it felt both like an eye-opener and deeply validating.

Sheldon doesn’t mask. He is not anxious. He is not ashamed of who he is. He never “learns to chill and be normal”. He is helpfully insightful at times. And he retains close friends who repsect him and he keeps a successful career. That was beautiful to see.

It made me believe I could exist as myself.

I felt that way too when I first watched TBBT, since I watched it alone… Then I watched the show with other people in the room and realized that he was the butt of every joke. And from that point on I could never stomach watching the show again. It’s disgusting.