On Twitter, people have been sharing their ‘ My Heartstopper’ equivalents – characters that, intentionally or not, provided LGBTQ+ visibility for them when growing up. Such a statement discredits the many shows and movies preceding Heartstopper that have handled their queer coming-of-age stories with similar levels of sensitivity. Some have described Heartstopper as the first of its kind. And while it’s a rarity, it’s not the only uplifting tale of being young and queer available. There’s no denying Heartstopper is extremely lovely and that it will inevitably act as a source of validation for its Gen Z audience – with high schoolers played by appropriately-aged actors, most of whom also align with their character’s identity: a lesbian couple who are proud of the label (happy Lesbian Visibility Week!) a Black trans woman untethered from a traumatic subplot.
