It has been a few weeks since I finished watching the Netflix series Pose. The said series is about outcasts or “lost souls” are bound into a community through balls and “houses”. Every ball, people from houses get to wear something based on categories and be confident on their own skin. Basically, it is a story of safe spaces. Until now, I could say that it has been the best series I have watched so far and I would discuss it on three (3) points.
1. Representation and Diversity
Through the years, there became more awareness and sensitivity with regards to representation in media. We could see criticisms to shows or movies who would cast a white person to play a person of color (POC) or a straight man to portray a homosexual or transgender woman. Remember the flak to Scarlett Johansson, a cisgender woman, when she was supposed to play the role of a transgender man in Rub & Tug? Eventually, she backed out from the role. Recently, in the Philippines, Maymay Entrata and the rest of the cast of an upcoming episode in Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK) due to painting “blackface” to represent an Aeta character. Sadly, it looks like the episode will push through albeit the backlash.
This question on representation and diversity does not apply to Pose. The cast is mostly from the LGBTQ+ community. You could only see few cisgender men and women in the cast. It is a breath of fresh air seeing lots of transgender women in the cast playing transgender roles. They didn’t disappoint as they were really good actresses. This is important because for so long, it is rare for transgenders to have major roles in movies and series. Either they are stereotyped, treated superficially, or, worse, not casted at all to give way for well-known cisgender actors, to be dubbed as “mark of their versatility in acting”.
Aside from representation in terms of the cast, the mere representation of stories of transgenders, especially in 1980s where HIV and homosexuality/transgenderism are heavily frowned upon, is truly important. Their stories are rather silenced in media and Pose resists to that kind of erasure. Furthermore, the series gave more layers to transgenderism and homosexuality - it gave them a human face. In essence, the series definitely deviated from the convenient norms in media of misrepresentation, minority erasure, and stereotyping.
2. Roots of the LGBTQ+ Movement
It is a sad reality at the moment where even within the LGBTQ+ community, there is discrimination and enforcement of “hierarchy”. You would see “masculine” gay men view “effeminates” lowly, transgender men and women unrecognized as men and women, and others discriminate those with HIV and AIDS. If you would think of it, the community should be more loving of each other and united in the call for gender equality and equity.
Pose serves as a great reminder as to why we are struggling and dreaming of a better world for the LGBTQ+ community. Firstly, it reminded us of the vital role of transgenders in the movement. In the series, in houses (or family), there are “mothers” and they are usually transgender women. They are the ones who guide their houses and join with them in the fight for love and acceptance. Historically, transgenders were those at the forefront of the movement, especially in the Stonewall Riot. Personally, I think many people are not aware of this. Even in the LGBTQ+ movement in the Philippines, transgenders had a huge role especially in making the first Pride March in the country possible. Secondly, the series reminded us the importance of the LGBTQ+ movement. It showed how gruesome was the condition of the LGBTQ+ community back then - outcasted, discriminated, harassed. What moved me the most was how society treat people with HIV - in hospitals, they are left to die, even not taken care of at all. These are the stories that are needed by the current generation to remind them to keep on with the fight for gender equality and equity because these are still the realities we have at the moment.
3. Deeper Context of Drag Culture
There is a growing appreciation of drag culture worldwide due to its mainstreaming in media through the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Drag Race Thailand. I have been an avid viewer of Drag Race for almost two years now and I have had better appreciation of drag as an art form and as a protest. This also applies to even straight men and women who are fans of the show and the craft.
Pose gives better context to the essence and importance of drag culture, rooted from the house and ball culture. It is not necessarily about being beautiful or fierce or talented - it is about being more comfortable with one’s skin and redefining gender norms and notions of beauty. This was advanced with the help of balls and existence of houses that created a safe space to really express one’s identity. Personally, I got to understand many nuances in Drag Race after watching the series, not just on the phrases but also to the essence of the challenges in Drag Race. I would arguably say that viewers of Drag Race should also watch Pose because it gives them better understanding of drag culture.
All in all, Pose exceeded my expectations on a series as it presented stories that are historically silenced in the media and reminded the viewers as to why we keep on dreaming of an a more accepting society.
