Rejecting Homonormative Ideals: an Analysis of the Introduction to “No Fats, No Femmes”
Heteronormativity. Homonormativity. Of the two words, the former is a far more recognized topic that much of society disputes today. These disputes are rightfully made; heteronormativity places a blatant prejudice against all those in society who do not fall under the categories of gender binary and heterosexual. However, some tend to overlook the equally discriminatory ideals of homonormativity that glorifies attributes such as whiteness, masculinity, and toned bodies, and establish a culture exclusive of a multitude of identities. This favoritism of homonormative traits is apparent in numerous ways in modern society, one such way being in gay dating sights, where people post offensive dating preferences on their bios. As a whole, homonormativity is an unrecognized form of internal oppression within queer communities that calls for an equally powerful response as that for issues such as heteronormativity and racial discrimination.
A recent publication confronting this issue is the introduction to the documentary No Fats, No Femmes, written and directed by Jamal Lewis (2017). This video explores the struggle of individuals who face societal standards of homonormativity, a combined social neglect for a multitude of desires and identities including race, the size of one’s body frame, and femininity. Stemming from the popular term “no fats, no femmes,” commonly used as a description of one’s desires gay dating sites, the documentary delves into a variety of intersectional identities among gender non-conforming, queer, transgender, fat, feminine, and disabled people, and examines their experiences with the world around them.
I argue that this documentary utilizes its dialogue, acting, theme, and its context in modern society in order to represent the importance of breaking down normative barriers. First, I intend to show that through its correlation of profanity with the unfair treatment of people who identify outside of societal norms and its similar connection of glorifying language with with those who do not identify with normative standards, the introduction to No Fats, No Femmes gives the viewer insight into the reality of societal bias in relation to the ideals that it should uphold. Moreover, I will contend that through the prideful bodily movements of the actors as well as the film’s combination of black costumes, a black background, and an all black cast, the video gets rid of any uncomfortability with societal norms. As a whole, especially in a world enveloped by social media, I hope to show that this documentary illustrates that there is no one perfect way to fight politics and oppression, but that multiple strategies are necessary to portray the unrecognized struggles of marginalized individuals.
The video opens with an African American man repeating the word “fuck” followed by a list of homonormative ideas of desire and body image imposed by society. Not only does this list include common marginalizations of identities such as dark skin and body image, but it also alludes to more detailed forms of discrimination such as his “ability to be assertive,” that people “think [he’s] a slut,” and that “the amount of work [he] put[s] into the beauty of [his] personhood is never enough” (Lewis, 2017). As the video progresses, the main actor sheds light on the difficulty of being multiply marginalized, because not only does he face intolerance and hatred over multiple aspects of his identity, but with so many norms opposed to his individuality, he believes he “can’t expect anything from anyone.” (Lewis, 2017) A possible interpretation of this dialogue is that by combining derogatory language with marginalizing phrases, Lewis is demonstrating the unappealing tone of discriminatory hate speech. In other words, through the use of equally disparaging diction, Lewis emphasizes the harm dealt from homonormative languange. However, this is not necessarily the only use of this word choice. It may also be the case that, while the connotation of this phrase appears to show disgust with the ensuing societal norms, the line “fuck _____” is also simply used as a method of disidentifying with the subsequent societal standards, by which I mean disassociating oneself with particular characteristics of an identity. Either way, Lewis’ use of strong, obscene language adds a connotation to certain ideals that take a stand against homonormative views.
Lewis mirrors this portion of the video with another headlined with the phrase “blessed _____” in the latter half of the video followed by a list of non-normative identities. Similarly to the previous section, the pairing of the word “blessed” with the proceeding phrases attaches an admiring tone to each one, encouraging those who identify with those groups to embrace their individuality. Looking deeper, one can see a contrast between this part and the previous part of the video. On the one hand, following the “fuck” of each phrase in the first section, Lewis voices an expression, that, while discriminatory, displays the prejudice commonly displayed in society. However, as Lewis begins each phrase with “blessed,” the proceeding words transition to all of the people that envisions as comfortable and open with themselves in an ideal society. For example, in the first half of the video Lewis mentions whiteness, thinness, and muscles, all traits society is inherently partial towards, whether it be in job recruitment, court decisions, or even dating preferences. Whereas when Lewis acknowledges the trans and gender queers, he is referring to particular groups that are unreasonably questioned and looked down upon in their daily lives. So while it is possible that the statements following “fuck” and “blessed” in the video are included to indicate groups Lewis dislikes and admires respectively, I contend that these words carry out a deeper meaning illustrating where he sees the world now vs the acceptance of diversity he hopes to see in the future.
