{"id":11477,"date":"2022-02-22T17:56:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T16:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1589622"},"modified":"2022-02-23T01:26:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T00:26:20","slug":"how-euphoria-season-2-plays-into-harmful-queer-tropes","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/how-euphoria-season-2-plays-into-harmful-queer-tropes\/","title":{"rendered":"How Euphoria season 2 plays into harmful queer tropes"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Molly Moss\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 22 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Euphoria\u2019s first season was hailed for its nuanced, queer characters and its representation of the LGBTQ+ experience. From the lack of importance on labels when it came to the relationship between Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer), and Jules\u2019 beautiful queer metamorphosis story, to the danger of queer repression through Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cal (Eric Dane), the season offered complex portrayals of queerness \u2013 and quickly became one of most ground-breaking LGBTQ+ shows out there.<\/p>\n

But in season 2<\/a>, which has been widely criticised for falling into style over substance, Euphoria\u2019s representation of its queer characters is becoming increasingly murky. Despite Jules\u2019 transitioning backstory in season 1, in which she tells her therapist that she thinks her need to be seen as \u2018feminine\u2019 has been a result of the male gaze and that she actually prefers women over men, season 2 proceeds to define both her and Rue by a new male character \u2013 Elliot (Dominic Fike), who manages to seduce Jules and kiss Rue during a dare.<\/p>\n

Of course, queer identities are allowed to fluctuate and change, but revolving two female queer characters in a relationship around a cisgender man felt like, at its least-worst, a clumsy dismissal of Rue and Jules\u2019 relationship and, at worst, an embodiment of a harmful trope.<\/p>\n

From Chasing Amy, which follows a guy who falls in love with a lesbian, and\u00a0The Kids Are All Right, to Nikki Boston\u2019s storyline in Waterloo Road \u2013 which saw her sleep with a man despite identifying as a lesbian \u2013 the trope of a queer female character getting involved with a straight guy and rethinking their sexuality as a result appears over and over in pop culture. Emerging from a mixture of homophobia and misogyny, it reinforces the idea that queer women are a challenge and conquest for men to \u2018turn straight\u2019.<\/p>\n

\""Hunter\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Hunter Schafer as Jules in Euphoria<\/span><\/figcaption> Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Euphoria also steps into problematic territory with its depictions of Cal and Nate Jacobs, who are examples of what is commonly known as the\u00a0\u201chomophobic homosexual\u201d trope\u00a0\u2013 where a closeted character is so afraid of their queerness that they reinforce their masculinity through homophobia and bullying. Though Nate is not explicitly queer, like Cal is, it\u2019s made clear that he has inherited his father\u2019s homophobic and toxic attitudes.<\/p>\n

This was brought to the fore recently in\u00a0season 2, episode 7<\/a> in the form of Lexi\u2019s school play which, based on her life experiences, dedicated a large amount of time to showing on-screen Nate (played by Ethan) lip syncing to Bonnie Tyler\u2019s Holding Out for a Hero while gyrating with his semi-clad sports team. While it was bizarre, there\u2019s no doubt that it was designed to mock Nate, who Lexi has reason to believe is gay after Maddy revealed she\u2019d found gay porn on his phone in a previous episode.<\/p>\n

Euphoria isn\u2019t the first teen drama to use the \u201chomophobic homosexual\u201d trope. From Sex Education\u2019s Adam Groff and Glee\u2019s Dave Karofsky, to The Perks of Being a Wallflower\u2019s Patrick and Brad, TV show creators often write their villains as closeted gay characters: it\u2019s an easy shock reveal, and also adds complexity to the character.<\/p>\n

But the trope is problematic: it depicts queerness as something negative that, when exposed, finally gives the villains their comeuppance. This is the case in Euphoria, with Lexi\u2019s play unfolding like a takedown of Nate who, humiliated, ends up storming out. \u201cThat was so homophobic,\u201d he then says to Cassie and, for once, he was right.<\/p>\n

\""Eric\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Eric Dane as Cal Jacobs in Euphoria<\/span><\/figcaption> Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The other problem is that, by shifting the blame onto the queer community, it doesn\u2019t address the contributors \u2013 prejudices, ignorance and just plain cruelty \u2013 that make homophobia the issue it is today. Would it not have been more interesting if Euphoria had chosen to explore the reasons behind straight male toxic masculinity through Nate and Cal rather than making it about being (or worrying about being) gay?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Euphoria\u2019s portrayal of Cal also feeds into the homophobic rhetoric that gay men are by nature predatory. From the get-go in Euphoria, Cal is depicted as a violent and sexual monster who records his encounters with young boys and transgender women (one of whom turns out to be 17-year-old Jules) without their consent. On top of this, Nate\u2019s dream in season 2, episode 7 hints at the possibility that Cal molested him as a child. While it\u2019s not clear whether the dream sequence has any grounding in reality, it\u2019s still a disturbing scene that peddles the dangerous myth that queer people are sexually depraved (and more likely to be paedophiles).<\/p>\n

While queer characters can, of course, be flawed, as all characters arguably are in Euphoria, LGBTQ+ storylines require the sensitivity and variety we saw in Euphoria\u2019s first season (though perhaps we have Schafer\u2019s involvement in Jules\u2019 episode to thank for that, rather than the show\u2019s straight and cisgender male creator Sam Levinson) to avoid feeding into the dangerous stereotypes surrounding the queer community and portray LGBTQ+ issues with the respect they deserve.<\/p>\n