“Love, Simon” may seem like your average coming-of-age love story, but it is so much more. In one of the most progressive eras Hollywood has ever seen, “Love, Simon” is the sign of yet another change: the normalization of LGBTQ+ love stories on the big screen.  

Within the past year, we have seen the face of Hollywood change entirely, and with more diverse creators comes more diverse content. The releases of “Black Panther” and the eagerly-awaited “A Wrinkle in Time” indicate a clear shift in the portrayal of people of color in movies. Though this is a necessary change, there has been less progress in the diversity of sexualities being represented in Hollywood productions.  

“Love, Simon” is the first film of its kind. It does not purport to be anything but a cheesy teen love story where the main character just happens to be gay. Its marketing campaign supports this with corny taglines like, “He’s done keeping his story straight.”  Simon is awkward, relatable and unapologetically queer. He faces no threat of death by television executives, and he’s exactly what we wanted.

Dear @katyperry. #LOVESIMON pic.twitter.com/vMC6uw1Aim

— Love, Simon (@lovesimonmovie) March 6, 2018

He follows characters like Elena Alvarez of Netflix’s “One Day at a Time” and Nico Minoru of Hulu’s “Marvel’s Runaways” who are changing television for the better.  “Love, Simon” means so much to young teens struggling with the reality of their sexualities and looking for role models.

Until the conception of this movie, these kinds of characters often only existed on television, and even then they were not likely to last. Lost to the “Bury Your Gays” trope, queer love is often snuffed out before it even has a chance to exist. “Bury Your Gays” refers to the tendency of show creators to kill off their gay characters immediately after they begin relationships.  

Simon’s story is unique in that all of his love interests are his age and that his story ultimately has a happy ending. For the most part, his coming out is a positive experience.  “Love, Simon” hits theaters on March 16 and faces stark competition from “A Wrinkle in Time.” Support this movie and the movement for diversity with your money. Go see both of these movies. Go see them twice. Show diverse creators in Hollywood that we see them, and we are here to support them.  

This is an opinion article and does not reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo. Jordan is a freshman at Newcomb-Tulane College. She can be reached at [email protected].