What It Feels Like for A Girl

I almost didn't watch What It's Like to Be a Girl-and that would have been a huge mistake. To be honest, the title didn't grab me. I didn't really know what the show was about, and I wasn't particularly interested. It just happened to auto-play after another series, and I'm so glad it did.

Let me be clear: this show is brilliant. The title doesn't do it justice at all. It's not just "what it's like to be a girl"-it's about survival, identity, trauma, joy, and everything in between. It's gritty, raw, real, and deeply emotional. I laughed, I cried, I winced, and I binge-watched the entire thing in one sitting. Some scenes are shocking and heart-wrenching, others are darkly funny and deeply moving-but they seem authentic.

The show sheds light on experiences we rarely see onscreen-especially the vulnerability of young people who are confused, questioning, or struggling with gender identity or sexuality. It highlights how predators exploit that confusion, and it doesn't shy away from the emotional and psychological turmoil that can follow. We rarely see exploitation through this lens on screen.

The acting from the entire cast is also brilliant. Every performance feels lived-in and deeply human. And Paris Lees is an inspirational woman. The fact that she was able to share her story with such honesty and depth is truly inspiring.

It's a shame that the BBC didn't promote this more. If this had been on Channel 4, I'm convinced it would've received the attention and marketing it so clearly deserves. It does seem like more of a channel 4 show .

Anyway, it was one of the most thought provoking shows I've watched in a long time and each ep drew me in and made me want to know more. I'd definitely recommend.

This is a working class story and it doesn't matter whether you like boys or girls; it's about the life of a kid, and how that kid tries to negotiate an alien world, sometimes making friends with the wrong people, and sometimes ignoring the love of the right people - like we all do. If this doesn't win all the awards, if all the cast don't win every accolade going, and if every man, woman, gay or straight, transgender, transsexual and everybody else with a heartbeat don't lift Ellis Howard up high on their shoulders, to be carried all the way to stardom and glory or whatever Ellis desires, this is a cruel world indeed.

None of the actors in this - and I had to keep reminding myself that's just what they were: actors - none of them broke that fragile glass between us and the drama, ever; they really were, for those short few hours at least, the characters they played. And when Byron said those last words to his mum I cried.

I thought this was an absolutely fascinating adaptation of Paris growing up and hugely inspiring even at my age. I know there were rough times but if I had seen this 30 years ago I would have started transitioning 30 years ago. Loved it and hope there will be a sequel at least up until the magical day where she's gets the body she was meant to be in.

"What It Feels Like For A Girl" is the rare kind of TV series that seduces you slowly, then grabs you by the throat. Set at the turn of the millennium-when Y2K panic loomed large, the AIDS crisis lingered like smoke, and analog queer culture was on the verge of being swallowed whole by the digital age-this show is raw, dangerous, and electrifyingly intimate.

At the heart of the story is Byron, a beguiling character who embodies the beauty and brutality of the era. Byron isn't just a protagonist-he's a symbol of everything queer youth was navigating at the time: homophobia, poverty, and an aching, desperate need to be seen. His connection with Liam, a magnetic hustler surviving on petty crimes and half-truths, is the emotional (and erotic) core of the series. Their relationship is both transactional and tragic, smoldering with longing, lust, and unspoken truths.

Stylistically, the series draws clear inspiration from Gregg Araki's Doom Generation and The Living End-with its gritty, neon-soaked atmosphere and rebellious queer edge. It flirts with danger at every turn, refusing to sanitize the eroticism, thrill, or pain of queer existence in pre-social media times. Cruising culture, clubbing, and the art of wordless seduction pulse throughout, giving the show a visceral, nostalgic charge.

The writing is sharp, the soundtrack is a time capsule of late-'90s melancholy and defiance, and the performances-especially from the leads-are captivating. It's messy. It's sexy. It's heart-wrenching. And most of all, it's real.

For anyone who lived through that era-or wants to understand it-What It Feels Like For A Girl isn't just must-watch TV. It's a cultural reckoning.

Imagine if Euphoria and Gregg Araki had a lovechild raised on zines, raves, and queer rage-this is it.

I loved it so much, it shows how hard it was for lgbtq+ people in the 2000s. The acting was also my biggest amazement from this show, the actors need a good applause for the amazing work in this series. In my modest opinion, this is a must watch for people. I'm literaly gonna tell everyone that sees this that if you haven't watched it, you should. Plus charecter development was so good for a short series like this, I'm very surprised that they pulled it off very well. In conclusion, this is a work of art, that really deserves lots of attention, and I recommend it to everyone cause it's queer and proud. Luv yall.