A show like Heartstopper would have meant the world to a trans youth like me growing up

It shows that there is more to being LGBT+ than just our identity, writes Jamie Raines – I could have used that kind of reassurance growing up

I was desperate to find something that I felt represented by and that I could relate to when I was growing up, but it was a struggle. What I found boiled down to a handful of shows and films, including The L Word. It was good, in some parts, but not so great when it came to trans representation.

The trans portrayal of Max in The L Word left me feeling apprehensive about what being trans and transitioning meant. Not everything was terrible, but the consistent negativity and inaccuracies meant that finding something positive was like finding a golden nugget, rather than being readily available, as I now know it should be.

I ended up watching the film Imagine Me & You more times than I wish to admit because, although there were no trans characters, it was one of the few positive portrayals of queer love I’d come across. Often the alternatives posed being queer as something shameful, or being the butt of a joke, or something that brought a never-ending onslaught of sadness and bullying into your life.

Fast forward 15 years, and I’m no longer a spotty teen. We’ve (thankfully) moved into an era where LGBT+ presence on screen has not only increased, but is also more accurate, more positive and presented with more nuance and passivity than ever before. For a start, we’re actually seeing LGBT+ actors playing roles, and while this is a low bar and we’ve by no means reached perfection, there’s been a hell of a lot of progress.

Heartstopper is a teen show following a group of school friends who happen to be primarily LGBT+. It is very accurate to real life, reflecting the gravitational pull that not fitting in can have to one another. It follows the classic narrative of ups and downs, fitting in, falling out, making out and making up, but from the perspective of a candid queer lens. I know for a fact this show would have meant the world to me had it come out when I was in my teens.

The show is funny, relatable and shows the joyful moments of being LGBT+ and generally discovering who you are. Yes, this journey can have positive and funny moments and we’re allowed to show them! It depicts the emotions and moments around self-discovery, growing up, and first loves – highlighting elements of queer joy but without shying away from the difficulties of coming out, alongside the realities of things like bullying, on which other shows tend to fixate. We see love and friendship rather than a sentence of doom and gloom.

This relatability and representation plays an integral role in queer people feeling seen and less alone. I remember that loneliness growing up. I didn’t see myself in the characters I was watching and whenever there was an LGBT+ resemblance, I could never quite relate to it. Everything just felt so sad all the time.

Queer and trans characters are now in shows that reach a range of ages, across a range of genres. You heard me correctly, there are actually trans characters in horror movies who aren’t murderers or the first to die! Theo Putman in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Viktor Hargreeves in Umbrella Academy. There’s a sense of authenticity about these more recent portrayals, and “authentic” is definitely a word that can also be used to describe Heartstopper.

What I love seeing in particular with shows like Heartstopper, is the greater storyline, the complexity of characters and the depiction of trans people as part of society that feels equal to everyone else. Our lives are not entirely consumed by the fact that we are trans, and it’s important to see characters that reflect this.

I still gravitate towards films and shows that have accurate queer representation. While I wish they’d also existed when I was growing up, it’s wonderful that they exist now. They can and do have a huge positive impact on the next generation.

Jamie Raines is an English YouTuber and LGBT+ advocate. He is the author of the book The T in LGBT: Everything You Need to Know About Being Trans