Alex Strangelove is a story of a gay boy fighting off heteronormative ideas | Photo: Alex Strangelove Netflix
There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Alex Strangelove and the time he realized he probably wasn’t straight.
He identified himself as bisexual early on in the film, but this changed and at the end of the film he comes out as gay.
Many people found this offensive because it was stripping away representation for bisexuality.
Bisexual representation is very important and dear to many hearts, but this situation has brought a lot of anger.
Why isn’t he bisexual? Why did they erase bisexuality?
Alex Strangelove is a story of a gay boy fighting off heteronormative ideas that have been forced on him his whole life.
This is a very common experience for gay people, such as myself. Heteronormativity affects us in many ways, throughout the film it’s clear that Alex always thought he was straight. He’s never given it much thought, he says.
A common experience for LGBT people is we’re always trying to figure ourselves out.
The hardest part is that sometimes labels don’t fit for some of us, sexuality is very confusing.
I constantly battle heteronormativity idea’s everyday. I once thought I was a bisexual girl.
It took some realizing that I was just a gay boy. Cisnormativity taught me to think I wasn’t a transgender guy. So, I internalized my feelings and gender dysphoria as a kid.
The same thing happened to me when I was trying to understand myself when it came to my sexuality. My attraction to girls was very confusing.
This is just one in a series of opinion pieces on GSN about Alex Strangelove. Read more below.
‘This movie was never erasing bisexuality’
Growing up, every media I consumed whether it was television or films, it always showed a romance between a man and a woman.
Everything was centered around cis straight people, growing up I always heard homophobic slurs and casual transphobia thrown my way.
Calling myself bisexual… It never really stuck. Calling myself a gay boy was also a new experience for me. It was a weird feeling.
Heteronormativity loosened it’s grip on me. This was my experience as a gay boy. And in this film it’s Alex Truelove’s experience.
This movie was never erasing bisexuality.
It was about heteronormativity. It’s a love story. It touches on Alex’s experience with heteronormativity, and it also talks about Elliott’s experience with it.
After enjoying a concert, while they’re eating at a diner Elliott talks about his past relationships with girls.
Everything fell into place when he was with guys.
This movie is about the struggles heteronormativity gives gay people, specifically it targets gay men. It’s a realistic movie about a teenager figuring out themselves and accepting himself.
Read more from our Alex Strangelove opinion series:
Alex Strangelove portrays bisexuality ‘simply as a stepping stone’
