LGBTQ+ High School Dramas Still Make 1 Major Mistake

LGBTQ+ high school dramas have improved, but they still continue to make one major mistake. Ever since the movie Heartstopper have all included good representation of queer relationships, but despite these steps forward, the shows continue making one crucial misstep.

Based on the novel by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon told the story of a closeted high schooler's search for love. Despite some of the criticisms it faced, the movie launched a spin-off series called Love, Victor, about a new student at Simon's high school who is questioning his sexuality. Another queer-friendly high school drama, Euphoria, follows Rue's battles with substance abuse as well as her relationship with Jules, who is a trans girl. Netflix's more recent Heartstopper also includes a wide array of LGBTQ+ characters navigating high school together.

Unfortunately, these shows often do not always reflect reality. Especially in the United States, legislative measures like the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Florida prevent teachers from discussing LGBTQ topics in their classrooms, and anti-trans bills in several states discourage children and teens from embracing their gender identities. Such measures are making it increasingly difficult to grow up as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and to through high school environments, regardless of what series such as Love, Victor and Heartstopper may suggest.

Are LGBTQ High School Shows Overly Positive?

Love, Simon excited many viewers when it came out for being the first mainstream Hollywood movie about a gay teen that had a happy ending. However, there was also a fair bit of criticism surrounding the film, firstly for casting a straight actor in the lead gay role, and secondly for the relatively low stakes Simon encountered throughout the movie. He was very worried about how coming out would affect his life, but his concerns were mostly refuted. Although his friends were upset that he'd lied, none of them were upset about his sexuality. In fact, his friends, family, and school were so ive that Love, Simon never really portrayed the kinds of difficulties queer teens face all too often in real life.

Many of the LGBTQ+ high school shows that have released since Love, Simon tell similarly positive stories about the queer experience. While Likewise in the Heartstopper series, Charlie feels free to complain to an openly gay art teacher about his own love life. It's wonderful for teens and parents alike to be able to see queer relationships and identities as normal in this way, but unfortunately, this doesn't always reflect real life.

Why LGBTQ High School Dramas Still Make 1 Major Mistake

Rue and Jules forehead to forehead on Euphoria

LGBTQ high school dramas are falling into a problematic trend where they ignore a major facet of real life in order to tell their love stories. Love, Victor, Euphoria, and Heartstopper are all supposedly set in a normal — or at least somewhat normal — high school, but lack many of the problems that queer high school students are actively facing. This is especially true for the shows taking place in American schools, where legislative efforts prevent LGBTQ+ identities from being discussed. It's unfortunately becoming increasingly abnormal for students to know openly queer teachers that they can turn to for , like Heartstopper's Charlie does with his art teacher. The trans characters in Heartstopper and Euphoria also experience a level of acceptance and that is becoming more and more uncommon in high schools. Portraying such an unrealistic, and therefore unattainable, level of acceptance may be trying to inspire joy or hope in its LGBTQ+ viewers, but can actually have the opposite effect. The overwhelming positivity in shows like Love, Victor and Heartstopper risks conjuring despair in audiences whose own high school years may never come close to what they see on screen. Media can be positive, but it still needs to reflect real life in some ways.

New LGBTQ Media Needs To Reflect Real Concerns

like Love, Victor, that seem completely removed from reality, they will feel even more invisible.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to watch a happy LGBTQ+ love story, but if the show ignores some of the struggles specific to queer relationships and identities, then it is an ultimately flawed portrayal. It is an unfortunate truth that LGBTQ+ high schoolers face certain struggles that a cis and/or straight person can never understand, and erasing these conflicts altogether is an insult to any teen fighting to endure their own school years. As important as inclusivity is, it shouldn't exclude real life in the process.

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