Why Everyone Should be Watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on Netflix
When Queer Eye for the Straight guy first came onto our screens in 2003, it was a surprise hit, spanning five seasons and winning an Emmy award for Outstanding Reality Program in 2004. Now, I was about 8 years old when this was first on, but I do remember watching it with my mum and sisters, it was light hearted television that essentially taught the audience that inner beauty is just as important as outer. I was slightly sceptical at first when Netflix announced that they were bringing back the Fab 5 for a brand-new series, however I was not disappointed, and the new series is even better than the old! Shout out to Her Campus alum RHQ who encouraged me to watch it.
(source: google images)
The premise for the show is that five gay men makeover a straight man; revamping wardrobe, redecorating, and offering advice on grooming, lifestyle, and food. The Fab 5 consist of Bobby Berk, design expert; Antoni Porowski, food expert (who is literally my dream man, why are you gay); Jonathan Van Ness, grooming expert; Tan France, fashion expert and Karamo Brown, culture expert. They are all kind, funny, encouraging and breakdown many of the stereotypes that people have about gay men.
It’s definitely feel good television, it’s extremely easy to watch and there’s so many heart-warming scenes. You can’t help but smile throughout every episode as they build up each man’s confidence and shows them that they have so much in their lives to be proud of. That taking care of yourself on the inside matters just as much (and often more) than the outside. Although a lot of the show is focused on getting oneself to look and feel good they tackle some serious social issues. Throughout the series the Fab 5 have frank discussions about what is to be gay and straight in today’s world, religion and sexuality, grieving death of a loved one and police profiling (watching Karamo have a discussion with a police officer about being black in America is so eye opening).
Almost all the men that have been nominated to be on the show are apprehensive at first to have the Fab 5 come into their lives, the show takes place in the American South so it’s safe to say that some of them will most likely have never even met an out, confident gay man. But by the end of the week they didn’t want them to leave! The show breaks down so many problems associated with toxic masculinity and shows that taking care of yourself whether that’s putting on a nice suit, taking ten minutes in the morning to do some skin care, making sure you house is presentable to guests or simply just trying to be your authentic self will help build better relationships with the other people in your life.
Queer Eye is television that we all need today, it’s addicting and fun and teaches us different lessons with every episode. Plus, some of the one liners the guys come out with ae truly iconic. I can’t wait for next season!
(source: google images)