‘I’m just not gay-gay’: Exploring same-sex desire and sexual minority identity formation in SKAM and its Western European remakes

Abstract

SKAM (NRK, 2015–2017), a popular Norwegian teen drama series, was praised for its season revolving around a nonheterosexual cis-male teenager coming to terms with his sexual desires and identity. Broadcasting companies from predominantly Western European countries bought the format and created local versions. The essay explores how SKAM and three Western European remakes represent same-sex desire and sexual identity formation. We found that the remakes were rather faithful to the politics of representation of the Norwegian source text. Emphasizing authenticity and everyday realism, they situate the teenagers in a Western context that may feature less blatant heterosexism and homophobia but where heteronormativity still co-constructs the process of sexual identity formation and general attitudes towards same-sex desire and LGBTQ culture. We postulate that SKAM and its remakes encourage LGBTQ and heterosexual teens to deconstruct their homonegative prejudices and become aware of the pervasiveness of heteronormativity.