In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Sunday 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.
The only reason why I continued watching Netflix’s Glamorous wasn’t because of Marco or his love triangle with Ben and Parker. And it’s sadly not because of Kim Cattrall because I never grew up watching Sex and the City. The true reason why I continued to watch this ridiculous yet charming show is because of Zane Phillips’s himbo character Chad.
And it’s not like I’m proud of myself. At least in the beginning.
Chad was a hot mess. Both literally and figuratively. He was rude to Marco when they first arrived at Glamorous Cosmetics, the luxury makeup brand that brings this cast together. He didn’t understand Marco’s gender expression and how it was a positive while also taking off his shirt and expressing himself in a similar fashion. He saw Marco as a threat to the company, to his relationship with his mother, and to the cookie-cutter version of what he thought a member of the LGBTQ+ community should be or look like. Which is something that unfortunately happens within our community sometimes.
Keeping all of this in mind, I was surprised when I started to see a shift in Chad. This was especially true after Marco didn’t throw Chad under the bus when Madolyn asked how her son did during her time away. Marco chose empathy over rivalry and it acted as a bonding moment that took the wind out of Chad’s sails and made him look past his own biases and see the person in front of him. More wind was taken out of his sails when Chad met Marco’s mom. And because of that, we understood Chad a little more. He may be a himbo. But he’s a himbo who wants to make his mother proud and he’s desperately trying to be “a good son” that is picture perfect.
My POV of Chad shifted so much after that that I thought I was seeing possible signs of him and Marco moving into the rivals-to-lovers territory. But Marco was so embroiled in drama with Ben and Parker that they didn’t have even a second to worry about Chad. But I kept hope up because I’m a romantic at heart. And unfortunately, I missed the mark. Because in many ways Chad had moved on from Marco and just wanted to be useful or a member of the team in any way that he could. For example, being everyone’s hype person when they were on a designing time crunch. Bestie finally understood that only together could they achieve greatness, while also thinking, “Maybe supporting my team will get the mom validation I want.”
Then there was the Fire Island episode.
Besides proving that Marco is a messy Carrie Bradshaw but for 2023. Besides the actual Carrie Bradshaw returning in And Just Like That. This episode proved that Chad has range and has shifted his perspective on what a queer person can look like, be, and act like. So much so that when rain prevented them from going to this big party, he ended up putting on drag with no problem and making me question once again where I fall on the Kinsey Scale. Because that performance was hot and reinforced I love the combination of feminity and muscles.
Ultimately, Chad taking a step back from Glamorous Cosmetics was the right move for this himbo. For too long he’s been working in the shadow of his mother or just acting in a manner that is expected of him; as a man, as a gay man, or as a son. And it’s about time that he shed all those expectations and just become the best himbo version of himself that doesn’t need outside validation to be comfortable in his own skin. Now he’s setting off on a new adventure in the same way that Marco did at the beginning of Glamorous. And if this show gets a second season, hopefully, we get to see a more self-assured himbo return to Glamorous Cosmetics after setting down on a path of his choosing.
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.
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.)
