The first season of Queer Eye has been an incredible hit for everyone, straight or not, and the gay gods have answered our prayers: it is coming back for a second season! This openly gay TV show has opened up important conversations about sexuality, gender, and identity at a time when being open and vocal about these topics is important.
Photo Courtesy of Netflix.com
For the upcoming second season of their show, we got to talk to the Fab 5 about the importance of positive queer representation in modern media. The LGBT+ community is an underrepresented sector of the society as queer characters in movies and television shows only seem to only be complimentary storylines or even comedic reliefs.
When asked about the importance of queer representation, Tan France, the style maven, talks about the magnitude and importance of such in reference to their show:
“I think it is reinforcing to have representation in such a global show. I think it is smart in Netflix’s part, because it is a global show. People have asked us for more representation and I think we can offer that through our heroes, and even heroines also [in the show], I think it is appropriate, especially in 2018. I think we should represent more.”
Photo Courtesy of Netflix.com
Queer representation in the media is something that does not exist in a vacuum. There are several layers that come into play and intersect with each other to create an identity. Because of the complexity of these intersectional layers, it is important for queer representation to be diverse and not be lopsided.
Karamo Brown, the culture vulture, weighs in on the importance of diversity, especially in queer representation:
“I think there’s a lot of times that people don’t understand the cultural experience of having several different identities and you know watching my experience and Tan’s experience on the show will give people a broader grasp of what it’s like to be not only gay but also a man of color, and I think representation will help us go about in this world.”
Photo Courtesy of Netflix.com
This reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy from the 2000s has proven to be diverse in both its cast and the people that they help in the show, especially in the show’s second season where the Fab 5 opens their arms to people besides middle-aged straight men.
The importance of such openness in diversity is felt not only by the men of color in the show, but also by the white men in the cast. When asked about how their different stories affect the makeovers that happen in the show, Antoni Porowski, the food and wine guy, talks about how this diversity helps create a dynamic change to the people they are helping:
“…what’s really nice is casting five completely…different personalities coming from very different cultural backgrounds, what we are able to contribute in a kind of like a very open-minded, multi-perspective way.”
Photo Courtesy of Netflix.com
As media evolves, so does the content being produced in and through it. Television shows and movies are slowly becoming more inclusive of everyone in the society. Although representation in modern media still has a long way to go, Queer Eye is definitely one of the shows pioneering for better, intersectional representation.
Queer Eye is available for streaming on netflix.com/queereye
The second season of the show will be available for streaming exclusively starting on June 15, 2018.
