Series / We Are Who We Are

An HBO miniseries, the show focuses on two American kids living on a US Army base in Italy. The first one, Fraser Wilson, has just move there with his mothers, both Army officers. There he finds it hard to fit in, but finds himself drawn to another Army brat named Caitlin. He, along with other teens, have to handle love, identity and the many other issues of being a teenager living on a mini USA within another country. It stars Jack Dylan Grazer (Fraser), Chloë Sevigny (Sarah), Alice Braga (Maggie), Jordan Kristine Seamón (Caitlin), Spence Moore II (Danny), Faith Abadi (Jenny) and Francesca Scorsese (Britney).

Examples:

• 20 Minutes into the Past: The series was set in 2016, and released fall 2020.
• A-Cup Angst: Caitlin is unhappy at having small breasts, asking Fraser hopefully if he thinks they're growing and later feels herself while she's looking in the mirror forlornly. It's possible she notices and desires it more because her best friend is quite busty. Or, given that Caitlin later is questioning her gender identity, it could be anxiety.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Sarah embarrasses Fraser greatly when Caitlin comes over for dinner, telling her he liked to dress up in turbans by using towels as a child, despite her wife Maggie's objections. He flies into a rage about it afterward.
• Ambiguously Bi:
  • Jenny is married to Richard, but then has an affair with Maggie.
  • Fraser shows some attraction to Jonathan, and later also an Italian boy he meets, plus Caitlin. As she's quite possibly transgender though, he may see her as another boy also when they kiss.
• Ambiguous Gender Identity: Caitlin, by the end, is exploring her gender, and may be a trans boy but doesn't seem completely sure yet.
• And the Adventure Continues: The series doesn't end with a definitive conclusion. Caitlin and Fraser run away together while exploring how the pair identify in sexual orientation or gender.
• Black Republican: Caitlin's dad supports Donald Trump, even ordering MAGA hats that the two can wear (however, it doesn't fit over Caitlin's hair).
• Boyish Short Hair: Sarah's hair is cut short (she's in the military). However, it also aligns with her mildly butch look overall (she's also a lesbian).
• Butch Lesbian: Sarah is a downplayed example, with short hair, masculine clothing and being an officer in the US Army, along with her wife. However, otherwise she's quite ordinary.
• The Cameo: Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, the stars of Luca Guadagnino's most well-known film Call Me by Your Name, appear at different points as extras in the series.
• Cast Full of Gay: Of the main cast, around half of them are LGBT. Sarah and Maggie are lesbians married to each other. Jenny is a bi or lesbian woman. Fraser is gay or bi. Caitlin is questioning her gender, perhaps a trans boy or at least not a cis girl, while she also likes both boys and girls.
• Closet Gay: Caitlin's mom Jenny is a closeted queer woman who's married to her father but has an affair with Maggie as well (it's left unclear if she actually finds men attractive).
• Coming of Age Story: The series focuses on Fraser and Caitlin, two teenage Army brats living on a base in Italy with their families. Both are 14, and much of the series is about them discovering themselves, especially regarding both kids' sexualities and also her gender. The series ends as they run off together, after they've shared a kiss.
• Coming Of Age Queer Romance: Fraser is attracted to Caitlin from the moment he first sees her, but also boys. He kisses one guy at a party whom he's attracted to. It turns out Caitlin's not cisgender though, saying she may be a trans boy, and at least probably nonbinary. They share a kiss near the end, before running off together. Both are 14 year olds still figuring out themselves.
• Daddy's Girl: Caitlin is clearly closer to her dad. She's shown practicing boxing with him, going to watch a baseball game on TV together, and they share political views. Meanwhile she's always at odds with her mom.
• Disappeared Dad: Fraser says he knows nothing about his father, and he clearly isn't around in the present. When asked, Sarah just says his father was a "ghost" and he shouldn't become too attached. The circumstances of what exactly happened aren't stated (given that she's a lesbian, it might have been prior to coming out, though her future wife Maggie met him as well).
• Drowning My Sorrows: Richard gets quite drunk after three soldiers who he trained are killed in Afghanistan.
• Eating the Eye Candy: While Caitlin is in her bikini at the beach, Fraser stares from a distance, clearly smitten by her good looks.
• Fanservice Extra: A lot of attractive young people are shown at the beach in their swim suits playing around or dancing. That's on top of the very buff, entirely naked soldiers seen earlier in the shower. A party Fraser goes to also has attractive Italian and American young people wearing very little (also ending up in nothing sometimes), with some shown having sex.
• Free-Range Children: Fraser and other Army brats seem to wander around base freely (along with the surrounding area). He especially goes very far afield and has to be picked up by Maggie when he's lost.
