Amid LGBTQ hate, 'Queer Eye' means more in 2023 than ever before
It's not really about new haircuts or fixing jeans that don't fit.
When "Queer Eye," Netflix's remake of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," premiered in 2018, the hook became instantly clear. It wasn't about five better-dressed gay men giving makeovers to schlubby guys. It was about putting the "Fab Five" on a collision course with America, about showing queer people in red states and, of course, about making big emotional moments that make for good TV.
Five years later, that mission feels less frivolous and more vital than ever.
This year alone, 541 pieces of legislation attacking transgender people and their rights have been introduced in 49 states, compared with 174 proposed in 2022, according to data compiled by Trans Legislation Tracker. This has been accompanied by a string of events including trans people and the queer community, including attacks on the performances of drag queens and angry boycotts of products endorsed by trans people. Amid this hostile climate, Season 7 of "Queer Eye" (now streaming) is more than just another installment in a heartwarming reality show. Amid the rising discrimination against LGBTQ people, "Queer Eye" is a reminder of the importance of telling their stories.
Among several TV shows about queer people in recent years, few have the kind of cultural impact that "Queer Eye" can claim. Karamo Brown (Culture), Bobby Berk (Design), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming), Antoni Porowski (Food) and Tan France (Style) have become household names, with their own enterprises including Van Ness' line of haircare products and Porowski's cookbooks. Brown appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" and has his own daytime talk show.
"Queer Eye," often among the top 10 Netflix programs during the week of its release, reaches a broader audience than shows like VH1's "RuPaul's Drag Race." Each season transports them into different heartland locations, from Kansas City to Texas to New Orleans (this year's setting), where the five often stand out. Once they arrive, they make gruff, masculine men cry – after trimming their beards and renovating their homes.
And that hasn't come without tension. Brown has spoken about how the production faced discrimination filming in Texas. "This is real conversations of coming across people who are very blatant about 'I don't interact with Black folks, I don't interact with brown folks, I don't interact with y'all gays.'" Brown said on a 2021 podcast. "This was the first time I've ever had people tell me after, 'I hated you.'"
More: Karamo Brown says 'Queer Eye' cast faced 'blatant' discrimination while filming in Texas
The representation delivered by the Five, and particularly Van Ness (who is nonbinary), is important, and so are the stories of the people they help. In Season 7's second episode, they visit a member of their own community in a crisis: Stephanie Williams, a lesbian who has been traumatized after experiencing homophobia. She has hidden behind the identity of the biggest sports fan in New Orleans. When she wears hometown Saints football jerseys, she can keep herself safe from stares and slurs, she says. Instead of offering Williams platitudes about being herself or having pride, Brown and the rest of the Five met her right in the middle of our troubling moment. They flew in her gay brother from Chicago to provide support from within the LGBTQ community. They talk about internalized homophobia. They talk about how hard it is to be themselves sometimes, too.
As news stories warn regularly of proposed anti-LGBTQ bills or bias incidents, we can miss the human stories behind them. For a few years, it seemed almost routine for Van Ness to trim hair on Netflix while wearing dresses and heels. But we have to remember it's a radical act. "Queer Eye" is giving queer people the kind of representation they desperately need right now.
More: Is all the anger, fury really about transgender rights? Maybe not.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why 'Queer Eye' means more in 2023 than ever before
