This show addresses LGBTQ issues in such a royal way.
***SEASON 1 SPOILER ALRET***
Young Royals is a Swedish teen drama series following the hectic life of Prince Wilhelm as he navigates his royal duties, high school drama and his sexuality. After getting into a nasty fight, his family decides to relocate him to the elite Hillerska Boarding School. There he meets a charming, lower-class, openly gay boy named Simon. The two develop feelings for each other and eventually fall in love.
Unfortunately, their blissful romance is disrupted when someone uploads footage of them in bed together onto social media, effectively 'outing' one of the most prolific people in Sweden to the whole world.
While I anticipated this outcome, I was surprised by how well the show portrays being 'outed'. I was also not expecting to relate so deeply to these characters' experiences.
Quiet Before The Storm
There's something peculiar about queer relationships like this one. The need to keep it a secret is always a central component of the relationship. In the case of Wilhelm and Simon, one of them is closeted and cannot come out because his entire family's reputation is on the line. Not to mention all of his peers at school assume that he's straight. So, as we see time and time again with young queer relationships on TV, they decide to keep it a secret between the two of them.
This is actually a common thing for many LGBTQ+ youth all over the world. Just a general google search will reveal that in most countries, queer relationships are still stigmatized as 'bad' and 'abnormal' leading to thousands of couples keeping their relationships a secret from their friends and family. If you're in a country where homosexuality is criminalized, just being 'out' is a potential arrest waiting to happen.
However, love is love and these relationships will continue to exist and even thrive regardless of the political climate in any given country. For example, look at Wilhelm and Simon's feelings towards each other. They are not hindered by the fact that they have to keep it a secret. I actually think this situation makes both of them stronger because they learn how to properly communicate with one another and understand each other's needs.
But the fear of being 'outed' for closeted couples still remains and once the secret's out, there's no turning back.
Strike 3, You're Out!
To be 'outed' means to have your sexual orientation and/or gender identity exposed without your consent. For sexual minorities, this is a pretty big deal considering the nature of the world we live in. I've read countless true stories of queer people who've lost their jobs and been kicked out of their homes and families all because someone exposed them or they were found out.
Even those of us who live proud and out lives are at risk of facing discrimination in nearly every aspect of ordinary life. So when I saw what happened to Wilhelm and Simon in Young Royals, I was not surprised but I was utterly heartbroken. I cannot begin to imagine being that young and having your whole life change instantly, all because a hater wanted to see you hurt.
Of course Wilhelm has the resources of the royal family and is able to use them to clear his name. But Simon on the other hand, will have to live the rest of his life having been publicly exposed as a homosexual. Even though he was already openly gay, it's one thing to be 'out' to your close-knit community and it's another thing entirely to be 'outed' on social media for the whole world to see.
Pressures of Being Queer in a Heteronormative Society
There are a lot of things about African society that make it so hard to be queer. I want to say that I was surprised to see a lot of parallels between Wilhelm and Simon's experiences and my own, but in truth I was not. I was actually more intrigued by how the show depicted these experiences in a way that feels almost universal.
We all know what it's like to not measure up. Some of us even know what it feels like to give ourselves away just so we can live up to somebody else's expectations. To put it simply, this isn't fair. When I look at Wilhelm's life I immediately see the privilege he was born in, but I also see the weight of familial expectations that date back hundreds of years.
The Crown Prince cannot be gay. It simply is not possible-- at least according to tradition. As the only heir to the throne, Wilhelm is expected to carry on the bloodline. I find this ridiculous, because Wilhelm is still only a teenager and yet it feels like he's expected to be this patriarchal figure who will bring forth even more kings to lead future generations.
Needless to say, this is a lofty expectation to live up to-- and a harmful one at that. I feel like in many African countries, we've essentially constructed a similar society where boys are expected to grow up and marry women and girls are supposed to grow up and marry men. And while this may seem like a good thing, this expectation can be damaging, especially for the queer youth.
What if you don't want to have kids? What if you're asexual and/or aromantic and aren't drawn to people in that way? And as in the case of Wilhelm and Simon, what if you just so happen to fall in love with someone who's the same sex as you? What then? It feels like there are really only two options:
Conform and do what they say or,
Commit social suicide and do what you want
Obviously these are only two extremes to a very complex and nuanced predicament and there are other solutions that haven't been tried yet. But it's really hard to find those other solutions. We see this with Wilhelm at the end of the show. He decides to clear up his name by stating that it's not him in the video. The Royal Press publishes the statement and just like that, it's over.
Except it's not.
We know for a fact that he is in love with Simon. We know that he doesn't want to be the Crown Prince, let alone King of Sweden. So why then have we created a society that forces him to live up to these unfair expectations? And is there any room to breathe? Just some food for thought.
Anyway, season 2 of Young Royals arrives in November so we don't have to wait to long to find out what happens next. What do you think is going to happen? Let me know in the comments below!
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Resources for LGBTQIA+ Uganda
I don't know if anyone needs these, but I thought I'd include some resources for those who might need them. Hope these help.
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