Heartstopper – OutWrite

A digital illustration of various sapphic couples from television. The largest couple on the left hand side is Amity, a white girl with short purple hair, a black tunic, a moon necklace, and pointy ears, and Luz, a Latina girl with brown skin, orange-brown hair, a half-cloak, and black studs, from "The Owl House." Amity cups Luz's face and holds her hand. At the bottom right corner are Beatrice, an Asian woman with dark purple hair in a bun and a cross scar on her cheek, and Ava, a white woman with orange-brown bobbed hair, from "Warrior Nun." Ava is smiling affectionately at Beatrice who is speaking. At the top right corner are Sydney, a white girl with short pink hair in an orange tank top and necklace, and Dina, a Black girl with dark curly hair and a white tank top, from "I Am Not Okay With This." Sydney leans against Dina and looks up at her lovingly. Various swirls and hearts surround all the couples.

From “I Am Not Okay With This” to “Everything Sucks”: A Lack of Lesbians in Media

After the cancellation of the beloved show “Warrior Nun” on Netflix, fans speculated as to why such a popular show could have been kicked to the curb by the streaming powerhouse. Some theorized that it may have been provoked by the second season’s relationship between two women. Though its fanbase’s dedication eventually led to the series’ development into a feature film trilogy, this isn’t the first case where shows with sapphic central characters have been stripped of funding and future seasons.

Arts & Entertainment

Queerbaiting to Queer Couples: The Evolution of Queerness in 21st Century Media

2023 has truly been a great year for LGBTQ+ representation in media. From movies like “Bottoms” to TV shows like “Heartstopper” and “Good Omens,” we are living in the very recent development of what Them calls “a golden era for LGBTQ+ representation.”

A slanted polaroid collage of queer media posters, album and book covers. From left to right, top to bottom: Shygirl's "Nymph," "Happy Together," Tinashe's "Songs for You," Ashnikko's "Demidevil," The Dead Texan's "The Dead Texan," "Good Omens," "Heartstopper," All Time Low's "Tell Me I'm Alive," "Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse," "Bottoms," "Gideon the Ninth," and "Nana."

Arts & Entertainment

Queer Summer 2023 Favorites

Our OutWrite staff loves queer media! Here are some of our favorites from this summer:

A photograph of Nick and Charlie staring lovingly at each other from Netflix's "Heartstopper". Charlie is a young white man with black hair and a red plaid shirt. Nick is a young white man with blonde hair wearing a yellow shirt. Charlie cups Nick's face.

TV

Heartstopper Season 2: Grieving Something I Didn’t Know I Lost

When Season 1 of “Heartstopper” came out in April 2022, I was a senior in high school. I was coming out of yet another situationship with a straight guy. My story was classic: grow close to him, develop feelings, question whether or not he’s straight, confess.

compilation of posters for tv shows on OutWrite's best of 2022 queer tv list

TV

Best of 2022: Staff Picks for Queer TV

Enjoy our staff’s recommendations for 15 queer TV shows and seasons released in 2022 (in no particular order) and where to watch!

A screenshot of Kit Connor's tweet reading "back for a minute. i'm bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye"

Opinion

Kit Connor, Biphobia, And The “Perfect” Bisexual

On Oct. 31, 2022, Kit Conner, one of the stars of Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” took to Twitter to announce his bisexuality. He wrote, “back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye.” Fans of the show were quick to reply with messages of support. Many of the replies empathized with him, as viewers were upset that he was forced to relinquish parts of his private life after facing accusations of “queerbaiting” when he was spotted with a girl around his age.