Queer Eye Series 2 — Ep 5. A Total Transformation, in Every Sense.
The first episode of the series floored me, in terms of its emotional impact, but the rest haven’t had that some oomph that smacks you in the face. They have heart, sure, but nothing that was that intense. Until now.
It really should’ve come with a disclaimer because the first five minutes are both heart-breaking and take you completely by surprise. The episode opens in a hospital, which is disconcerting, as the fab five watch Skylar get his top surgery to remove his breasts. That in itself isn’t what slaps you in the face, it’s his reaction when he looks down at his chest for the first time. For the first time he sees his body as the person he feels he is and it takes his, and our, breath away. It’s an incredibly moving moment to be part of.
So, Skylar is a trans male whose friends nominated him because he struggles to find his style as the person he now is. He finally feels comfortable with himself, and his friends want his outward appearance to reflect that. Quite frankly, he currently looks like a 15 year old skater boy.
This transformation isn’t just about improving Skylar’s confidence, it’s about him really connecting with the person he has always felt he is on the inside. As he states, every second of his life prior to this he has felt uncomfortable and by really finding his style as an adult male he can finally feel that self-love that he has been craving.
The plan is to throw a party for his friends to celebrate his surgery. Having cut ties to his family years ago, because of being trans, Skylar fell upon the support of his local LGBTQ community and they became his family. The LGBTQ community worldwide is strong and when someone is in need they come together, and Skylar’s friends demonstrate this with gusto rising $7000 in two months for him to have his surgery. Gays rule.
The first thing that hits you when they enter Skylar’s home is just HOW gay it is. It’s like RuPaul sneezed in there. There isn’t a surface without a rainbow on it. As Bobby points out, being gay is a pillar of the building of you. It helps hold you up but isn’t the whole. Skylar’s sexuality is a big part of who he is, but it isn’t everything and it’s as if he has put SO much emphasis on that side of him, because it has overshadowed every thought he has had for years. Now it’s a case of discovering every other element of who Skylar is.
There were a couple of things that really struck me in this episode, he first being the astonishing strength of character that Skylar has. He has so much bravery when it comes to living his own truth and owning his pain and his experience that it is utterly inspirational. To walk into the DMV to get your sex changed on your license and be told to come back when you are complete must be devastating, but he carried on, and went back post-surgery. It takes an amount of guts to face something that was so painful the first time round, but he does and his reaction when his sex is changed is beautiful. To think that something so many of us take completely for granted has such a huge effect, which ties into my second point.
Much like Tan, I’m not a scene queen. I don’t have a huge community presence and so, almost shamefully, my understanding of the transgender journey is woefully pitiful. Whilst I have an idea of WHY someone would need to change their gender, my knowledge of that journey is fairly limited, for example I had no idea about the significance of the gender marker on ID. The amount of things that have the ability to undermine your decision and the person you feel you are is immense, so Tan allowing himself to open to Skylar’s journey, and admit his ignorance, and then his emotional response when he admitted how blinkered he had been, really struck a chord with me.
The guys make an enormous impact on Skylar, but one important message was how Skylar didn’t hide from his feminine side, and in fact he embraced it. His idol is Todrick Hall and it was that gender fluidity that he wanted to emulate. Considering how he had changed his gender from female to male, that link to his feminine side piqued my interest, and I think was a testament to how in tune with himself Skylar now is.
Skylar and his journey are both profoundly touching and inspirational. One small little ginger guy has more guts than a field of rugby players and twenty John McClanes. Unsurprisingly the part goes with a bang, including a surprise visit from Todrick himself. To see how this guy has found his way on the shoulders of the community that has supported him made my eyes leak.
Oh, and FYI, we are totally into Antoni in guyliner.
This article part of a series of reviews of the newest season of Queer Eye, if you liked what you read, please READ ON!
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