Welcome to the 28th article of our 2021 Pride Month Series! Each day in the month of June, we will be highlighting a different member of the LGBTQ+ community who we think is a great example of representation and dynamic characterization. We will focus on fictional characters, celebrities, and activists alike — the positive voices within the LGBTQ+ community and in mainstream media.
Today we’ll be talking about one of last season’s additions to Stranger Things, Robin Buckley. To start, Robin is a sassy and sarcastic character who, at the beginning of the season, works at Scoops Ahoy with Steve. When she’s not filling up cones, she trades in her scooper for a dry erase board that she records Steve’s dating wins and losses on. You know, for research purposes.
While she’s paired up with Steve for most of the season he begins developing feelings for her. However, on the totally sanitary floor of the Starcourt Mall bathrooms, they share a really important conversation. Steve tries to confess his feelings to her, and she clearly doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. They’ve become close as friends after all, but she can’t lead him on. So out loud for the first time, she comes out as lesbian. She hated Steve because Tammy had a crush on him, not her. Steve doesn’t quite understand at first, but once he does, he doesn’t have any reservations about Robin or her sexuality, he simply adds a quip about Tammy and keeps the conversation moving.
In an interview with Variety, Maya Hawke discussed how she felt about playing such a widely received and loved character in the growing Stranger Things universe.
“If I can hope for anything it’s that maybe some people fell in love with Robin and that helped them fall in love with girls who love girls and boys who love boys.”
Maya Hawke
Because Robin was a new character on the scene and she came out at the end of last season, we’ll have to wait until season 4 to see if she makes any progress in the dating world. After the new reveal that four new characters will be joining season 4, fans began speculating who Robin may end up with. There’s no way to know for certain if and who Robin will end up with romantically, but seeing Netflix and the Stranger Things crew make the decision to add an openly out character in one of the biggest cultural phenomena of this generation, speaks volumes. As they broadcast their show to small screens all over the globe, fans of all ages — out or not, questioning — it doesn’t matter. Fans of all backgrounds see themselves in Robin and can find whatever solace they need through her in their own exploration.
Stay tuned for our next Pride Month spotlight tomorrow.
