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I Want To Talk About Quinni and Sasha’s Date In Heartbreak High
It’s a stunningly accurate portrayal of my Autistic lived experience
Autistic representation is having a moment thanks to Autistic actor Chloe Hayden who plays Autistic character Quinni in the Australian Netflix series Heartbreak High. It’s a reboot of a series dating back to the 1990s, but this time packs serious punch in the diversity stakes.
Representation isn’t automatically a good thing. But when done properly, it grapples with the complex subjectivity of a character who happens to be from a marginalised group, in this case a Queer Autistic woman. And Heartbreak High delivers. Quinny’s date with the savvy Asian-Australian Sasha in the second episode is simply the most stunningly accurate rendering of my Autistic lived experience that I could hope to see on a screen.
From the moment Quinni steps into the restaurant where she’s arranged to meet Sasha, the viewer is pulled into her inner world. As she waits for Sasha to arrive, she struggles to position her body in the busy, fast-moving environment. It’s a situation layered with uncertainty: Where should I go? How should I stand? What do I do with my hands? Where do I look? What if she’s late? What if I don’t recognise her? Are people looking at me and thinking I’m a loser? I’ve been there…
