My first impression of the Heartstopper book series was that it had diversity without making it feel forced. Sometimes, when a writer tries to make their book (or TV show, movie, etc.) "woke," it comes off as preachy or ingenuine, and unnatural. Take, for example, The Hate U Give. At the time, there was a growing number of YA novels about social injustice, but The Hate U Give became the book. Although there were a thousand reasons for its success (phenomenal writing, a compelling story, a great publisher, pure luck), a big contributor was Angie Thomas's ability to create a sense of realism. She didn't turn the dialogue on every other page into semi-essays on injustice and racism because she didn't have to; it was already there in between the lines. I know it sounds ridiculous that a writer wouldn't naturally do that, but, turning to television, look at Jane the Virgin after Trump's election. It was great that they wanted to use the platform to create a clear political stance, but they didn't even attempt to be subtle. Watching it years later, I immediately knew when I'd reached episodes from the time of the 2016 election. It reached a point where I dreaded the didactic, unnecessarily drawn-out endings.
Heartstopper mercifully errs on the Hate U Give side of the scale. The diversity and inclusivity of the cast is insane - there is, quite literally, a token straight, and just about half of the main characters are people of color - without feeling like Oseman was forcing it into that to fit someone else's idea of inclusion (if that makes sense? it's hard to explain. all books should be as diverse as physically possible, but it should come off as genuine). I don't think I can stress enough how vital it is for young queer people to see stories where they are represented by more than a single character, even if it's the main character. They need to understand that who they are is normal and valid, and the more queer characters in a story, the better they can understand that and the more people the story can help. Digital Spy's review of the show said it perfectly: "if you can't see yourself in the world around you, it's hard to see a future for yourself too." Heartstopper, both the books and the show, offer that future.
Young queer people need more than just representation, though; they need to see a support system. So many stories are about queerness isolating someone, and while that's true for a lot of people and should be represented, that's not the only truth, nor is it the one we should accept. Understanding your identity should be a celebration, and that's exactly what Heartstopper argues. The series doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of many queer teen's lives like bullying and depression, but it doesn't present it as a core part of the LGBTQ+ Community. In Heartstopper, bullying is an outside problem targeting queer people. It can dramatically affect a queer person's mental health, but it can't dictate what it means to be queer. That kindness and compassion and love is just so important - I know I'm repeating myself, but no one tells you that as a kid! That's just not what you're taught, and to see it be available and mainstream for people younger than me is enough to bring tears to my eyes. They have someone telling them that being queer is beautiful! There is so much joy and pride and community that comes with being queer, and finally a story is presenting that!
It's even more remarkable that there is a (sort of) well advertised TV show. For a show about queer people to gain attention from its distributor, the show pretty-much-always has to overly sexualize and dramatize queer teens, preferably in another language so that Americans aren't the primary audience (and reinforcing the idea to Americans that LGBTQ+ people are foreign or uncommon in their own lives). I can only think of four prominent live action teen shows about queer people: Euphoria, Elite, Young Royals, and Sex Education. Of those four, all of them sexualize the characters, two of them are in another language, and only one of them is actually mainstream for an American audience. They're not necessarily bad shows; Young Royals is one of my favorites, actually, and of what I've seen from the other three (the pilots of Euphoria and Elite, trailers and clips of Sex Education), they're just as fantastic. All four of those shows have had some unique positive effect on the LGBTQ+ Community, but they sometimes also present depression, drama, and sex as the core of the community when, in my experience, it should actually be the happiness and togetherness and diversity. There have been shows that represent that - most recently, Julie and the Phantoms, although the queer experience wasn't the center of that show - but they often get either ignored or cancelled, despite popularity or critical acclaim. Love, Victor (a show somewhere between Sex Education and Heartstopper, in terms of how they frame the representation) was originally going to be released on Disney+ but was moved to Hulu because of "adult themes" - "adult themes," of course, that aren't too adult for Disney+ in Never Been Kissed or 10 Things I Hate About You. "Adult themes" that aren't too adult in The Fault in Our Stars or Hamilton or Marvel's Runaways. And what does Love, Victor have that all of those green lighted shows and movies don't? Queer people! Once the show released, it got increasingly less marketing - to the point where, when the second season came out, I didn't know about it for a full three months. After lower views brought on by Hulu's own marketing team, the upcoming third season will be its last.
Heartstopper, on the other hand, received decent marketing, even making it into the Top 10 in the US (as of April 26, it's still #9!) and earning a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%! It's a beautiful story with a fantastic message and representation that I would kill to be able to give to ten-year-old me. It tells LGBTQ+ youth that they are not only worthy of love, but that they need it just as much as anyone else, and for that, I am forever grateful. If you're looking for a bit of gay fluff romance or even a little hope for the future of YA media, I cannot recommend Heartstopper, both the books and the series, enough.
Today's review felt a bit out-of-sorts. I went into a few ideas outside of the realm of reviews, and I didn't stay focused on the actual books much, but it was cathartic to get this all on paper. I hope it made sense. Until next time, keep reading, readers.