe include some comms for transgender, as that's the group that's probably most concerned with healthcare. It seems to me that the one I'm posting to and this one are most like what I'm looking for. But maybe people would appreciate this one and its counterpart?
(I didn't want to cross post everywhere and be spammy.)
What do you think? Include more? Would it be useful? Or does it make no sense? What about the meme communities?
Could use some input. Thanks.
P.s. I'm at lemmy.world so I may not be able to respond to everyone as some instances aren't federated.
P.s.2. I'm aware some instances may be controversial for this or that reason. I might add detailed disclaimers or make a different system at a later time, but right now I want to focus on figuring the list.
Republican candidates march off to the culture war
The current crop of GOP contenders for the White House opt for making a big deal about small potatoes.
[Cartoon] We've come to ask: what keeps Republican voters awake at night? Climate calamity? North Korea's nukes? Russian Aggression? Economic disparity? Artificial intelligence running amok? ....[go see]
Which one do you prefer, LGBTQIA+ or GSRM?
Which one do you prefer, LGBTQIA+ or GSRM?
LGBTQIA+ \+Recognisable \+??? \-Cumbersome \-Some groups are relegated to the "+"
GSRM \+Includes everyone \+Not cumbersome \-New \-Not familiar
OK I am biased but I do want to know why people still use the long one when we could be using the short one?
Great interview today of two queer pioneers on PBS!
Great interview today of two queer pioneers on PBS!
https://lauraflanders.org/2023/06/kinship-ties-holly-hughes-esther-newton/?mode=1
The Laura Flanders show is generally a good place for progressive stories, but this one in particular was about a lesbian couple, one of whom was a pioneering performer, and the other an anthropologist who studied the queer community as an anthropologist would-- which was revolutionary for the time, as queer people weren't even considered a culture then. A good episode!
Anyone else feel oppressed by the Q-slur and feel that its widespread use harms LGBT rights more than it helps? It feels like every LGBT-adjacent “safe space” isn’t safe for those affected by the Q-sl
Anyone else feel oppressed by the Q-slur and feel that its widespread use harms LGBT rights more than it helps? It feels like every LGBT-adjacent “safe space” isn’t safe for those affected by the Q-slur, especially on Pride Month.
A source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rules\_kenya.jpg
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Kenya face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.[3][4] Sodomy is a felony per Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code, punishable by 21 years' imprisonment, and any sexual practices (termed "gross indecency") are a felony under section 165 of the same statute, punishable by 5 years' imprisonment. On 24 May 2019, the High Court of Kenya refused an order to declare sections 162 and 165 unconstitutional.[5] The state does not recognise any relationships between persons of the same sex; same-sex marriage is banned under the Kenyan Constitution since 2010. There are no explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Adoption is prohibited to same-sex couples. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Kenya
I haven't seen it but evidently it was queer-friendly, defied gender norms, and there was a trans character.
(Warning: minor plot spoilers in links.)
@kjr he just earned himself a speaking slot at the 2024 Republican convention
@liontigerwings Reclaiming it gives another meaning, at least in the theory of reclaiming.
I never thought I fit in with LGBT because I'm pansexual but never felt "gay." Come from a generation of playing "smear the q-s." And teachers telling us that "there are two kinds of men, steers and q-s."
Due to this, I definitely see the your point. I was called this a lot as a kid, and it definitely hurt, but it was before I was out even to myself, and haven't been called that as an adult, so I don't have that perspective.
However, it wasn't until it started to be reclaimed that I came to terms with who I am and the people I am attracted to. Q just feels right for where I am on sexuality and gender if that makes sense. It is the only slot I feel like I belong.
@munkinasack what? Can you explain it a little more?
I should probably learn how to do that formatting. It's easily understood. Do you mind linking me to where I could learn?
Prepend > to each line of text. Look up “Markdown”.
I have not really experienced that before. [...] I do not believe in evil. People are doing what they think is the best thing to do. Hurt people hurt people. If you treat hurt people with hostility, then you will get hostility in return. The online space is great for people to put their inner most thoughts. Everyone has random thoughts, and they can be destructive.
I believe that evil is when “what they think is the best thing to do” intentionally hurts others.
To me I don't see that much difference between people who call themselves LGBT and people who call themselves the catch all term. But to someone who wishes to exclude them I understand that frustration.
If you’ve been hurt by a slur, and someone’s trying to cheapen the slur by including non-homosexual, non-bisexual, non-transgender people into the community with it as the excuse, and often not even recognizing it as a slur, you’d want it OUT.
I see no reason why a cishet person couldn't be the term you dislike. Sexuality tends to be one of the first things targeted in genocides.
You see no reason why a cishet person couldn’t creep into the community defined by not being a cishet, then?
I'm sorry I don't understand that term. Do you mind telling me what that is?
“Truscum” is a pejorative for a trans person who defines the word “transgender” as “a person who experiences gender dysphoria (distressing evidence of mismatching sex and gender identity), or someone who used to and has transitioned”.
The opposite is “tucute” (also known as “transtrender”) deriving from “too cute to be cis”. It is someone who says anyone whosoever who says they’re trans is trans, and you are an “exclusionist” for thinking otherwise in any case. Tucutes call truscum “transphobic”, which is ironic because tucutes cheapen the word “transgender” and ruin the integrity of the trans community from within and its public relations from without.
This is the first time I've interacted with "mainstream q-slur" discourse. So I don't know what you're talking about. You are 5 steps ahead of me, and you are assuming I have knowledge that I don't.
I've never been a fan of neo pronouns/micro labels. They seem to take up the same space as a name. A specific individualized label is not different than a name? At my work I have a nickname on my name tag. It is more polite at my work to call me by my nickname than it is my legal name. When I'm with my family I'm called my legal name. I'm fine with this. People should be allowed to be sloppy. Trying to force things in boxes that shouldn't be makes that box not useful.
Eat the rich isn't strictly a "communist ideology".
I still don't quite understand what you mean by "glorifying sexuality". Are you asexual and sex repulsed? I would want a world where I am able to talk about sexuality. Where people cross the line of glorifying is different for everyone.
You do not have to be apart of every community, that sounds exhausting. I wouldn't feel welcomed in a lesbian meetup, so do not feel bad. It is good to have these in existence.
As long as bi and pan are self prescribed then I see no issue with either. I'm sure in 100 years one of them will become the "correct" choice. And I wish the generations after me good luck with that. If they wish to call me an old loser who is stuck in the past I would only agree with them.
If pronouns are not for prescribing gender then what are they for?
Unfortunately people who aren't LGBT are in the majority. If you want to be accepted in society then you explicitly need their acceptance. I see no reason why a cishet person should be barred from pride festivals, dragshows, or even LGBT tv shows. That sounds like a great way for the cishets to get over themselves. If someone is willing to help me they should be thanked for it. Thanking people for not being "evil" should be more common. If I get to complain to a cishet person about something that happened to me that is [gay] then I would thank them for listening to me. People cannot pull themselves up by their boot straps.
My understanding of "truscum" is them believing that trans women aren't women. Yeah, why wouldn't they kick them out. That seems hostile towards their person. I'm white, I kick out any white supremacists I have from the groups I'm a part of.