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Queer Eye (2018) is an American reality TV series on Netflix that originated from a 2003 show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. In each episode, “Fab Five”, a team of 5 gay professionals in the culture, design, grooming, fashion, and food field offers advice on improving lifestyles and helps clients achieve higher life satisfaction. I would like to focus on episode four in season one, “To Gay or Not Too Gay”, in which this team helps the straightest appeared and behaved gay guy in Atlanta called AJ to come out to his stepmother. The whole series is not officially released in mainland China due to the 2016 law banning “vulgar, immoral, and unhealthy content” which includes TV productions about gay relationships. Unexpectedly, it is so popular among people in their 20s and 30s, watching through unconventional means. Why is it so popular? Some indicate that it plays into young females’ growing fetish for gay relationships. Actually, it is the open discussion of LGBTQ+ community on media that inspires audiences to redefine masculinity into fully expressing one’s emotions, which attributes to its popularity.
Queer Eye, centered on five gay men, seems to fulfill the growing appetite for Chinese females’ fetish for gay relationships. Ever since the 1990s, one genre called “danmei” which focuses on romantic and sexual relationships between men existed. While it contains stereotypies and fetish from writers to readers, commonly female, due to censorship that there isn’t a fair representation of the LGBTQ+ community on social media, this genre is explosively popular. From a niche reading preference, it adapted into graphic novels, animations, audio dramas, etc. One famous animated piece even got watched 71 million times by more than 4 million people. Given the enormous interest in “danmei” from Chinese females, it seems that Queer Eye talking about five gay men helping another gay man come out feeds these fantasies. However, these do not actually contribute to its popularity. Despite the setting with “Fab Five”, the show content is not about romantic loves and hates. “Danmei” readers looking for gay relationships can’t seek what they want. Moreover, as a reality show, its characters are real human beings. Although they all seem handsome, stylish, and positive in the show, they all had their backstories and struggles, happiness and sadness — which can be easily searched online. They differ away from those fetishes about imagined, idealized versions of men. Instead, “Fab Five”’s presentation serves a more important role: through presenting authentic gay people’s voices on media, they redefine masculinity for American and Chinese audiences.
To begin with the context, American and Chinese societies embrace a similar problematic definition of a good man and masculinity, which hinders diverse voices in society. According to American Psychological Association, males in U.S. society were often expected to grow and conform to “toughness, stoicism, acquisitiveness, and self-reliance”, that is to say, “aggressive, emotionally stunted males”. What this means is that the U.S.’s popular value on boys and males is to suppress their emotions, mask their distress, and aggressively maintain power. This problematic value shut up those who may be more feminized in expressing themselves. Sadly, a similar belief prevails in China. In 2021, China’s Education Ministry proposed teaching masculinity to boys since kindergarten through means like hiring more gym teachers, because they believe that “‘feminization’ of Chinese boys ‘threatens China’s survival and development’”. Exaggerating the importance by connecting how male behaves to a country’s “survival” shows how strongly the belief is — being tough and aggressive is what males “must and only be”. Therefore, a common ground between Americans and Chinese exists on this wrong belief of masculinity. When this American show Queer Eye targets and criticizes such an idea, Chinese audiences could also relate to and reflect on their experiences: should we only have one definition of masculinity?
Specifically, AJ demonstrates the social pressure of toxic masculinity and criticizes its troublesome impact. While Karamo, the “Fab Five” culture and lifestyle expert, and AJ talked about the painting that passed to AJ after his father passed away, they dug into how a father impacts his son. AJ describes that “my dad he always acts in a certain way, and it translates to me, so I feel like I need to put up a traditional vibe”. What these words imply is that his father represents the American social expectation of being a hard male figure. While AJ is not like that, growing up with his father means being immersed in this social norm and influenced to believe that “traditional vibe” is right. Believing in the opposite way from who he really is forces AJ to suppress his true self — “I should I did tell my dad, but I just couldn’t say”. How much his father silents AJ is like how Chinese audiences are under 2016 censorship law. AJ does not want his family alienates him; we are afraid of being punished for sharing different voices. AJ’s experience resonates even more for those who have other expressions on what a true man/boy could be but were prohibited. When they see AJ and his struggles similar to theirs, they know that they are not alone. They may be more supported to speak up. Then, for general audiences, hearing from AJ is like hearing from these silent diverse voices. When we actually feel the pains and see how wrongful social expectations harm people, we are driven to reflect and manage to search for new answers.
Beyond revealing the problematic social norms, Queer Eye with the “Fab Five” set-up which presents LGBTQ+ voices on media invites audiences to redefine manhood. All five main casts Antoni, Bobby, Jonathan, Karamo, and Tan are openly gay, which already reverses the heteropatriarchal expectations on males. Especially when China censors LGBTQ+ content, “Fab Five” from an American show serves as a source to educate Chinese audiences that there are more than cisgender, heterosexual, aggressive, lack-of-emotion males. A step further, “Fab Five” opens up the definition of masculinity, through Jonathan. He utilizes his expertise in grooming and makeup to redesign AJ’s hairstyle and help him show off his most attractive chin. When AJ hesitated to give up all his beard, Jonathan does not ignore his concerns but helped on top of that “let’s shape it up, but keep the shadow”. During the shaving, Jonathan always builds close eye contact, smiles, and constantly cheers AJ up by “boy, you’re giving me so much sexy face right now. I can’t even handle it”. The positive feedback and praise boost AJ’s confidence. From all Jonathan’s actions, we see his shining characteristics — great work expertise, being considerate, and supportive. This is where the show cleverly pushes Chinese audiences to redefine masculinity. Jonathan’s charismatic personality is a good starting point, which most people would love his traits. Should “a good man” have these traits? Yes. Then, is Jonathan “a good man”? Yes. Based on the common ground, the show takes the opportunity to push its audiences thinking that “given his personal preferences for long hair and pink dresses, do these offset his traits?” For the sake of those good qualities, people can hardly say no. Thus, Chinese audiences are prompted to a broader definition of manhood: being masculine can be more than being tough and emotionless.
More specifically, in the episode I chose, the progress of AJ coming out provides one answer for what masculinity could be — being confident to express inner emotions. Instead of wearing a tough-guy mask as he used to force himself, AJ gradually opens up. The show’s climax of AJ actually coming out to his stepmother not only praises his courage to show inner feelings and be vulnerable but signals a positive impact of doing so. The shooting angle moving from medium close-up to close-up on AJ’s face depicts his hands holding tight on his stepmother’s back and frowning with a choked voice. Audiences can sense a complex mix of feelings — relief for telling his family about being gay, pride in presenting himself, happiness of getting accepted by stepmother, regret for not telling his father earlier, etc. Through unspoken actions, AJ exemplifies how to embrace and share all emotions as a man. The important impact of doing is explained through his stepmother’s reaction. She holds his back and cries together. A deeper, stronger, and closer bond between them is created, only after AJ sincerely shares his feelings. Together with the soft background music “show me where I belong”, AJ will not “[stumble] through the wilderness” or “so lost on [his] own” anymore but supported by warm family connections that he belongs. The happy ending indicates how this alternative definition of masculinity — to accept vulnerability and express one’s emotion — benefits individuals.
