The Queer Coding and Internalised Homophobia of Mike Wheeler

It is safe to say that Mike Wheeler's character has changed for the worse between season 2 and season 4 of stranger things. However, instead of this character change being out of nowhere, is this the result of his repressed queerness and internalised homophobia?
TW for discussion of internalised homophobia and homophobia.
The content used in this video is intended for educational and informational purposes only. All rights to the scenes used belong to Netflix's Stranger Things. I do not claim ownership over them.

[@user-vg6yc6ht9s]

your point about it being a core queer experience to be super possessive about one particular friend is SPOT ON. the writers clearly have an understanding of these fundamental experiences that are intrinsically related to discovering queerness and they bring that out in mike super well

[@losersitsbyherself]

exactly!! I feel like it’s a part of Mike’s character that the fandom doesn’t consider enough and would make Mike being explicitly queer make so much sense

[@jungwoossticker]

The blue yellow thing actually represents queer colour codes as yellow is the closeted colour which makes soooo much sense with it's use here especially for mike, and blue as well as tealish colours being used are just part of the gay flag

[@angieisnothere]

I also came from tumblr, and honestly internalised homophobia really is the most sensible (if its the right word?) reason to Mike's actions, the main reason I believe byler may be canon. Especially since the alternate feels a bit ooc/digressive to Mike's character. Great video/analysis btw

[@losersitsbyherself]

I completely agree. Mike’s behaviour in season 3 and 4 doesn’t make any sense without the context of his internalised homophobia because without it we lose his likeable traits for no reason. Thank you I’m really glad you liked it!

[@Selviman18]

How does this not have more views 🙏😭

[@MicukoFelton]

This is a pretty good analysis! The only thing I feel different about is that I think Mile is gay and no bi, I don't think he ever had romantic feelings for Eleven.

[@azr3ii]

i agree with this so bad. ive always seen it as el was mike's first female friend, and since liking girls was expected of him, he attributed his genuine care for her wellbeing as romantic love. also just a handful of comphet. liking the opposite gender just cuz you _"have"_ to.

[@stray_macki]

damn this was your FIRST video essay? easily my FAVOURITE video essay now from the first minutes on, enjoyed literally EVERY SECOND of it!!! truly amazing, the amount of time you put into this with such extremely deep and detailed research and observation just truly blew my mind!! thank you so so much for this, I love it :)

[@Unhealthy_hyperfixator]

Have i watched stranger tings? Nah. Am i going to watch this video essay? Fuck yeah dude

[@Dylanlovesbunnies]

If you liked this video essay, you might like Stranger Things.

[@virginialee5065]

SAME. I watched a few video essays and tons of videos, but I watched only season 1 yet, years ago. Definitely gonna binge the show when I can ✨

[@gxthiqlolita]

I saw your post on tumblr that you were gonna post this video an i got so excited!! this is such a good analysis, thank you for putting in the work!! ^^

[@losersitsbyherself]

thank you so much!!! I had so much fun making the video because it was so satisfying joining everything up in each season and seeing how that made him queer or showed his internalised homophobia. He’s a way more complicated character than so many people think.

[@roomlynx4661]

this video has my heart. thanku so much for 1 hr 20 min of analysis, mad respect. i so look forward to things u mentioned: who will mike call when he will be in distress, mike confronting his queerness in vecnaland, mike and will having a real mutual intimate moment and unguarding their true feelings for each other. And lastly, Mainstreaming LGBTQ centrality through mike and will which could potentially make this show seminal in TV series category. if byler is the endgame then i must say Duffer brothers are two geniuses, their deeper understanding of real homosexual experiences is impressive to me. i am glad their story wasn't rushed but given enough time to develop, its subtle and yet its there, much like how real feelings are. The way Mike is a "normal mike" around "his girlfriend eleven" even when they are alone together ! but he gets awkwardly nervous around his "best friend will" is perfect case for slow-burn, sexual tension, crush taking away ur mental peace kinda thing which is to die for. if they kill mike or will, i will question everything, As the cliched template of most gay movies is always to kill one and never award a happy ending. i expect duffer brother to do justice this time and dont rob the lgbtq of their happy endings which they so rarely got through storylines.

[@azr3ii]

no i absolutely LOVE mike sm. i used to dislike him because of how he acted towards his friends but then i tried to put myself in his shoes and like. yeah. he's literally a teenager who has gone through so much and has no idea how to regulate and express his emotions. also literally just a teenager. i get him SO much. he's like my ultimate kinnie. i could write so many essays about this guy about so many topics, as a queer who experienced BAD comphet. about how he can't distinguish platonic love from romantic, about how his parents' relationship affects his, about how he's genuinely so selfless and how he JUMPED. OFF. A. CLIFF. as a TWELVE YEAR OLD. for his best friend's teeth. he cares so much about his friends and el and will but he's actually so insecure as a queer in the 1980s like UGHHH. i love character studies about mike so much, and ESPECIALLY about his internalized homophobia and his queerness. this is a joy to watch. we as a society need to understand Mike Wheeler more.

[@lunabug2004]

Ooooh I loved this so much!!! Mike Wheeler is my child and I love him so much, this video definitely did him justice! I will be subscribing for future ST video essays! 😉 I don't mean to put pressure on you or anything, but do you plan on adding subtitles to this video? I would even be open to doing them for you (if that's possible, idk how YT works 😂), as I just think it'd be a nice feature to add. Again, no absolutely pressure tho!! Thank you sm for all the hard work you've already put into this!

[@losersitsbyherself]

thank you so much!! I just love Mike so much and knew I needed to unpick all of his character so I’m really happy you enjoyed it. I’ve just messaged you on tumblr about the subtitles :)

[@Dylanlovesbunnies]

Amazing points!! I LOVE this so much. Thank you for this video💚

[@wendyblanchard6496]

Recently I was recommended a ton of byler videos and i watched a lot of them. I really like all the analysis and theories, especially since Mike and Eleven relationship is quite bad since season 3. But I can't stop thinking about Destiel in Supernatural. There was a lot of subtext, even more sometimes. But in the end we got nothing. That's why I watch those videos lightly because I fear that a lot of byler stan will be disappointed

[@virginialee5065]

Ohh, i can relate. I wasn't a Destiel fan in the beginning, then stopped watching for a few years and then when I saw some clips of Dean talking about Cas I was immediately like: "OMG, they're really doing that! They're definitely gonna confirm they're gay! Wow", but then I got into the show again and well... the 15x18 happened and there was the most terrible ending for the show. I really hope the creators of Stranger Things are not gonna do something like that. I mean, I am still mad about Supernatural and Supergirl where there was A LOT of subtext and the showrunners could've made them such beautiful slowburns, but they chose to just queerbait their whole audiences FOR YEARS. At least Destiel got confirmed sort of, but what they did with Supergirl is just illegal 😑 I really have hope for Byler, although I've gotta take a lot of fan theories with a grain of salt 😥

[@wendyblanchard6496]

@@virginialee5065 Exactly I didn't even watch Supernatural but the backlash was so big. And unfortunately for stranger things even though there is some things that can be read as queercoded for Mike, I feel the arguments are a little light compared to Destiel. Like I said I didn't watch the show but I saw videos like this one, collecting every clues and I can be pretty safe to say it was clear queerbating. I feel like almost every one watching Supernatural shipped Destiel, and same goes for Supergirl as you described it, but for Byler the opinions are more divised. And sometimes I do feel people are overanalyzing it, like I didn't think Mike was queercoded before stambling upon those types of videos. For Will it's more clear. And I do feel bad for him because my boy deserves to be happy.