In order to fully understand this interpretation, however, it is important to analyze the actions of each character as well as the setup of the video as a whole (i.e. costumes, setting, cast). As the main character begins his monologue, he simultaneously performs certain body movements that would likely be questioned within a homonormative society. As the video begins, he slowly draws hands with polished nails across his face, and later on during the line “fuck that people think I’m a slut,” the camera zooms in as he clicks his tongue in a seductive manner. (Lewis, 2017) Likewise, several women are depicted throughout the video who move their arms across their bodies and faces in a non-normative way. For example, in the first half of the video, they are shown holding hands and swaying them back and forth as they look into each other’s eyes. By the end of the clip, it is clear that the characters portrayed are comfortable with both their bodily space in the world as well as their uniqueness from homonormative society in general. All of the movements I described performed by Lewis and the three women in the video perfectly prove their pride and confidence in being different than other people. Now, tying back to the series of “fuck” comments, I would argue that these statements simply allow the characters to let go of their forced perceptions of beauty, and instead express themselves to the fullest extent with these bodily movements accompanying the dialogue of the film.
Furthermore, in order to evoke pride in its audience, the video uses a particular costume pattern, cast, and setting strategically. While far more recent in history, the film’s all-black cast, use of only black clothes, and a plain black background implements a very similar concept of playing with blackness as another article called “A True Picture of Black Skin” by Teju Cole. In this article, Cole challenges one of the forms of racial discrimination that happened in the early stages of photography, the fact that the technology at the time was colorized to make white skin more visible. The main vessel with which Cole carries this argument is the photography of Roy DeCarva, who, rather than brightening black faces to make them more visible, makes them darker in order to embrace the idea that society should be more accepting with darker colors. Cole mentions that not only should the viewer look deeper into the subtle implications of DeCarva’s work, but that it is important to understand that those photographed “are allowed to stay in the shadows if they wish.” (Cole, 2015) In other words, the emphasis of blackness in his pictures serves two purposes. First, it encourages the viewer to be more comfortable with seeing more blackness than what is conventionally shown in society. But secondly, it explains that people with unique identities do not need to publicly reveal who they are; instead, they have the option to maintain their privacy if they wish.
Just like DeCarva, No Fats, No Femmes plays with the conception of blackness by making black the dominant color everywhere on the screen as the viewer engages in the film. As described earlier, everywhere the viewer can look in the film embraces blackness, including the background, the cast, and their clothes. Through this twist on normative perceptions of color in art, both No Fats, No Femmes and Teja Cole’s article build the argument that rather than hiding behind the boundaries constructed by society, people must be open and comfortable with how they are perceived. But at the same time, by blending the color of the characters with the background, both sources show that choosing not to reveal one’s identity is not a crime, and should be looked upon with acceptance and respect.
This idea of giving one the option to be vulnerable connects back to the purpose of the film: to help people with body frames, sexualities, and desires outside of homonormative expectations to be more comfortable with their identities. In a recently published article, “The discursive construction of gay teenagers in times of mediatization: youth’s reflections on intimate storytelling, queer shame and realness in popular social media places” (2015), two scholars at Ghent University named Sander De Ridder and Sofie Van Bauwel help analyze this issue. Similar to the title No Fats, No Femmes, this article alludes to the impact of social media and further analyzes the issue of retaining pride in oneself within a homonormative world. After talking to over 50 teenagers, De Ridder and Bauwel determine that despite social media’s opportunities for queer teens to take part in political activism, such spreading awareness for a cause or posting coming out videos, increased mediatization can also lead to negative consequences for those that do not consider themselves a part of homonormative society. Many teenagers begin to doubt their self worth, contemplate their audience’s reaction, and even change their identities when faced with the overwhelming expectations of social media. Back to the introduction to No Fats, No Femmes.
The reason I bring up this article is that videos such as No Fats, No Femmes are not common in the media today, and while inspiring, it is absorbed among the millions of homonormative text, pictures, and videos that flood the internet today. This homonormative standard that society is accustomed to has even reached a point where the government has set different restrictions regarding subjects such as explicit content in movies, separating gay intimacy and straight intimacy. The fact that such a large group of people are discriminated against in twenty first century society is appalling, and needs to come to a halt.
Social media needs to be supplied with more works such as No Fats, No Femmes, that help spread awareness regarding the discriminatory positions in which intersectional individuals are forced to live their daily lives. Although there is no single solution to combat inequality and bias, different perspectives must be taken in order to shed light on the daily obstacles faced by individuals that do not conform to societal norms. As a whole, the introduction to this documentary takes a step in the right direction in helping gender-non-conforming, queer, transgender, fat, feminine, disabled people, or any combination of the above traverse a homonormative world.
Works Cited
Lewis, Jamal. “No Fats, No Femmes Documentary Intro.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Jan. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQjey5Mmuw&t=5s.
Cole, Teju. “A True Picture of Black Skin.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Feb. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/a-true-picture-of-black-skin.html.
Muñoz, José Esteban. “Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics.” 1 July 2004.
De Ridder, Sander, and Sofie Van Bauwel. “The Discursive Construction of Gay Teenagers in Times of Mediatization: Youth’s Reflections on Intimate Storytelling, Queer Shame and Realness in Popular Social Media Places.” Berkeley Library University of California, 1 Aug. 2015, eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=0d6e2355- b324–4420–9297–91d11f728909%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#A N=102777528&db=a9h.
