In February of this year Netflix released a reality television show that has begun to define our generation. A reboot of the original series from 2003, "Queer Eye" has become an inspiring, educational and heartwarming program for all who watch it.
The show embraces five notorious stereotypes about gay men and uses them to bring great change in the world. With each of these five stereotypes — knowledge of food and wine, fashion, culture, interior design and grooming — comes five gay men, known as the Fab Five, who have been deemed experts in these fields.
They find people who are in need of comprehensive makeovers and do everything they can to help them. From overhauling their wardrobe and remodeling their homes to teaching them how to dance and helping with a marriage proposal, the Fab Five take hard-working, honest people and give them much-deserved help.
Discussing this show with others always sparks relatively heated debates. But they're not about the morale of the show or the quality of the content — we all seem to agree on that much — but rather about which Fab Five member is the greatest.
To get an insight on fan favorites, I shared a poll on social media, asking my followers whom they believed should be number one. Ultimately, Jonathan Van Ness, the grooming expert, received the most votes.
I must preface that it has been incredibly difficult to name any member as greater than another. I think I finally understand what my mom meant when she said she couldn’t say which of her children she loved more. However, this show is too important not to analyze it deeper. I have considered importance to the show and makeovers themselves, fan favorites and, of course, looks.
5. Karamo Brown, culture expert
Don’t get me wrong, Brown completes the Fab Five. He teaches these people the importance of accepting members of the LGBT community and helps them get through tough spots in their relationships.
With that being said, however, all members of the Fab Five do that to some extent. This isn’t to say the role of a culture expert isn’t important, but it is widely covered through the other members of the group. Each person relates differently with members of the Fab Five, and they talk to them on the show accordingly.
4. Tan France, fashion expert
France truly has the greatest sense of fashion; he has gotten it down to a science. He teaches viewers how to match clothes to their skin tone, body type and even personality, a skill that most people simply don’t have.
He shows people how to find a perfect balance between comfort and professionalism in an outfit, while dressing correctly for different occasions.
With that being said, all members of the Fab Five dress well. Undoubtedly, France has the greatest knowledge on the subject, but other members could certainly pick out a decent wardrobe for the people on the show.
3. Bobby Berk, interior design expert
Berk easily makes the most noticeable difference in these people’s lives. He completely remodels their homes or community spaces, while teaching them what goes into that whole process. The changes in these spaces are always the greatest on the show, which means Berk does the most work for the show.
Often times people have a difficult time relating to him, but that is because he usually has the least face time on the show, because he is busy overhauling someone’s house. The revealing of the new space is always one of the most exciting moments of the show.
Bobby, however, received the second-least amount of votes on my poll, and based on many discussions I've had, is just not a fan favorite to most people. Although that breaks my heart because I love the work he does, audience opinions do matter in determining the greatness of each member.
2. Antoni Porowski, food and wine expert
Porowski has been the most controversial topic of debate when discussing the members of the Fab Five. Reasonably, I must consider looks in deciding the importance of each member, and Porowski is incontestably the hottest man in the group.
The trilingual, Canadian-born actor, sommelier and working-author with a psychology degree has earned the number one spot in my heart, but if I am trying to be honest and fair, and present the facts as objectively as I can, he has landed number two on my list.
He receives some backlash on the types of food that he teaches these people to make. Considering he is such a food expert, people wonder why he is only covering the basics of grilled cheeses, French omelettes, fancy hot dogs and how to cut an avocado. But they are missing the point.
Recognizing the target audience is vital. The show has found certain people to give this comprehensive makeover because, in part, they don’t know their way around the kitchen. Porowski’s goal is to understand what types of food they like, get them comfortable in the kitchen and teach them the basics, while also promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Furthermore, Porowski takes on some of the other roles in the show. His sense of fashion is through the roof and he often relates to people well, allowing him to have meaningful conversations with them.
But most importantly, Porowski is one of people’s absolute favorites, and what I have noticed is that those who chose Porowski as their number one Fab Five member are incredibly firm on that choice. His fans are loyal and in constant awe of him — I speak from personal experience. People often watch "Queer Eye" to watch Antoni Porowski.
1. Jonathan Van Ness, grooming expert
The queen himself, Jonathan Van Ness earned his spot as number one for numerous reasons. He is an absolute fan favorite, he is fierce, he is confident and, most of all, he is useful.
He doesn’t just give these people a quick haircut, but rather he teaches them and viewers about the importance of hair and skin care while also teaching how to go through with it. He stands by the principle that even if you only have a few minutes to get ready in the morning, you can still take care of yourself.
He has taught audiences how to care for themselves on such a deeper level than simply grooming. He takes that idea and applies it to lifestyles in the most broad and general sense.
Furthermore, he shows that a fluid identity is perfectly acceptable. He often wears women’s clothes and encourages doing things only to make oneself comfortable and happy, not to work for others. He is a role model for all of us and certainly deserves to be named number one.
