Pose is my go-to TV recommendation whenever anyone asks me for one, so I thought I’d publicly broadcast my love for it this Black History Month. The show is set in 1980s (and early ’90s in season two), and showcases the Black and Latinx LGBT ballroom scene, which was the forerunner of drag culture as we know it today.
The first season focuses on a Black transgender woman’s endeavour to found her own house (a ‘family’ which provides shelter for displaced LGBT people and competes together at balls). We meet Blanca when she has just been diagnosed with HIV, which is one of the many issues that the LGBT community face which the show portrays with depth and nuance. HIV was a huge threat to the LGBT community in the eighties due to the lack of effective medicine and its contribution to the stigmatisation of LGBT people. The show depicts the emotional and physical strain the virus puts on certain characters in a way that seems suitably empathetic as opposed to voyeuristic. While sufficient weight is given to the tragedy of AIDS, the inspirational solidarity of the characters is centred, most notably when they organise a fundraiser cabaret. The show also brings the struggles of trans women, specifically Black trans women, to light. The concept of ‘passing’ (as a cisgender woman) is explored by showing how it effects each of the main trans woman characters. Angel passes reasonably well, allowing her to pursue a modelling career, but is in very real danger of being found out by transphobic employees. On the other end of the spectrum, Candy is ridiculed by members of her own community for her masculine figure, and resorts to getting cheap silicone implants to help her pass better, which results in health complications. Blanca comments on being too scared to stay very long in women’s clothing shops for fear of being ‘clocked’, so always buys clothes that don’t fit her. She also takes it upon herself to campaign against the racial prejudice of the white LGBT community. The fetishisation of Black trans women is examined through the relationships that Angel and Electra have with white cisgender men. Angel is treated better than Elektra, whose lover berates her for undergoing gender confirmation surgery, but both end up dumped because their lovers are unwilling to bear the stigma of being associated with them. On the flip side, Blanca and Angel both get happy endings in their love lives, which is refreshing and good to see. It is also great to see trans women portrayed by trans women actors as opposed to cisgender men (as is common in TV and film), as this is true representation.
As well as being educational about the struggles of Black trans women, Pose also shows their joy. This is important, as Black trans women are often reduced to the heartbreaking statistic that their life expectancy is 35 due to lack of healthcare, poverty, and murder. It is vital that we understand the severity of their marginalisation, but also that we see them as people to be respected and celebrated. Blanca describes the balls as ‘a celebration of a life the world does not deem worthy of celebration.’ Indeed, while the main characters are ostracised by the straight white hegemony of eighties New York, they are in their element at the balls. Billy Porter plays Pray Tell, the MC of the New York balls, with fantastic drama and flair, and the rest of the cast do not disappoint. Pose shows ball culture for the art form that it is. The costuming and choreography are excellent, as are the performances of all the actors. Season two makes interesting commentary on the increase of mainstream acceptance of Black LGBT people as a result of Madonna’s popular song ‘Vogue’. As well as the fun and vividness of the balls, Pose shows a strong spirit of solidarity between all the characters. The ‘found family’ trope is always heartwarming, but is especially poignant here, as the characters help each other through the profound challenges of racism, homophobia, and transphobia with so much love and tenacity. Even Elektra, who is often an antagonist, is a core figure to the community, helping younger trans women as a mother figure in between scheming against them to win glory at the balls.
If you would like a fun, emotional, and thought-provoking watch (and are in Year Eleven or older), you can find both seasons of Pose on Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
