Heartstopper

I agree todays LGBT youth have a lot more represented today then when I was young.

 

I loved it!!! And have watched it twice too lol will prob watch again with some family… well they tend to watch me watch lgbtq stuff but anyway it’s fun.

I wish I’d had stuff like when I was younger… I would have had sneak around to watch it my family would have never allowed it! But still… it would have been nice knowing it was there!

 

I absolutely love the show too and have watched it twice by myself and once with my wife.
As you are all saying, I wish this show existed when I was a teenager. It's really speaking to my inner teen. The show makes me feel both amazingly happy, but also incredibly sad for not coming to terms with my sexuality earlier in life.

Now I want to go rewatch again

 

(I'm guessing you mean the Netflix series). It is the first LGBTQ series I have ever watched and I adored it. I literally watched to whole thing in one go! I especially like when Tara and Darcy decide to openly kiss at the party and then put it on social media. It's really helped me relaxe a bit.

 

One of the toughest and last things we have to overcome as later in life gay men is our comfort level with public displays of affection with our boyfriends. I know it took me awhile to be able to hold hands and kiss in public.

 

I would be nervous to hold hands or kiss my boyfriend in public

 

Its not easy

 

I feel bad for todays LGBT youth in middle and high school

 

There is no question it is tough to overcome the years and years of heteronormative pressures that same sex attraction is some how abnormal or perverted. Love is love no matter the gender and expressions of that attraction and love are just as normal for gay men.

 

Sorry my message got cut short:At the very beginning of my evolution to a gay man I was afraid and ashamed to show any signs of affection in public when I was with my boyfriend because I didn’t want anyone to know I was gay. As I grew in my comfort level I started to want everyone to know! I wanted the world to know I had a boyfriend and I loved being with him. That meant expressing that attraction in public like any straight couple might. I slowly became a proud gay man and these public expressions helped pave the way.

 

That must of been hard how did you build of the courage ?

 

It was at the beginning but as I worked through my internalized homophobia I started to see that public displays of affection with my boyfriend was normal and natural. I stopped worrying about what other thought and more about how I felt- very gay and proud.

 

That must of been hard how did you build of the courage ?

What was the hardest part ?

 

Jakebusman, it was hard but I developed the courage being with my boyfriend who was out and always gay. He taught me that being gay was as normal as straight, as valid a life style as any and that rather than being a curse, homosexuality was a blessing for us.
As to the hardest part, kissing him in public took longer for me to get comfortable with than holding hands or hugging. Eventually I become comfortable with it all. I even reached the point I allowed my more effeminate side to be revealed which I had hid from everyone.

 

I watched Heartstopper with a friend. My expectations were high since I'd really enjoyed reading the comic. The Netflix show did not disappoint. Whilst we were watching the show, my friend remarked that he was glad that he never came out in secondary school. I felt the same. Although I was out to a couple of my friends back then, I was never fully out. I found it difficult to even say the word. There were times where the news spread and reactions were negative. However, this was mainly outside of school and by the time my cover had been fully blown I was ready to leave anyway.

Frankly, the part where Charlie has an openly gay teacher he can confide in...well, I'm a little jealous of that. I remember back in secondary a lot of my teachers were homophobic. The closest to an accepting teacher was a woman who 'didn't mind the gays but couldn't stand bisexuals'. I couldn't stand her for a whole list of reasons and that statement certainly didn't help her case. When I was seventeen I met my first openly gay teacher, she mentioned her ex girlfriend so casually whilst telling us a relevant story. It was a small thing but it made me feel happy, knowing that one day I'd get to talk so casually about such topics.

The trickiest part of dealing with negative reactions was how alone I felt in the experience. I was more fortunate than most, since I had a gay friend I could confide in. Looking back it's kind of funny how we dated out of peer pressure only for us to turn around and both come out to each other at the same time. I mean, what are the chances? For context, he was not the friend I watched Heartstopper with and I haven't seen him since I left school.

Back then, I felt like I had to go through the bullying on my own. I never wanted to burden my parents and it feels strange thinking about how I used to just hide the bruises. The optimism of Heartstopper does make me happy and I like how it remained realistic as well. It didn't feel too sappy or like a very special episode. There was just something so...real about it. Instead of talking to the audience in the tone of see? Gay people are just like you! it really captured what it's like to be young and LGBT imo.

 

I'm about halfway through and love it.

I love that mainstream LGBT media is shifting to more optimistic stories and focusing on healthier relationships.

I haven't been out of high-school *that* long, but openly gay teachers/students/relationships and having that puppy love in highschool....honestly healing for the inner child

 

I'm also halfway through it and I love it. It's just so adorable and heart-warming, and I love how it normalizes same-sex relationships and attraction. It was also a real relief to me that there's finally a (queer) teen show without sex or drugs. Teen shows and films often make me feel alienated because as a teenager my life was pretty innocent and simple: awkward crushes, romantic fantasies, slowly discovering my identity and place in the world. I didn't go to wild parties or get drunk. I love how this show desexualizes young queer people and shows that same-sex relationships are so much more than just sex. I also love the diversity: we have a gay/bisexual couple, a lesbian couple and a trans couple, and there are lots of POC. And it's great to see such an emphasis put on friendship, even though the show centers around romance.

 

I watched in probably the span of a day and am really tempted to watch it again. I feel like it's what made me finally want to face my questioning sexuality. I love how it shows not being sure and just being totally confused by it. It just hit really close to home.