A look into the LGBTQ+ community and culture with FX series Pose

Writer: Raven Harper

“Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade. …….”

I wanna dance with somebody

Whitney Houston

The year is 1980 in New York City during the peak of fashion, modeling, Trump, gentrification, the AIDS epidemic, and the underground ball subculture. Many members of the LGBTQ community gather together under one roof where they are free from all discrimination, negativity, harm and thoughts of survival and are given the ability to express themselves creatively to the sounds of upbeat Madonna, Chaka Khan, Mary Jane Girls, and Whitney Houston.

The 2018 FX television American Drama series, Pose, tells the heartbreaking yet joyful story of the underground life and society of LGBTQ youth and their search for acceptance, family, and love after being rejected from their birth families due to their sexuality.

Season one starts with teenager Damon, a dancer who is thrown out by parents for his sexuality where he is forced to live on the streets at a young age. Discovered by Blanca (a new housemother), Damon is invited into the House of Evangelista, a safe space and roof made to provide support to LGBTQ youth who have no home or family to go to.

In this unique series, we as an audience can take a peek into what life was like for members of this society during this day and age and even until this day. We are exposed to the reality and difficulty of coming out, LGBTQ homelessness, their hardships, abandonment, search for work in sex and hidden identity, rejection, HIV/AIDS, recurring death, lack of support, and more. It opens the eyes and minds of viewers to show somewhat of an understanding of what members of this community go through daily.

What makes this show spectacular on top of providing knowledge to the uneducated, Pose holds the largest cast of transgender/queer people of color actors in history starring as series regulars in a scripted tv show. Some of the cast members include; Billy Porter, MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Evan Peters, Charalyne Woodard and more. The show is written by Steven Canals and Janet Mock, the first transwoman of color to be hired as a writer, producer, and director. The show is produced and directed by Ryan Murphy (Glee). The series is currently on season two and has already won a Golden Globe, and multiple Emmy nominations.

Although Pose is composed of fictional characters and plots, it is still a very true story that is being told. Houses were real. They were safe spaces and a support system for LGBTQ youth. Underground ball culture was a very real thing. Invented by urban black and Latino gay communities during the sixties in New York, different houses would compete in dance and drag competitions.

Content like FX series Pose must be made, to educate and shed light on communities and topics thrown under the rug. Pose is providing realness, comedy and more and is a show to tune into on FX Tuesdays at 10 pm.