The Aesthetic Power of the Fab 5

In a period of more complex and numerous portrayals of homosexual characters in prime-time television, scholars have expressed concern about ostensibly enlightened portrayals that ultimately reinforce culturally dominant themes of heteronormativity. This study is a critical investigation of the reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy as a site of queer discourse that both challenges and reassures dominant perceptions of homosexuality. Despite the assertion of homonormative themes, this study finds that the program, on balance, reinforces heteronormative themes and dominant heterosexual power roles. Using Bourdieu's concept of the habitus, this study concludes that the apolitical power granted to the Fab 5 is of an aesthetic nature, permitting them to induce primarily cosmetic change justified by consumer rhetoric.