Five years have passed since the release of “Queer Eye,” known best at the time for being a reboot of its original, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (2003). The original premise of the show followed the Fab Five, a group of five queer men, as they tackled cases of straight men in need of a makeover, or in other words, in need of a queer “eye” for style and culture. The rebooted Queer Eye’s Fab Five includes food expert Antoni Porowski, design expert Bobby Berk, grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness, social worker Karamo Brown and fashion expert Tan France. Since the 2018 release, the new Fab Five has overshadowed the previous series by unveiling a new level of depth in their makeovers.
The first season of the reboot primarily focused on the transformations of straight men, with exception of one episode about a gay man struggling to come out to his family. Now seven seasons strong, the show diversified its featured guests, letting viewers know that receiving help isn’t exclusively for straight men. Everyone needs guidance, despite their identity.
The Fab Five’s fresh perspective of the original concept breathed new life not only into the series, but into the show’s guests as well. “Queer Eye” is considered reality television, a type of show that many viewers have a love-hate relationship with.
Reality shows broadcast the personal lives of average people, drawing viewers in with the obscurity of their fellow humans’ lives. On a more sinister side, some viewers are hooked by the high stakes that come with toying with a real person’s life. Typical reality television can be found on a variety of channels and streaming services.
Netflix’s “Love is Blind” (2020) stands at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, “The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On” stands at 38% and “Too Hot to Handle” stands at 36%. However, “Queer Eye” sports a high 93%. While reality television may be addictive, they do not impart any moral takeaway on the viewer. While most critical reality shows lack positive reviews and genuine substance, “Queer Eye’s” ability to handle conflict that guests of the show are faced with touches audiences emotionally.
The average reality show highlights a specific weakness in the contestants’ lives and creates a flashy, entertaining solution to fix the unfixable. In the case of “The Ultimatum” (2022), the unfixable problem is the featured couples’ inability to commit to a romantic relationship. Netflix recently released “The Ultimatum: Queer Love” in which exclusively lesbian couples were put to the test. While “The Ultimatum” and “Queer Eye” may appeal to similar demographics, the way in which the two shows confront relationship conflict couldn’t be more different.
In “The Ultimatum,” show-runners have the couples swap partners and conduct a trial marriage together under the guise of providing contestants with clarity on their current relationship. This drama-creating tactic is commonplace in reality shows: using an unhealthy “solution” to cause marketable drama.
“Queer Eye” focuses on fixing someone’s life more holistically. A person on “Queer Eye” may have commitment issues like those on a dating show, but the Fab Five address the issue at its core. Their philosophy of sincere care is why the show has never failed in its seven seasons, rooted in the specialities of the Fab Five: eating habits, hygiene/hair, personal style, interior design and mindfulness. The Fab Five guides each guest through these steps of self care, incorporating lessons that relate to their philosophy: self love is one of the most powerful weapons a person can carry with them when it comes to the emotional ups and downs of life, The success of every transformation leaves viewers teary eyed and inspired by the genuinely helpful advice to use in their own life, as the Fab Five’s formula for success is so universal.
In season 7, the episode “Ms. Mary Quite Contrary” follows Mary Henderson-Uloho. During her life, she had been taken away from her children and incarcerated for 12.5 years in a city that she wasn’t from. After her release from prison, she was able to restart her life. She started a business employing people like herself, who were struggling to find their way back into society after being incarcerated. Although she was performing a noble task to help ex-inmates move on from their past, the Fab Five helped her realize that she had yet to move on from her past. While Bobby, Antoni, Tan, and Jonathan helped her aesthetically move forward and feel more comfortable in a fresh home and style, Karamo helped her revisit her past. Through their honest, heartfelt conversation, Mary realized that the lack of love she received throughout her life was the main reason for the hardships she faced, including the reason why she struggled to reconnect with her children.
Misconceptions of what form love should take causes turmoil in everyone’s lives, and while it may be difficult to identify those who love us, it is never too late to be the one to teach ourselves what it feels like to be loved. Being queer, your idea of love is often misunderstood by others, as you are told that how you want to love and be loved is wrong. This is why self love is so important in the queer community. The new “Queer Eye” philosophy stems from this universal queer experience. While the “Queer Eye” of 2003 referenced queer aesthetics, the “Queer Eye” of 2023 goes as deep as the queer understanding of love.
While other reality shows exploit their contestants’ struggles for content, “Queer Eye’s” most seemingly hopeless cases always surprise us in the end, as the show teaches that people do not refuse to overcome hardship because they don’t want to, but rather because they’re not given the right resources to understand how to help themselves. Other reality shows tend to portray people in a certain way, broadcasting their worst moments to ruin their reputation, despite the fact they’re just a normal person trying to navigate through life. “Queer Eye” does not intentionally portray its people in an unflattering light, and instead looks at everyone with a sympathetic eye.
Life can be difficult, and we shouldn’t be ashamed when we lose ourselves. It is not uncommon to feel lost. Shows like “Queer Eye” normalize people’s struggles rather than capitalize on them. Those who have been personally affected by the Fab Five’s philosophy will continue to welcome new episodes with open arms, and the Fab Five will continue to change lives.
