I have just finished binging season three of Netflix’s Heartstoppers. I have to praise Alice Oseman for a wonderful story, Netflix for being brave and filming and, above all, the cast for such a beautiful job depicting many challenging subjects.
Transphobia is such a hot topic, and Ell’s interview was terrific, though it was not what she expected. I think it spoke to the issues a community faces that should be hugged and loved. We are all human; we all want to breathe the air, live our lives and love who and how we want. Straight, gay, bisexual, pan and binary are all a matter of biology. Yes, it is a choice, a choice of what and who Nature deems us to be. It is that simple. Transexuals face a wholly different and biological dilemma, having the essence of a woman or a man sustained by a physical body one feels they do not belong to. It is a part of Nature, just like every other living thing. Nature is diverse and robust. It is malleable and changeable, and while defined by words and definitions, those phrases are forever changing and evolving. It is not for one person or a group of people to determine what is right and wrong, it is up to the individual to determine what is right or wrong from themselves.
What I just wrote is a wonderful segue into mental illness that the creators, crew and cast of Heartstopper tackled, in my opinion, head-on. We all face it in some form. Sometimes, mental illness is a minor itch that we, the individual, can scratch. Often, it is not. It is scary for those affected by it, but it is just frightening for loved ones and friends who watch, pray and often feel helpless. Like so many things, someone who is mentally ill, like an alcoholic, has to realise for themselves there is a problem before they can seek help. Nick and Charlie , the leading characters in Heartstoppers, faced this. One was in denial for a long time, and the other was in love but capable of assisting when facing bigger issues. Those who are going through mental illness suffer, but so do those who try to help but find themselves standing at a distance, watching, hoping and hurting.
Heartstoppers and Glee are two very different stories from two different times. This does not mean that one is better or greater than the other; it means they both tackled issues facing not only the LGBTQ community but many others. Glee was groundbreaking for its time, and it still is. Likewise, Heartstoppers is, for this moment, the time. In the future, there will be other programs, movies, plays, music, and books that will break new ground and foster new understanding.
As a gay man in his sixties, I wish there were shows like Glee and Heartstoppers when I was a teen. Back then, soap operas were the first to have gay characters in minor roles. Making Love and Long Time Companion were fantastic movies for their time.
We are all human. We all eat, sleep, learn, pay taxes, work, cry, celebrate, and live. No one is better than the other, and one is lesser. Why, in this day and age, are there people who still think they are right and their beliefs are right and supersede the rights we all have as human beings. That we should follow them and be as they want us to be.
I am not a political person, but I have political views. To my friends down south, in the United States, vote with our hearts for what you believe is correct for all human beings and not the few narrow-minded individuals.
To my friends above the border in Canada and Europe, we will all vote soon for those who represent us and our values. Do not let our values fade and become a hidden footnote as it did in 1933.