Another week, another pro-grooming Hollywood production. This time it’s Netflix’s new dramedy Survival of the Thickest, which featured a kid who travels to New York to see his favorite drag queen perform in an adult drag bar as the main characters get him in with the promise he won’t drink.
This leads to him becoming friends with the drag queens who help him throw an alternative prom for him at the bar because he’s angry that his girlfriend’s high school has a “bullsh*t gender dress code.”
Decider called the "queer prom" a "middle finger to homophobes."
The show stars Michelle Buteau as Mavis, a newly single fashion stylist trying to put her life back together after a serious breakup. During an appearance on The View to promote her show, Buteau bragged that the show promotes the LGBTQ movement, and the women decided to take jabs at Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis because Buteau attended school in his state:
Michelle: It is queer, it is fat, it is black, it is brown, it is interracial. It's funny, it is differently able and hilarious because it’s me but it's all the things I ever want to see in a TV show. It's a love letter to the fatty-batties and ody bodies that never saw themselves growing up, a great education for parents who might have a nonbinary child or trans child and trying to figure out how to have a conversation. It is also a love letter for women, women in their 40s and 50s trying to figure out am I still going to be with this person? Am I still going to be this this job? Will I ever take this trip? The answer is, do what you got to do to make yourself feel good.
Sunny: Yes. If you love it, I love it for you.
Ana: You made reference, you have a ton of diversity in the cast. And on the show.
Michelle: Yes.
Ana: You have a lot of particularly LGBTQ trans diversity.
Michelle: Yes.
Ana: I appreciate that so much because that community is under attack and everything we can do to stand with them we all have to do, and you feature trans and drag performers like Peppermint.
Michelle: Yes.
Ana: Very well known on the show. Why was it important to you and another question, you went to school in Florida.
Michelle: I did.
Ana: You got any message for governor?
Michelle: What's her name?
Ana: Ron DeSantis.
Michelle: You know, when Netflix says, hey, Michelle, let's make your book a series, eight episodes you get in all 190 countries we're featured in, it's a huge platform and so I know I could be funny as the day is long but it's like what is my message? What am I going to say? Who are my people? Who do I want to uplift? When I'm gone, you know, who is the show going to be for and who needs it and so I mean obviously it's us, right? It's all of us. You know, it's the queer community. It's the fact -- it's all of that, but I really have no words for DeSantis. You know, because I don't need to talk to him. I just need to show the other people what it means to get another season, another season, another season, because it starts with the arts.
The grooming scenes don’t begin until episode 7, “Let it Out, B*tch!” when Mavis and her friends go to their favorite drag bar CC Bloom’s where Mavis styles the drag queens. They find a non-binary high school kid named Billy (Misha Osherovich) trying to get in who says “they” paid $32 in tolls just to see drag queen Peppermint (played by real-life drag queen Peppermint) perform. Mavis appeals to the door person Egypt (Rovan Sena) to let Billy in, and Egypt agrees:
Egypt: Sorry, sweetie. Come back when you're old enough to rent a car.
Billy: Okay, but I paid $32 in tolls to get here from Jersey to see Peppermint perform.
Mavis: Egypt, coming from Jersey to Brooklyn? That's like a long-distance relationship. Okay? Come on. Let... What's your name?
Billy: Billy.
Mavis: Let Billy in. I'm not drinking tonight, so...
Khalil: Your credit card's declined again?
Marley: Got court in the morning?
Mavis: Okay. I am not drinking, so I'll make sure Billy don't drink, all right? Thanks.
In episode 8, “For a Bigger Purpose, B*tch!” Billy is somehow still at the bar hanging out with Peppermint long after Mavis goes home. So much for Mavis’s promise. Peppermint summons Mavis back to the bar, because she needs her help getting Billy around a “bullsh*t gender dress code” that “their” girlfriend’s school has for her prom:
Mavis: So damn sassy.
Billy: Okay, so it's this stupid winter ball prom that I don't even wanna go to because they have this bullshit gender dress code, but my girlfriend wants to go.
