We’re having a moment for male tears — no, not the kind that the popular feminist mug metaphorically collects in pursuit of bringing down the patriarchy. We’re talking literal tears that men shed in moments of televised vulnerability.
Take the Netflix reboot of “Queer Eye,” just renewed for a second season. Yes, it’s a makeover show with bubbly experts instructing schleppy men on the wonders of slim-cut jeans, five-minute grooming routines, Ikea and avocados. But it’s also a show about men who are stuck and held in place by fear, insecurity, past trauma or rigid norms of what it means to be a man.
Just like the old series, a group of gay men deemed “experts” in areas such as food and culture enter a stranger’s life and try to improve it. “The original show was fighting for tolerance,” says one member of the new Fab Five at the top of the 2018 series. “We’re fighting for acceptance.”
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