The Queer Eye reboot is finally out and they have graced us with one full season filled with eight amazing episodes. If you’re familiar with the OG Queer Eye, you know about the Fab Five. This new series also brings a new set of gay men who are experts in different fields. Tan France is in charge of fashion and guides the subjects on how to dress for their body type and lifestyle. Jonathan Van Ness tackles grooming from haircuts to DIY body scrubs. Bobby Berk handles the redesign of the subject’s space. Karamo Brown teaches the subjects about culture like how to manage social media and how to present yourself professionally. Food is taken care of by Antoni Porowski, who gives the subjects simple and healthy recipes they can replicate at home.
As I was watching each episode, fully engrossed, I noticed that the show didn’t just focus on the makeovers. It also shed light on important social issues like race and sexuality. At the end, or even the middle, of each episode I found myself emotional and sometimes crying. Which made me want to continue to the next episode. Now that I’m finished with the season, I wanted to share the different social issues the Fab Five talked about during the show.
Police brutality
In the season’s third episode, “Dega Don’t,” the topic of police brutality came up. As the Fab Five were driving to meet their next male subject Cory, they were pulled over by the police. Note: Karamo was the one driving the car. They then found out that the cop who pulled them over was the one who nominated Cory so it was a harmless prank but rubbed Karamo the wrong way.
In the middle of the episode, Karamo and Cory have an in-depth talk about police brutality happening in the US. They both voiced out that, sadly, cops and black people are being stereotyped. They then came to the conclusion that if there was an open discussion, just like the one they had, it might be able to help the situation.
Religion
While the Fab Five were giving Bobby Camp a makeover in the 5th episode, him and Bobby Berk had a conversation about religion. Bobby Camp and his family are very religious and they even have a dining set that was made of pews from his childhood church. Bobby Berk, on the other hand, grew up religious but eventually lapsed when he found out he was gay. Although some Catholics are more approving of homosexuals, his church did not accept.
At the end of the episode, Bobby Camp got emotional sharing how despite what religion dictates, he doesn’t see them as bad people. He thanked them profusely for helping him and his family. Bobby just wanted to spread love because he believed that’s what the core of religion was really about.
Growing up
Queer Eye tackled growing up in a few episodes this season. In episode two, “Saving Sasquatch,” their subject was Neal. He’s 36 years old and created his own app but he’s clueless when it comes to taking care of himself and his home. Neal also struggled with connecting to people.
What the Fab Five did was give him the confidence to step up and take control of his life. To start and finish projects, not be afraid to open up to people, and project the man he really was. In the end, he was able to throw a launch party for his new app and even made his momma proud too.
Sexuality
Throughout the season, Queer Eye focused on straight men, except for one episode. “To Gay or Not Too Gay” was an emotional roller coaster. Their subject was AJ, a gay man who had yet to come out to some of his friends and his stepmom. He also regrets not telling his dad the truth about his sexuality while he was still alive. He was also unsure of how to dress or present himself. AJ wasn’t sure if he should wear bold colors or tight-fitting clothes because that’s what society expects.
The Fab Five helped him out by explaining their own journeys and stories of them coming out. You could tell he was nervous about telling his stepmother that he was gay but he did it in the sweetest way possible. He had written a letter that he would have given to his father and read it out loud. You will end this episode crying as AJ and his stepmom shared a tear-filled embrace.
Art by Lara Intong
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