Peppermint: So, Mavis, we were kinda hoping that you would style Billy into something so fantabulous that we can get around this ridiculous dress code and also allow them to feel like the royalty that they are.
Mavis: Billy, I was meant to do this. My prom was so whack. There weren't plus sizes back then, so I had to go to the adult section and find the biggest black dress that could fit me. I looked like a Greek widow. Everyone kept saying "thoughts and prayers" when I was taking pictures. It was not okay.
Peppermint: That is so tragic.
Mavis: It's very tragic. God, why does prom make so many of us feel like we're outsiders? It's supposed to be a celebration of life. You know what? We should just have our own prom, maybe even here. I will style your friends in the designer looks of their dreams. No restrictions.
Billy: Is she serious?
Mavis: Very.
Peppermint: Yes, she is very serious, and honey, when she gets on a roll, you kinda just gotta let her go. But I have to admit, I am really beginning to love the idea of doing alternative prom.
Mavis: Yes! It would be epic, b*tch! Woo!
As Mavis creates outfits for the alternative prom, she proclaims to her friends that she wants to make the kids feel like they’re beautiful just the way they are. But that's the exact opposite of what's being done to those with gender dysphoria - encouraging them to pretend to be someone they're not rather than helping them to love themselves for who they really are.
Marley: Is this about you feeling lost in your career?
Mavis: No, no. Marley. It's not that. I've never been so sure about my career in my life. I mean, look at all of this. I am styling kids for an alternative prom that we're gonna throw at CC Bloom's. I just don't wanna style celebrity clients. I wanna be the person that I never had when I was younger. I wanna take fashion and show those people that feel like they're on the outside that they're beautiful just as they are. And that it's the world that needs to catch up to them.
Khalil: That's dope, Mave.
Mavis: Thank you.
In the end, Mavis and her friends go with a “Loud and Proud in the Clouds” prom theme where the adults, including drag queens, dance with the kids:
Mavis: Loud and Proud in the Clouds. I love it. Please don't pop those balloons.
Marley: Oh, Mavis! It's amazing in here.
Mavis: It is.
Marley: I am so proud of you. Thank you. For everything.
Mavis: Don't make me cry, b*tch. Ooh, uh, cotton candy on the bar, please. It's gonna look like clouds. Oh, Khalil. That's high enough. Everyone's gonna be wearing heels. I don't want them hitting their heads.
Khalil: It's perfect.
Mavis: It looks amazing. Thank you.
Khalil: Got something for you.
Mavis: Okay.
Khalil: Okay?
Mavis: Well... Okay, these are the flyest shoes there ever were.
Khalil: I mean, it's easy to do fly sh*t for fly people.
Peppermint: Mavis! Oh, girl, tonight is the night!
Mavis: It is.
Peppermint: What do you think, b*tch? Is prom open?
Mavis: Absof*ckinglutely! DJ, hit it!
("Children" by Billy Porter plays)
I mean, they're not even trying to hide that they're coming for our children anymore. To play a song titled, "Children," is just another middle finger to those concerned for the wellbeing and safety of children and those who want to protect their innocence.
Decider reported, "While breaking down the scene, Buteau tells us that she felt 'pressure' to do the storyline justice, given the constant attacks against the drag queen community which sees conservatives posing them as a threat to children and families."
How do they not see the hypocrisy in their own argument? Allowing an underage minor into an adult bar, and a drag one at that, is not only illegal, it's also unethical. And, it's proof that conservatives should see these groomers as a threat.
Decider also reported, "The comedian stated that the entire crew dressed up in 'weird prom stuff,' and even the straight male staffers donned skirts and wigs, and dresses, creating an inclusive environment. 'Everybody just let their freak flag fly,' Buteau laughed."
Thankfully there wasn’t any nudity, twerking, or any other sexual moves at the prom that are so rampant in gay pride parades and drag queen shows that kids are being exposed to now. But it’s still grooming and Hollywood propaganda, so it needs to be called out, because there's nothing innocent about this agenda, especially when these more tame situations on screen are used to justify and lead to the shameful and disgusting ones in real life.
When will Hollywood get the message? Leave the children alone!
