I love Queer Eye! I mostly hate reality TV, but those guys from Queer Eye with their message of love and acceptance get me every time. And season 6 is set in Austin, my old home and a place I visit often to see family.
Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, and Bobby Berk are the Fab 5 in Queer Eye. While they each have their individual specialties in helping the people they feature, all of them emphasize how worthy, lovable, and valuable the people they “makeover” are.
Sure the people walk away from the week with a nicer house (or barn) and a better wardrobe, but what they really take away is self-confidence and self-love. Every season I watch this show and every season I say we all need a personal Fab 5 in our lives to tell us daily we are wonderful and worthy of love.
The folks who got attention in season 6 included a daughter of the Broken Spoke, a trans powerlifter, a cattle rancher, a high school prom committee, a cafe owner in Canyon Lake, a community doctor, an animal and human rescue organizer, a community organizer building shelters for the homeless, an Asian baker, and a rapper from Manor.
I loved watching the Fab 5 roam Austin and nearby areas to help really worthy people realize their dreams. The photography of the city was wonderful and the businesses that got a boost from the show like clothing stores and beauty salons were spread all over the city.
I also appreciate the inclusive nature of the episodic guests. Old, young, straight, trans, Black and Asian and Latinex and White – real people. The same applies to the 5 stars. They are an eclectic mix of queer personas who each bring something special to the show. It’s been interesting to see the growth and change in the 5 stars over the years. They’re all new and different themselves.
A big theme in season 6 was how COVID had affected everyone’s lives and how they were coping with it.
If you’ve never watched any of this series, I sincerely recommend it. Keep tissues handy.
I’ve been watching this show for all its seasons and two things strike me when I do: One, how even participants who describe themselves as conservative and/or who acknowledge never knowing or interacting with LGBTQ+ people before end up loving these guys – because they are forced to get to know them as people and they find more common ground that areas of difference. Second, it powerfully strikes me how needed mental health services and supports are for everyone – but particularly for men in the series. Queer Eye selects participants who have been through really intense and traumatic experiences and yet, I see that consistently the men are least likely to have reached out for support. I love how Queer Eye normalizes the need for human support and connection, for loving oneself, for reflecting on life choices/experiences and making changes, etc. It’s very powerful and like you say, I wish this type of care was available to all.
My sentiments exactly. Thanks for the comment.