25 reasons Queer as Folk is essential LGBTQIA+ viewing today

Embracing the hate

Between the fear of getting beaten to a pulp and being blown to bits, you might be wondering, “Gosh, how do queer people possibly get anything done?” Well, as Queer as Folk demonstrates, many LGBTQIA+ people learn to embrace the hate.

Justin is pretty brazen for a boy his age, and quickly learns to fight back when the bullies bother him. Brian is also shameless about his sexuality and isn’t afraid of anyone calling him a gay slur. He is confident and he wouldn’t let anything get in his way. The perfect example of this happens right in the first episode.

After Brian and Justin’s first night together, Michael comes to pick up Brian after borrowing his Jeep. Much to Michael’s surprise, some neighborhood kids spray painted a homophobic slur — you know exactly which one — in bright pink spray paint across the side of the car. When he picks up Brian and Justin, they find it funny, and Brian insists on driving his teen lover to school in it. He even later says he has no plans of repainting it because he liked it that way, especially with everyone staring at them driving down the street.

Homophobia, transphobia, and any other form of discrimination the LGBTQ community faces is terrible, but learning to embrace it and not let it bother you is a coping mechanism many learn early on. Plenty of shows, like Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, Glee, and others, have shown gay characters doing exactly that, but none on the same scale as Queer as Folk.