Queerness in The Miseducation of Cameron Post

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a drama/romance film released earlier this year, is about a young gay teenager who gets caught having a sexual encounter with another woman by her at-the-time boyfriend. The main character, Cameron, is then sent to a Christian 'rehabilitation' center called Gods Promise, with the intent that it will make her 'not gay' anymore. Cameron then explores the multiple facets of her identity- gender, sexuality, wants/needs, and makes multiple friends along the way.

While often times melancholy, with a student at the center going to the hospital due to a depressive episode where he self-harmed, Cameron and her friends become increasingly disillusioned with the program, eventually deciding to run away. One morning, they say they are going on a 'hike', and then begin hitchhiking to their next destination.

The movie has a wide variety of queer characters, and while the main plot revolves around the subversion of gayness and the main character are actively taught they are 'wrong' and will become 'normal' again, Cameron and her friends become even more set in their sexuality. The movie has a heartwarming ending, highlighting freedom and friendship even when faced with hate. It shows dynamic characters, with their gayness not at the forefront of their identity, and the characters are diverse, funny, and multi-faceted individuals with full personalities, with fears, likes, dislikes, who are all struggling with their identities in the face of suppression. We also see the characters struggle with the internal effect and external effect from the world around them. While the film may have benefited from hiring more actually queer actors, it did a good job of representing multiple identities and sexualities.