Love Without Tragedy: Heartstopper and the Evolution of Queer Storytelling
For decades, queer love stories in film and literature have often followed a tragic arc, longing, repression, secrecy, and ultimately, loss. Films like Brokeback Mountain, The Danish Girl, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire capture the beauty of queer love but also highlight its historical constraints. These narratives, while important, reinforce a pattern: queer love is something that exists in the margins, always fleeting, always ending in heartbreak.
Then there’s Heartstopper.
Netflix’s Heartstopper, based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series, is a refreshing departure from this pattern. It tells the love story of Nick and Charlie, two teenage boys navigating their relationship in a world that, while not perfect, allows their love to grow, rather than be destroyed. Their story isn’t about tragic endings or inevitable loss. It’s about first love, discovery, and the joy of being seen.
By placing Heartstopper in conversation with Brokeback Mountain, The Danish Girl, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, we can see how queer storytelling has evolved. The shift from tragedy to joy isn’t just about representation; it’s about challenging long-held cultural narratives of queer existence. Using queer theory, particularly the ideas of Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and Gayle Rubin, we can explore why Heartstopper matters in shaping contemporary understandings of queer identity.
Breaking the Cycle of Shame and Secrecy
Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality argues that sexuality has been shaped by systems of power, where institutions like religion, family, and medicine dictate what kinds of relationships are "acceptable." For much of history, queer love has been confined to secrecy, something we see deeply in Brokeback Mountain. Ennis and Jack’s love is real, but it exists in the shadows. They can never fully claim their relationship, and that repression ultimately leads to tragedy.
Similarly, in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Marianne and Héloïse’s love exists only in the margins of time, within stolen moments before Héloïse is forced into marriage. Their relationship is never allowed to exist in the "real world"; it can only survive in memory.
Heartstopper shifts this narrative entirely. Charlie and Nick do not have to love each other in secrecy. While there are challenges, Charlie’s past bullying, and Nick’s struggle with coming out, their love isn’t doomed. They have supportive friends, and families for the most part, and a space to be open. Unlike Ennis and Jack, they can hold hands in public. Unlike Héloïse and Marianne, their love isn’t confined to an isolated moment in time.
By giving queer love the freedom to exist openly, Heartstopper resists the structures of repression that Foucault discusses. It reflects a world where queer relationships no longer have to be hidden, challenging the old paradigm of love that exists only in the dark.
Gender, Fluidity, and Queer Possibility
Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble introduced the idea of gender as performance, something not fixed, but fluid, shifting based on cultural context. This concept is key in The Danish Girl, where Lili Elbe embarks on a journey of self-discovery, redefining her identity despite societal constraints. While Lili’s story is groundbreaking in its depiction of trans identity, it is also tragic, her life is shaped by struggle, misunderstanding, and ultimately, her death.
Heartstopper offers a vision of queerness that is expansive and evolving. Nick’s bisexuality is a central theme, and the show takes time to explore his journey without invalidating his attraction to both men and women. Elle, a trans girl, is given a storyline that isn’t about suffering but about finding friendship, love, and confidence. Unlike Lili, whose transition is met with pain and tragedy, Elle exists in a space where she can be herself without punishment.
This shift reflects a broader cultural change. While queer people still face challenges, there is no more room for exploration, more space to exist without tragedy. Heartstopper’s celebration of identity aligns with Butler’s argument that gender and sexuality are fluid, not confined to rigid categories. It embraces queerness as something joyful, rather than something that must be fought for at every step.
Gayle Rubin’s Thinking Sex critiques how society has historically framed sexuality through moral judgments, categorizing certain desires as "acceptable" and others as "deviant." In Brokeback Mountain and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, queer love is treated as something dangerous, something that can exist only if it is sacrificed in the end. Jack dies. Ennis is left alone. Marianne and Héloïse part ways, carrying only the memory of their love.
In Heartstopper, love is not a sacrifice. Nick and Charlie do not have to choose between their happiness and their safety. Their relationship is not a metaphor for struggle or repression; it simply is.
This is revolutionary. It challenges the idea that queer relationships must be tied to suffering to be valid. It shifts the narrative from one of survival to one of thriving.
A New Chapter for Queer Storytelling
While films like Brokeback Mountain, The Danish Girl, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire are essential to queer cinematic history, Heartstopper represents a new era. It tells a story where queer love is not doomed, where gender identity is not a tragedy, and where relationships do not have to be hidden away.
By applying queer theory, we can see how Heartstopper actively challenges the narratives that have shaped queer representation for years. It offers an alternative, one where love is not just about longing, but about joy, growth, and visibility.
And maybe, after years of heartbreak on screen, that’s exactly what we need.
Written by: Amaris Prescott
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