Jonathan van Ness says queer visibility not ‘the answer’: ‘If it was, we wouldn’t have Trump’
Jonathan Van Ness said American needs to ‘get it the f**k together.’ (Getty)
Jonathan Van Ness said American needs to 'get it the f**k together.' (Getty)
Queer Eye star Jonathan van Ness believes queer visibility is no longer the answer in the fight against bigotry.
Van Ness said Donald Trump’s presidency was a perfect example of how queer visibility isn’t enough. “I think it’s very clear that queer visibility isn’t the answer because if it was the answer, we wouldn’t have Donald Trump in the presidency.”
Speaking on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast, on Wednesday (2 April), Van Ness said that queer representation wasn’t the only measure of equality, and that the community needs to look beyond visibility in the battle against homophobia and transphobia.
“So often I have heard people use Queer Eyes or other queer representation as a barometer for the health of queer people or our community at large,” they said. “We clearly can see that this isn’t the case.”
The star continued: “I think it’s very clear that queer visibility isn’t the answer because if it was the answer, we wouldn’t have Donald Trump in the presidency.”
Since returning to the Oval Office, Trump has used executive orders in an effort to strip back the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly those of transgender and non-binary people.
A ban on trans men and women in the military, making it government policy that there are “only two sexes,” and a campaign to end equality initiatives are just a few of the orders Trump has signed.
Van Ness feels less safe these days
Van Ness said they have felt “a hundred per cent” less safe following Trump’s inauguration. “It’s just violence, period. It’s weird but I still do love America. I just wish we could get it the f**k together.”
Having lived in Texas for several years, the star is starting to feel “really concerned” in a state that has proposed dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills since the beginning of the year. “I went there for Queer Eyes in season six (2021), and my husband and I decided to stay but it’s gotten worse even just in the [past] four years,” they said.
“I don’t wear my heels to dinner there, it has totally gotten worse. I’m literally thinking about where the exits are. I can’t run as fast if I’m in a heel.”
Given the chance, Van Ness would give Trump the “full drag experience,” which they hoped would make them “not be so scared of us, maybe give him a full yassified diva lace front”.
They went on to say: “He does already kind of do his own version of drag but let’s give him a really thick, nice wig, and some contour and maybe he’ll not be so afraid of gender-fluid and gender-queer people.”
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