QUEER EYE FOR A TRUMP GUY

When the make-over show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy premiered in 2003, it created palpable waves, and it could be argued that as the first gay reality format, it shifted queer representation into the mainstream. The show became a surprise hit for the Bravo TV network, as the extravagant and no-holds-barred ‘fab five’ made their way into the hearts and minds of millions of Americans.

In 2003, being ‘out’ was a political act. Sitcoms like Will &Grace and Ellen had brought queer characters into the mainstream, however these characters were fictional, constructed through script and dialogue. In a lot of ways, gays were made more artificial by the fact that they were manufactured for the purposes of entertainment. The first Queer Eye was unique in that its hosts were real live queers. Carson Kressley, one of the original Fab Five, summed this evolution up in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, when he said, “They knew us as real people, not as characters who were written by someone.”

RADICAL DEPARTURE

This ability to speak frankly and openly about queer sexuality on mainstream TV was a radical departure. Shows such as Queer as Folk (2000) had been popular with gay audiences, but never had the mass appeal that Queer Eye enjoyed. The five out and proud gay men at the heart of Queer Eye were talented, thoughtful, and loved by the people they ‘made over’.

Fifteen years later, Queer Eye has been rebooted for the more modern viewer by streaming giant Netflix. The new Fab Five are interior design expert, Bobby Berk, culture queen Karamo Brown, fahionista Tan France, food and wine connoisseur Antoni Porowski, and grooming guru Jonathan Van Ness. The original empathetic motif is core to the Netflix reboot. The fab five use a holistic approach to enhance the lives of the people that appear on the show.

In the opening episode, ‘You Can’t Fix Ugly’, audiences are introduced to Tom, a middle-aged man whose self-esteem has suffered due to negative experiences in past relationships. Tom is financially stable, humorous, adventurous, and owns an extensive collection of vintage cars. He is what many, on paper at least, would consider a catch. However, Tom is plagued by insecurities about his appearance. He’s stuck in a world where he is unable to find the confidence to approach women and make new friends.

TENDER MOMENT

Enter the Fab Five with their unique blend of sass and tips. Van Ness steps in to make over Tom’s untamed beard and hair, while food advisor Porowski shows him that diet can be easy, healthful and deeply impactful. There is a particularly tender moment when Tom opens up about his struggle with the auto-immune disease, Lupus. He confesses to Van Ness that the disease has made him feel unconfident and ‘ugly’. Van Ness is nurturing and sincere, listening to Tom and offering up some practical solutions, in the form of a green make-up stick that can reduce the redness that has accumulated around Tom’s face.

“In this era of Trumpian divides, the new Fab Five nd themselves in America’s red states; the primary base for the show is Georgia.

The current-era Fab Five bring with them a new perspective on masculine sensibilities. Their encounters with their ‘subjects’ often force open conversation around body image, sexuality and male insecurities. It’s refreshing to see heterosexual guys challenge the notion that real men don’t talk about their feelings.

In Netflix’s promotional trailer, Tan France asserts that while “the original show was fighting for tolerance, our fight is for acceptance.” This message is central to the branding and ethos of the new franchise. In an era of Trumpian divides, the new Fab Five find themselves in America’s red states; the primary base for the show is Georgia, deep in the American south.

QUEER EYE IN TRUMP'S AMERICA

The fact that Queer Eye is being released in Trump’s America, where we have seen the bar for what is tolerated in media and journalism being lowered, cannot be ignored. According to a recent GLAAD report, acceptance of people who identify as LGBT+ has dipped for the first time in years.

This version of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is built on the opposite premise, that America has become a more open and more cohesive society, rather than a divided one.

Considering this, Queer Eye may possess an impactful political message: that acceptance of LGBT+ people must remain at the forefront of the world’s media. Just like Will & Grace was instrumental in paving the way for positive queer representations on screen, and RuPaul’s Drag Race currently calls on its largely queer contingent of fans to love themselves, the new Queer Eye may engage a younger generation in conversations surrounding LGBT+ lives at a time when America’s president is engaged in the marginalisation of queer people.

'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' is currently available to stream on Netflix