Kamala Harris celebrates 20 years of ‘Queer Eye’ with creators and cast

Kressley told The Advocate about the show’s role in fostering understanding. “The point of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’, I thought, was to get rid of mullets and pleated khakis,” he joked. “But actually, the point was to have a conversation with people and say, ‘I’m gay. You’re straight. We’re actually not that different.’ We all want the same thing, which is love and respect and belonging and our freedoms.”

The stars also spoke about the difficulties queer communities still face. Van Ness elaborated on the ongoing challenges encountered by the LGBTQ+ community under the current political climate and called for unity and political engagement.

“Our community is under attack,” they said. “We have so many state legislators and even our Congress at the moment that are very excited to take away and curtail as many freedoms and demonize and scapegoat queer people as much as possible. It’s important for our community and our allies not to be single-issue voters. There are so many issues that affect so many folks.”

Van Ness, who isnonbinary, also shared a personal experience highlighting the dangers and discrimination faced by queer individuals. They recounted an incident in a Las Vegas bathroom where they felt unsafe after realizing several women began filming Van Ness.

“I’ve never experienced intimidation in a bathroom in the way that I did in Vegas. It made me think about people who have had horrific things happen to them in bathrooms, but then queer people are the ones scapegoated for these instances. It’s really the patriarchy and this toxic structure of the binary that we have to exist within.”

Harris ended Thursday’s conversation by noting the importance of engagement to move forward the progress Queer Eye has helped push for.

“This election in November is asking each of us a very fundamental question: What kinds of country do we want? And we each have the power to answer that,” Harris said. She added, “It gives me a sense of optimism… knowing that the majority of us, I think, do value certain things, including that we fight for each other’s dignity, that we agree to the foundational principles of our country. All are equal and entitled to certain freedoms and certain rights that cannot be taken.”

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Christopher Wiggins