Is Imogen gay or bisexual in Heartstopper?

Rhea Norwood’s Imogen Heaney navigates her life through several realizations and confusions in the third season of Netflix’s romantic series Heartstopper. Although her feelings for Sahar Zahid are obvious, especially after they kiss at a costume party, her belief that she is a straight girl prevents her from making further advances. Sahar, on the other hand, does not want to be the subject of an experiment that will help her companion understand whether she is queer. At the end of the part, Imogen gains more clarity about her sexuality and shares her understanding with Nick Nelson! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Imogen realizes that she is a queer person in Heartstopper Season 3

Imogen’s feelings and her intimacy with Sahar convince her that she is not a straight girl as she believed. During her road trip to some of England’s top universities to plan her future, she shares her insight with Nick. She reveals that she now believes she never really liked boys, suggesting that she is queer. While her words suggest she is gay, Imogen has yet to explicitly identify and come out as a lesbian, which could happen in the teen drama’s potential fourth season. Since she says she didn’t like any particular boy, we can conclude that she identifies as gay rather than bisexual.

Imogen’s initial belief that she is heterosexual may be the result of forced heterosexuality, popularly known as comphet. The theory states that heterosexuality is imposed on individuals by various social constructs such as patriarchy, religion and heteronormative society. Adrienne Rich, the renowned feminist and author who popularized the term, explained that women are often expected to have romantic and sexual relationships with men, regardless of their true sexual orientation. In Imogen’s case, she dated boys because that was what a “cool girl” was supposed to do.

Before us are countless high school films and literary works that show popular girls’ obsession with the most pleasant boys in their educational institutions. Imogen’s experience was no different. She dated Ben Hope and tried to be with Nick Nelson because they were “the” guys in her social circle. For her, going out with them was a way to be “popular” and “cool.” These relationships are the result of existing social expectations rather than a reflection of their sexual orientation. Therefore, her experiences with Ben and Nick make her neither heterosexual nor bisexual.

Sexual orientation is one of the most personal and intimate characteristics of a person. Imogen explores the same with the help of Sahar and the numerous gay friends she has. Her realization that her past is rooted in forced heterosexuality helps her discover who she really is. As far as we know, she finally understands and accepts that she appears to be gay. While Imogen is queer, Rhea Norwood, who plays the character in Heartstopper, is extremely reserved about her sexuality. She has not discussed her sexual orientation publicly.

Read more: Is Darcy in Heartstopper non-binary?