All 16 Queer Eye makeovers ranked (so yes, get the tissues)

QUEER EYE season 2 episode 1 production still. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

4. Mama Tammye, “God Bless Gay” (S2, E1)

The Queer Eye boys are headed to — wait for it — GAY, GEORGIA for their first female “hero”! It’s their first time doing a lady, or at least it is for some of them. (Get it?)

Tammye, or Mama as she tells the boys to call her, is a staple in her local community of Gay, Georgia, population: 68. She’s a teacher, she works with sick children, she’s an usher at her local church, and she’s a cancer survivor. She was nominated by her friend and neighbor, Gene, who says she takes better care of her community than herself. So it’s not surprising that Mama Tammye asks the Fab Five to makeover their struggling community center instead of her home.

As much as we’re obsessed with Mama Tammye, this episode of Queer Eye had a much more important storyline than her makeover, and that’s what really made her makeover important in the end. Tammye’s son recently came out as gay, and felt rejected by the church. Being as devoutly religious as she is, Tammye loves and supports her son no matter what, and she wants him to know their community does too.

Bobby opens up to Tammye about his religious upbringing. He knew from a young age he was gay, and he would pray to God to change it. He suffered a lot of hurt, and vowed to never step foot in a church again, and he stuck to that when the gang visited Tammye’s church. Tammye has a heart to heart with him to make sure he knows that God still loves him, and whether you’re religious or not, it’s bound to bring a tear to your eye.

Tammye’s physical transformation wasn’t too wild, Jonathan gives her a stylish new cut and decides to darken her hair to liven her up a little bit. But it’s not the physical transformation that matters. The community center turned out great, but that doesn’t matter either. It’s the message of acceptance that Tammye preaches to the boys, and the way they bring her and her son closer together after so many years of struggling with religion and homosexuality. That is love, and that is what so much of this show is about.

Tammye is a true hero, not just to her family, but to her community and everyone around her, and she is a ray of light. Just one question: can Tammye please be my mom?