Sketched leaves in a plethora of colors drift across an expanse of white; at the center, sits one word etched in faint pink: Heartstopper. What started out as a small webcomic series written and published by Alice Oseman on Tumblr and Tapas has quickly morphed into an internationally renowned book and TV series. With the comic amassing nearly 125 million views, and the two seasons reaching a combined 109 million hours of view time following release, the themes of Heartstopper are wide reaching. Heartstopper manages to skillfully represent the issues faced by LGBTQ+ youth while following the life of Charlie Spring and his friends as they navigate love, high school and growing up.
Set in a British grammar school, Heartstopper chronicles the friendship and eventual relationship between two teenage boys, Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). When the story begins, Charlie is openly out as gay, having been outed in the previous school year. He struggles with ongoing bullying and the mental toll of a manipulative relationship. Everything changes when a teacher assigns Nick and Charlie as table mates in their form group, and the two become fast friends. Feelings of friendship blossom into something more, prompting Nick to grapple with his own identity and Charlie to relive past traumas. Charlie’s protective friends, however, are hesitant to trust Nick, viewing him as just another one of Charlie’s past bullies. While the story mainly follows Nick and Charlie, Oseman encapsulates a wide spectrum of LGBTQ+ experiences and concerns through their friends’ varied situations, ranging from bullying, abuse, and internalized homophobia to self-love and acceptance. Heartstopper provides a vessel through which teenagers can see their lived realities represented and society can see the everyday challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth.
Heartstopper draws attention to one of the most pertinent and concerning issues facing LGBTQ+ youth, homelessness, through its subplot of the relationship between Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) and Tara Jones (Corinna Brown). The two have been in a committed relationship for a long time, but Darcy is unable to share this milestone with her parents; they view homosexual relationships as immoral and incorrect. This lack of acceptance causes internal turmoil for Darcy throughout her life as she discovers her sexuality and grapples with the emotion of love and the implications this revelation has on her relationship with her family. These issues reach a critical point in Season 2, Episode 7. As Darcy is getting ready to go to school prom, her mother sees the outfit Darcy plans on wearing: a suit. Blowing up, Darcy’s mother demands she wears a dress to prom. A large fight ensues, culminating in Darcy being kicked out of her home by her mother. With nothing to her name but the few things she crammed in her bag, Darcy sets off. However, she is forced to spend the night in a nearby park upon realizing she has nowhere to go. While this scene may come off as overdramatized, this experience is all too common for LGBTQ+ teenagers. A report compiled by the Trevor Project found that over a quarter of LGBTQ+ teens have faced either housing instability or homelessness during their life. Where other stories shy away from this darker reality, Heartstopper instead shines a light on it, providing a clear example of the impact it has on families, friends and the individual.
Beyond this, Heartstopper brings to forefront a contentious point in the LGBTQ+ community: biphobia. Defined as “dislike of or prejudice against bisexual people” by the Oxford Dictionary, biphobia has been used in the past to discredit the experiences and opinions of bisexual people. Heartstopper provides a window into how it feels to receive this kind of judgment and doubt, allowing many to empathize. Nick’s experiences after coming out as bisexual, meaning he likes both girls and boys, in the show represent this common experience in the LGBTQ+ community. At various times, Nick comes out to his friends and family. However, each time he is met with backlash. Charlie’s friends think he’s lying, and that he only likes girls. Nick’s older brother thinks he’s gay, but he is too scared to admit it to himself. Others in school align with both the former and the latter. This consistent negative attention creates self-doubt in Nick.
Whether someone is looking for a sweet love story or an empowering tale of friendship, Heartstopper is an important show to watch. Not only does it provide an insight into the experience of teenagers growing up, it raises awareness on key issues facing the youth LGBTQ+ community that the media tends to glamourize or write over.
Written by Dresden Benke of Walt Whitman High School