Mental Health in Hearstopper Season 1
Are you as excited for the second season of Heartstopper as I am? Here I am again (a queer, Asian American person in the mental health field) with some more queer media intersecting with mental health! If you haven’t watched Heartstopper already, this is your cue to stop before the spoilers ahead. Heartstopper is a sweet drama about teen friendship and queer romance! Here are the top 4 things I loved and/or reflected on for the first season, including queer representation, depiction of mental health, and general queer joy.
What an amazing author: Alice Oseman!
I always love to start off gushing about the writer and creator. Heartstopper is only one of the many queer stories that Alice Oseman has written. Her first novel was published when she was 19! Each story dives into important topics and wonderful representation of the diverse LGBTQIA+ community. Elle is trans. Nick came out as bisexual. Alice herself is ace and aro, and I’m directing you to her YA novel Loveless for some aroace representation! (Click to hear more on her thoughts on positive acearo representation in fiction!)
Realistic Depiction of Mental Health and Queerness
I’ve read the webcomic of Heartstopper and am excited to see the potential deeper dive into mental health and mental healthcare. Even in season 1, Alice explores the very real effects that everyday life can have on our mental health. Bullying, sly comments, general societal views on queerness; they all contribute to a person’s self-esteem, mood, etc, just like how Charlie struggled with his mental health. Through all of this is the importance of community and care, which I will touch on later.
And if you’re a queer person reading this and exploring your identity or looking for support, don’t hesitate to reach out! Having a queer-affirming therapist can be an important first step towards healing. You can book an info session with me here to learn more.
No Tragic "Bury Your Gays" Queer Trope
Though Heartstopper included sad, emotional moments, it was overall the depiction of a loving, sweet queer relationship AND supportive families. My heart was warm seeing Nick’s mom whole-heartedly, unconditionally accept her son for who he is. This might not happen with many families, and I think it’s important to depict love and joy for queer youth and families. If it’s not your biological family, it’s your chosen family!
Importance of Community
Equally essential (and another thing I loved) is the community that is built in Heartstopper. Safe spaces for queer folks can be far and few. Thus, how each character found their community and left those that were unsafe stood out to me. Society pressures people, and even more so queer youth, to fit in, and that can be isolating. In Heartstopper, Nick removes himself from his original group of homophobic friends, and finds acceptance and support in a new friend group. Elle is able to move schools and find supportive friends as well!
And so, above are some of the reasons, Heartstopper was such a feel-good yet realistic watch for me. Season 2 of Heartstopper is speculated to be released sometime in 2023! It’ll be the new year, but the same queers! To fill in the waiting time, here’s a list of more queer media to consume:
Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)
The Owl House (Disney+)
What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)