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Fans of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ are addressing ‘unwarranted hate’ for queer character who TikTokers claim defies show’s ‘American Eagle aesthetic’
Fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty have taken to TikTok to address the “unwarranted hate” that’s been directed at a new character who, they claim, defies the show’s American Eagle aesthetic.
On July 20, Skyy Nico (@skyynico) posted a video in which she discusses the negative reception toward the introduction of a nonbinary character on The Summer I Turned Pretty, portrayed by actor Elsie Fisher.
“It’s so ironic to me because the whole premise of the show is a girl not feeling conventionally attractive for, like, how many summers? 16? And then she finally turns pretty. But y’all are coming for the one person that y’all don’t find attractive,” Nico says.
Based on Jenny Han‘s coming-of-age book series of the same name, The Summer I Turned Pretty premiered on Amazon Prime Video on June 17, 2022. The highly anticipated second season debuted on July 14, 2023, and concluded on Aug. 17, 2023. This is Han’s second book-to-screen adaptation, following the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before film series on Netflix.
The 20-year-old Golden Globe-nominated actor Fisher, who shot to fame with Bo Burnham’s 2018 comedy-drama Eighth Grade, joined Han’s show for its second season. Fisher plays Skye, Conrad (Chris Briney) and Jeremiah’s (Gavin Casalegno) estranged, nonbinary cousin.
Throughout the season, Skye, who goes by they/them pronouns, rocks short, shaggy brown hair and gravitates toward more androgynous, loose-fitted clothing, like an oversized tie dye hoodie and cargo shorts.
“And I’m sorry that Skye, this new character who, might I remind you, is an actual person. They’re a real person beyond the character they play,” Nico continues. “They may not fit this whole American Eagle aesthetic that you have in your mind, but they’re just doing their job.”
Following the season’s premiere, Han even addressed the hate toward Fisher on her Instagram Stories, writing, “The whole Summer cast and crew have worked hard to make a show we hope you will love, and we are so excited to share it with you guys…The Summer I Turned Pretty community is one of inclusivity. The hurtful comments directed at cast are not in the spirit of the show. Please be mindful of what you’re putting out there and of who is seeing it.”
the scrutiny that elsie fisher is facing for simply being on the summer i turned pretty is unbelievable!!! and clearly a sign of the general audiences discomfort and hatred towards anyone outside conventional social standards
— izabella (@izabellabgarcia) August 8, 2023
Nico also notes that audiences have been comparing Skye to season one fan favorite Shayla Wang (Minnie Mills), who exited the show prior to the second season. Skye, like Shayla, didn’t actually exist in the books.
“Also, I see a lot of [the] comment section saying, ‘They can never replace Shayla. You will never be Shayla.’ They’re not supposed to replace Shayla,” she says. “Minnie is out there doing great things with her life, and I would doubt that she would want y’all to talk s*** about someone who’s just doing their job.”
‘People act like being conventionally unattractive is a moral crime and it’s crazy, elsie is objectively talented’
Fellow fans of the show who are in agreement with Nico’s assertions are expressing their support in her comments.
“I feel like the more ppl are online the less empathy they have, they don’t get to see the impact of their actions they just post and keep scrolling,” @chupacabruh95 wrote.
“I’ve also see like almost no one use their proper pronouns for the actor and the character,” @folklorenthusiast22 commented.
“People act like being conventionally unattractive is a moral crime and it’s crazy, elsie is objectively talented,” @halfsourcheeses replied.
On Aug. 13, Rino (@rinloso), an Asian American creator, also provided insight into the continued discourse surrounding Fisher’s character, while further calling out the show’s whiteness.
“If we are being honest with ourselves — and it is important to be honest — The Summer I Turned Pretty and, to an extent, Han’s other work that’s been adapted, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, into something for the screen, they are fantasies,” Rino argues. “YA romances are something that a lot of us love, but it’s like, the idea of being wanted by two white boys in this beautiful summer setting…like that’s a fantasy.”
Added Rino, “As they are actually sponsored literally in real life, it is an American Eagle aesthetic. And unfortunately that aesthetic means that it is going to attract people who are more comfortable with, like, a shallowness in the conventional attractiveness of people like the guy who plays Jeremiah.”
‘The moment a piece of queerness that questions that game of wanting and being wanted and that fantasy, we’re repulsed.’
Fisher’s presence, Rino suggests, disrupts this perpetuated white, heteronormative fantasy.
“The moment a piece of queerness that questions that game of wanting and being wanted and that fantasy, we’re repulsed,” they add.
In July, Fisher spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the importance of Skye as a character, and what their addition to the series means.
“For me, Skye being nonbinary felt important because I think trans people in general, but specifically people who don’t fit into ‘male’ or ‘female,’ can be portrayed as very ‘other than’ and don’t always have those happy endings or any sort of connection to others,” they said. “It felt important to tell a story that didn’t feel forced, and, I think, feels very true to how life works out.”
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