In Heartstopper season 2, asexual and aromantic identity is just as important as falling in love
Isaac's ace/aro identity is quietly revolutionary to watch
Over the last few years there’s been a growing rumble of representation for asexual and aromantic spectrum identities in entertainment, that just falls short of being an “explosion”. Asexual and aromantic stories have previously been left out of even many queer inclusive media narratives.
The latest addition to this small-but-growing canon is the character of Isaac, who in the recent second season of Heartstopper is explicitly both aromantic and asexual (often abbreviated to aro/ace).
Isaac’s story is continuous with the trends in asexual representation in shows like Sex Education and Heartbreak High, but it also brings new things to the table that we haven’t seen before. In particular, Isaac’s arc is unique for the way it gives growing into an asexual and aromantic identity the same narrative importance as falling in love for a teen character.
More than Sex Education
Back when Heartstopper was still available only in its graphic novel form, Netflix’s Sex Education gave us the character of Florence, who comes to the show’s protagonist and later his sex therapist mother with concerns about her lack of interest in sex during the second series.
While the conversations portrayed are affirming, and it was nice to see this character have her moment, she remains a distinctly secondary character in the show’s story. This was particularly disappointing to many in the asexual community because a lot of people had resonated with the main character, Otis, during the first season, and hoped that he might be written as asexual. Otis seemed put off by sex, and was uninterested in masturbation, going so far as trying to fake evidence of ejaculation to reassure his mother.
As Otis is the child of a sex therapist, and helps other students with their sex dilemmas, writing him as asexual felt like a particularly compelling possibility to some viewers, who felt that this irony would help portray the feelings of otherness many asexuals experience.
Bojack Horseman successfully leaned into this idea with their asexual representation, making one of their ace characters the child of an adult film star and an erotica writer, creating a heightened, comedic narrative which resonated with many asexual viewers.
But in Sex Education, it was not to be. Instead, Otis is portrayed as a “late bloomer”, and Florence’s character, while charming, doesn’t get nearly as much screen time.
More than Heartbreak
A recent teen show that gave a lot more air to its asexual storyline is the Australian Heartbreak High on Netflix, which has been praised by many for its diverse queer representation, including an autistic lesbian with gay dads and a Bundjalung bisexual jock, among a wider cast of LGBTQ+ characters.
In the show, Douglas, known as Ca$h, is an eshay/drug dealer, who gradually comes to terms with both his apparent lack of interest in sex, and his romantic feelings for Darren, a non-binary classmate. While the label itself isn’t used by the show’s characters, fans feel confident that they’re picking up on some asexual innuendo. In particular, after halting their first sexual encounter in episode 5, Ca$h tells Darren “I’m just not wired that way”, and when Darren later asks “Do you not want to have sex with anyone, or just me?,” Ca$h confidently replies “Anyone”.
Hopefully Ca$h’s possible ace identity will be explored more in the next season.
One major parallel between Heartbreak High and Heartstopper (besides the first syllables of their titles) is that they both show teen boys arriving at asexuality by journeying through a queer relationship. Although Isaac, unlike Ca$h, is aromantic as well as asexual, earlier in the season he does experiment with going on a date with, and later kissing, fellow student James.
It’s significant to see asexuality represented as overlapping with other queer identities, rather than simply being a deviation from an otherwise heterosexual identity. Representing the way different queer identities can intersect, and the unique quality of those overlapping experiences, gives a richer and more nuanced picture of our community and the variety of lives within it. Statistically, it’s also more accurate – depending on which numbers you look at, studies suggest adults who belong to another queer identity group are up to twice as likely to be asexual as their straight counterparts.
This is important representation
Isaac is the only character in this group who identifies as aromantic as well as asexual. While aromanticism does get a mention in Sex Education, it is only for our asexual character to clarify that she does experience romantic attraction. Isaac also gets to meet another aromantic asexual character, an artist whose work sparks his own realisation.
Putting asexual people, and queer people of all kinds, in this kind of community with each other is significant, given how often young queer people feel isolated from others who share their identity. This moment also demonstrates the importance of representation in art and culture, as does Isaac’s reading about asexual identities.
Isaac is always seen reading a book, and one of these books is Ace by Angela Chen. Since its publication in 2020, Ace has already become a seminal text on asexual identity, and what an ace perspective on our society and norms can teach all of us about relationships. Its inclusion in the show has led to it appearing on various reading lists and posts encouraging fans of the show to read the book.
This in itself feels like an important piece of representation, and one which might help young fans of the show discover or understand an asexual identity, alongside the fictional narrative in the show.
Bringing aro/ace rep into the mainstream
Heartstopper’s Isaac also has the distinction among this group of being created by an openly aro/ace writer. Alice Oseman, who writes the series and created the graphic novels it is adapted from, identifies as asexual and aromantic, and has stated that bringing representation for her identities into the mainstream motivated the direction of Isaac’s character.
This perspective comes through clearly in the way the show highlights the importance of queer friendship in Isaac’s life, and his passion for reading, rather than focusing on any perceived ‘lack’ in his life. The moment when Isaac first learns about aromanticism and asexuality is animated with the same cute illustrations as romantic moments between other characters, giving it the same level of narrative significance and emphasising the joy that can come from understanding oneself in a new way.
Arguably Isaac’s character being quiet and bookish could be seen to play into some negative stereotypes about asexual and aromantic people. It certainly contrasts starkly with Heartbreak High’s Ca$h, who is more of a party-going bad boy than a bookworm. However, there are other ways to assess the quality of representation besides the subversion of stereotypes, and particularly coming from an aro/ace creator, there’s nothing inherently wrong with seeing a shy, nerdy aro/ace character on screen - particularly one as watchable and well-liked as Isaac.
While it’s great to have this recent increase in representation, there’s still a lot of space for more asexual and aromantic narratives on TV. I’d particularly like to see a story featuring an asexual protagonist, rather than a secondary character. It would also be great to have an asexual narrative that doesn’t centre the discovery and coming out process, and instead shows a character who has already embraced an ace and/or aro identity, and is dealing with other life events and conflicts. Perhaps this is something Heartstopper might offer in its third season. But either way, it’s great to see a narrative which gives asexual and aromantic self-discovery the same meaning, and sparkling charm, as its teen romances.
Rosen (they/them) is a genderqueer butch dyke and freelance writer living in London. They’re passionate about all kinds of queer media, culture and history, and are also a keen knitter and crocheter.
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The aro ace storyline in Heartstopper was so important to me. I have a very different backstory to Isaac (and to Georgia, the aro ace MC in Alice's book Loveless), and only really came into embracing my ace, and then later my aro, identity later in life. I really hope that Isaac gets to explore this more in the next season. I also long for more varied aro ace stories to be told across all forms of media.