• Gaydar: Sarah seems to realize before Caitlin says anything that she's questioning her gender identity, possibly in fact being a transgender boy.
• Hereditary Homosexuality:
  • Fraser's birth mother, Sarah, is a lesbian. He himself is clearly attracted to guys (but may be bi).
  • Caitlin's mom Jenny is at least bisexual, being married to her father but also secretly cheating with a woman. It soon turns out that Caitlin herself is bisexual, having shown attraction to boys and girls.
• Heteronormative Crusader:
  • Richard, Caitlin's dad, expresses distaste for gay couples and says one must be the "man", with the other the "woman" in terms of gender roles or specific activities like housework. This is while referencing Sarah and Maggie (the latter being his CO).
  • Jenny, Caitlin's mom who's a closeted queer woman, also mentions a far worse example in her native Nigeria, with several lesbians having to flee for their lives after being outed.
• Important Haircut: Caitlin has Fraser cut her long hair, leaving herself with a buzzcut to (it seems) further assert her independence (since this isn't what her father likes) and better pass as a boy. As she later questions her gender identity, it seems to be a way of exploring that too.
• Lady Looks Like a Dude: Caitlin goes out off base often dressed in boyish clothes, to the point that Fraser doesn't recognize her at first, and she's taken for a boy by an Italian girl who hits on her. This only applies when she's dressed that way though. As she later questions her gender identity, it becomes a sign of her possibly being transgender.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Maggie wears her hair long and has more feminine clothing when not in uniform. However, she's more "chapstick" than a straight example, since it isn't pronounced.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Jenny and Maggie are seen just prior to, then after, having sex on the floor of an empty apartment. Jenny later also has sex with Richard on the floor of their garage.
• Male Frontal Nudity: Fraser walks into the men's showers on the base while he wanders around, and stares at a soldier who turns around, showing everything. The others notice and playfully wave their dicks at him too. Also, two guys at the party he attends later appear completely nude (one is quite well-equipped).
• Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Discussed by Richard while speaking with his wife Jenny. He claims all same-sex couples must have this dynamic, that it couldn't work any way else. Sarah and Maggie are an example in terms of their clothing/hair styles to a mild degree, though otherwise don't qualify.
• Military Brat: Fraser and Caitlin both come from military families. Both his moms are soldiers, while Cailtin's dad is too (one of Fraser's moms has become his CO). Fraser meets Caitlin when he comes to the base with his moms, while Caitlin's already been there for some time.
• Next Thing They Knew: Maggie and Jenny are first seen talking, go into an empty apartment then abruptly start kissing then undress to have sex, with it only having been implied before that either found the other one attractive.
• No Periods, Period: Averted. Caitlin gets hers the first time while at the beach in the second episode. She's quite happy at this, due to it being a sign of her growing up.
• Shower Scene: Caitlin is briefly shown taking a shower, and naked from behind as she does, although it's dim through the door.
• Spoiled Brat: Fraser comes off as pretty immature, for example he petulantly slaps his mother Sarah when she doesn't slice meat for a sandwich thin enough to his taste. Given her interactions with him, it seems to be a result of her having overindulged him.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Caitlin goes out dressed as a boy several times, and seems to want people thinking she is one. As she's later also indicated to perhaps be a trans boy, it's a way of exploring that.
• Sympathetic Adulterer: Maggie and Jenny both cheated on their spouses together, but were portrayed sympathetically by the narrative. In both cases, it seems it's partly a result of neglect by their spouses or dissatisfaction. Jenny adds the fact that she's a closeted lesbian or bi woman.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Caitlin's interests are mostly sports, she hangs with her dad or brother frequently and she enjoys dressing in boyish attire very often. At the same time however, she's not entirely averse to also wearing more traditional female attire and still wears her hair long (it's put up when she dresses in the boyish way). It's later indicated she's somewhere on the trans spectrum.
• Twofer Token Minority: Maggie Teixeira is a Latina lesbian, to judge by her last name (it's Portuguese) and the actress's ancestry (Alice Braga's Brazilian).
• Two-Person Pool Party: The very first thing which Sarah does after they get into their house on the base is invite Maggie to take a bath with her (and implies sex). Maggie is dubious that there's enough room, but they go anyway.