Contents:
- "PEN15" HAS THE MOST PAFULLY AUTHENTIC GAY TEEN STORYLE I’VE EVER SEEN ON TV
- PEN15 MAK A SPLASH AMONG LGBTQ COMMUNY FOR AUTHENTIC PORTRAYAL OF GAY TEEN EXPERIENCE
"PEN15" HAS THE MOST PAFULLY AUTHENTIC GAY TEEN STORYLE I’VE EVER SEEN ON TV
Unlike Noah Galv’s character the ABC s The Real O’Neals (2016–17), Gabe hasn’t even fully realized that he’s gay. “Some of his iends haven’t even kissed a girl yet and he’s realizg he’s gay. Some gay boys get walkg down the unrwear aisle stor and fdg exc to double back and steal more glanc.
It’s his first moment of sexual awakeng — and the face he imag kissg when he clos his ey is his iend Sam’ much of Gabe’s quiett but most tellg moments volve close-ups of his face, as he wc when iends e “gay” to mean “unol” or the stg he feels when Sam leav him to hang out wh a oler crowd. “She said, ‘That was when I knew you were gay. He’s not as outgog or sporty as Sam, but he’s also not as outwardly effemate as Ian (Ivan Mallon), the other boy the school play whom the popular kids choose as Class Gossip their superlativ ntt bee he prents more evintly as gay.
When a iend lls Gabe and Sam “homos” for watchg porn together, Gabe rponds wh mock bravado by llg him a “faggot. He don’t hate gay people, ” said Stone. For those whose puberty cid wh the Y2K panic — the much-cricized lennials — the early stag of adolcence were acpanied by other nightmar particular to that time, like dial-up ter and much more socially accepted misogyny and homophobia.
PEN15 MAK A SPLASH AMONG LGBTQ COMMUNY FOR AUTHENTIC PORTRAYAL OF GAY TEEN EXPERIENCE
One of Sam’s bt iends, Gabe is prented as a gay boy stgglg wh his sexualy. She thks he might not be to her or that he's playg hard to get, but Gabe's secretly hidg somethg he thks will plite life: he's gay, or at least, bicur. It's subtle, but nsirg that Gabe hat hearg homophobic slurs om his peers too, 's obv where his heart li -- and 's not wh Maya.
This is seen a lot wh Sam, who's now makg homophobic ments jt to f , not realizg the harm he's directly g.
This g of age adult edy has stck a major rd wh gay youth, thanks to the ma character, Gabe, and his strikgly thentic storyle.