John Hill (1986), in discussing the influence of teen identity within British social realist cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s, tells us:

Hence the representation of young people or teenagers within film (and television) might be traced to their identity as breaking down class boundaries, at the same time challenging sexual identity norms. For example the representation of the queer youth Geoffrey who forms a bond with Jo in A Taste of Honey, wanting them to raise a child together (discussed in Chapter 1), offers insight into this transgressive potential for the representation of the queer guy and the straight girl who challenge identity norms. As part of a cultural movement from the early 1960s, which foregrounds new opportunity for social realism, I argue that the representation of queer youth in the company of the straight girl extends from these potentials, offering new scope in diverse contemporary forms.

Hence, this chapter explores case studies that are potentially influenced by the transgressive potential of social realism, founded through earlier ideological frames and formats of the early 1960s. As part of this I examine two groundbreaking films; Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing (Hettie MacDonald 1996, UK) and Daniel Ribeiro's The Way He Looks [Hoje eu quero voltar sozinho] (2014, Brazil), which, though separated by nineteen years in terms of production, offer similar insight into the representation of the queer guy and the straight girl, framing the affective youthful queer body as a site of feeling and agency. At the same time, I examine the revolutionary television series Glee (Fox 2009 to present, US) for its focus on the straight girl and queer guy relationship, within school (and university) drama, where contextual narratives foreground the abject position of the queer guy and the straight girl. Finally I look at Gayby (Jonathan Lisecki 2012, US) and G.B.F.