Representation comes in many forms now that it is the 2020s. Yet, there is still very few accurate or even happy representations in the media today. Siobhan McCarthy’s She’s the He is a step in the right direction for youth and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
With more filmmakers looking for ways to share queer stories, they are not always happy or accurate to reality. Some films or television shows have LGBTQ+ characters as secondary, while others have them dead by the end (we all know these stories). Very few people tackle the reality of coming out, especially the coming out that is involved with being transgender.
She’s the He follows Ethan (Misha Osherovich) and Alex (Nico Carney) as they try to survive their last days of high school before graduation. Alex is tired of everyone at school thinking he and Ethan are gay and a couple. In an attempt to get into the girls’ locker room, and finally get with his crush Sasha (Malia Pyles), Alex convinces Ethan to pretend to be a trans-woman with him.
It is the premise and execution of She’s the He that allows it to become comedic and wholesome. Through a carefully crafted script, the characters are never denied the chance to be honest with themselves and others. It is a film that is prepared to focus on the concept and difficulty that is gender identity and fluidity. McCarthy has created a film that is not afraid and does not hold back on what it wishes to say.
Alex and Ethan pull off a 2000s style montage of outfit attempts. Here, there is nothing more amusing than seeing the two in a natural state of friendship. Joking and being silly high school boys, all is well until Ethan realizes something life changing: she really is transgender. Dealing with this realization is difficult enough as an 18-year-old. What make things worse, however, is having to come to terms with who you are in a homophobic and transphobic high school. Now Alex and Ethan must confront the change in their friendship and the long messy process that comes with coming out.
McCarthy creates her high school bullies in a way different than the transphobia of past. It is more playful and joking like, as high school is. The people who bully others in high school never truly think of their actions, they simply do stupid things. Instead of making the homophobia and transphobia dark like that of the 1900s and before, McCarthy shares the harassment that youth face today. While yes, the darker attacks may still occur, in the setting of She’s the He, there is no need for this to be there.
From the beginning, the on screen graphics give the film a specific style that remains constant for the runtime. You would hope, as a viewer, for some childish and comforting elements to be included in a coming of age film. McCarthy provides just what you would expect and more. Though you are made to witness one individual’s own coming out, and the tough times Alex and Ethan experienced throughout high school, you are also made to feel something familiar there.
No matter if the world progresses in terms of moving away from simply being cisgendered or straight, there will forever be those who disapprove of it all. That should become a known fact. For every time it feels the world moves forward one step, we move back two. The progress made by film and television, however, continues to be up for more stories of the LGBTQ+ community. Not only sharing their stories, but sharing them in a better and more accurate way.
She’s the He tackles the ideals of phobic people in a light way. She focuses on the idiocy that occurs between teenagers and uses this bullying to share Ethan’s story. Through McCarthy’s ideas and Osherovich’s portrayal of Ethan, her story becomes more than just her’s, it becomes one that many young people will be able to relate to. Even as a viewer who is cisgendered, you cannot help but feel empathetic towards Ethan and understand, to an extent, what she is going through. As someone who is nonbinary, Osherovich themselves put their own passion into their role which allows for further development of the character. In casting actors who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, it allows for them to bring personal inspiration from their own lives to their characters, creating a world that becomes closer to reality than it could have been.
The beauty in She’s the He also comes from the unrealistic side of the reality. There is something there that does not feel real, but these elements are added into the film in the most authentic way. It becomes difficult to explain, but it is also required for where the film goes. There is this want for other girls to accept transgender women right away. Yet when the girls in the film accept Ethan and Alex into their locker room so readily, the audience knows things do not happen this easily in the real world and expect something to change before the end of the film. As this separates the difference between film and reality, we know it is needed for the climax of the film to settle. When the huge crumble of Ethan and Alex’s lives comes, it was to be expected, just as all backlash that comes with coming out.
While creating a film that many people can relate to, Siobhan McCarthy knew to add elements that we all hope for in coming out. She’s the He is not afraid to say what it wants to say. The entire team clearly wanted to send one specific message to the audience and the world. In such a vibrant and touching film, they have done just that. Coming out is never simple, but when people understand and accept you, it makes all the difference in the world.
As part of the BFI London Film Festival’s Laugh strand, She’s the He premiered in the UK on October 14, 2025. With all hope for a simpler future for the LGBTQ+ community, let us hope She’s the He makes it to more screens around the world. It is a film that will help shed light and provide comfort in coming out.