Pleasure’s ascendancy: Against queer youth panic

Abstract

This article explores both US and European streaming shows that feature a protagonist in scenes of queer youth sex, focusing on how the show treats and frames these scenes as constitutive of a broader representational narrative of queer youth sex(uality). By comparing US and European shows, I argue that queer pleasure supplants panic featured in each show by framing the scenes of queer youth sex as destigmatized and even mundane.