The world is a bit brighter... "Queer Eye" season two is finally on Netflix.
If you haven't heard of it, the show features the Fab Five, a group of gay men who help revitalize the lives of other men. But it's not just makeovers, home renovations, cooking and fashion advice—this show tackles some serious emotional and sociological topics. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry and you'll walk away feeling inspired to be a much more understanding human.
And season two was no different. In fact, I wasn't even slightly prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that was the new season's opener.
For the first time since the show's start, episode one's focus was a woman named Mrs. Tammye, a devout christian, a mom to a gay son and a breast cancer survivor from small town Gay, Georgia (I'm not even making that up.) She asked that they renovate her church's community center, a longstanding project she has spearheaded. But they did much more than that.
The episode followed the Fab Five as they helped Tammye, a woman who puts everyone's needs before her own, create a space just for her, and as they helped her son, Myles, build his own confidence. But most importantly, the episode was filled with difficult conversations surrounding the church, religion and homosexuality.
As someone who grew up in the church and who calls myself a Christian, this episode was especially emotional. I watched as Bobby, one member of the five, couldn't even step inside the church, scarred from the hatred he had experienced growing up. It was heartbreaking to see—in front of my own eyes—this religion I've considered myself to be a part of hurt someone so badly.
But, I also watched as "Mama Tammye" dropped some major Biblical truths on all of us.
One of the moving moments in the episode was when Tammye speaks about the moment she asked for her son's forgiveness after months of isolating him for coming out as gay.
"She thought her faith told her to judge somebody who was gay, but she chose to see past that and she saw the individual," said Antoni, one of the members of the Fab Five.
Tammye shared how her prayer for the week was that it would be a time of growth. She said how before any of the five had been formed in their mother's womb, God knew them and He knew they would use the skills they've been given.
She even spoke in front of her congregation, saying, "How can I say that I love God, but I cannot love the ones that are right there next to me?"
She served as such an example of light and painted a picture of what I believe Christ had anticipated for His church.
In church today, it feels like homosexuality is treated like a sin apart from all other sins. In some denominations, being homosexual is a quick way to be viciously bullied and isolated from the church. A place where you go to find peace and community turns into a chorus screaming your condemnation.
And nothing is more frustrating to me, someone who believes in an relentlessly loving God, than hearing the judgement and hatred that comes from some Christians—towards gays and towards humans in general, whose lives look different from theirs. Whatever someone's sexuality, religion, ethnicity, or upbringing, we all have one thing in common: humans desire connection. Humans want to feel loved. And as Christians, our primary job is to love one another.
Watch the show, or don't, it's completely your choice. But judgement and condemnation should not be your choice. Condemnation is not a job that was given to us. Regardless of your opinions on others' lifestyles, regardless of whether you feel like your faith is telling you to judge, above and before anything else, when someone looks at us, they should see someone who loves unconditionally.
