In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Sunday (or when I’m feeling spicy) I’ll be posting interviews, opinion pieces, listicles, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community from a Latina perspective. Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
P.S. I, Lyra Hale, do not give any site permission to copy or repost my work in any form. If you are reading this on any site besides Fangirlish, it has been stolen.
I have never strayed from my love or dedication for my Fast Family. From Dom to Letty, Mia, Brian, Rom, Tej, and Han, these have been my people. My family. But then Jason Momoa came around in Fast X. With his scrunches, nail polish, and delighted giggle at chaos, he unlocked something within me. Something ancient. Something many of us experience. And something I thought I was over and that I as a queer person was actually a lesbian. After all, no dude has made me tilt my head in appreciation and go, “Oh yeah. I would like to hold hands with him.” Momoa as Dante proved that I am not a lesbian. I am bisexual. And am having a bisexual panic over Dante who himself is a bisexual disaster.
Admittedly, a part of this panic at the bisexual disaster that is Dante comes from the way he looks. Momoa himself has never had a problem wearing all sorts of colors. Yeah, black suits are “classic.” But they’re boring. So Momoa throws some purple, green, lavender, and a lot of pinks. And he embraces it. You can see Momoa’s influence all over Dante. He wore silky shirts, linen trousers that had flow to them, funky prints, and scrunchies in his hair. And he had his nails painted. It was a look that screamed that he wasn’t going to sit here and conform to anyone, including gender norms. Dante wants it, Dante wears it. And sure, a part of Dante wearing pastels and driving a lavender car was for Momoa to annoy his mom cuz she hates that color and he loves it. But the point still stands and every look is a moment. A statement.
Then there’s the way that Dante acts.
Dear Lord, I swear I would never be tempted and I never understood Harley’s obsession with the Joker, but I get it now. I see it in the way that Dante skips away and giggles at the absolute carnage that he has planned for our family. Oh and don’t forget when he was about to race and he did a little bow and said, “Enchanté” to Dom. And then there’s the part where he’s joking with his new cronies about how they’re going to hell for suggesting he blow up the Vatican. Dante is unhinged but so free in expressing who he is and what he wants from life without limitations. And that is attractive on so many fronts to the point where you’re like, “Well…is Dante wrong? Like…I could see myself going back for him.” BUT WE MUST STAND STRONG AND NOT BE LED DOWN THE PASS OF TEMPTATION.
But if you are, that’s ok. You do you. Because Momoa’s Dante has thrown me into a panic myself that I’m having trouble getting out of. This is the kind of character I need to see more of. This impulsive mess that is full of such a chaotic energy that you can’t help but watch and delight in his destruction. Because he’s doing something about those who hurt him and his family. He is keeping his promise and making them suffer. And his go-to attitude is infectious. Because if he can go and cause so much chaos and destruction, maybe I can do the same thing on a smaller scale. Things like not care that everyone doesn’t like me, that I might look like a fool to some for being older and still loving Legos, or that I’m a hot mess but I’m still trying to figure things out.
So no, I can not and will not support Dante trying to destroy our family in Fast X. But I can appreciate his zest for life and how he indulges in color while doing whatever the fuck he wants. Plus he makes me feel good about being a bisexual disaster. And that’s the kind of thing that sticks with you long after the screen goes black.
What did you think about Dante in Fast X? Let us know in the comments below!
Queerly Not Straight posts every Sunday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
