Dear Gay People

Dear White People is a comedy-drama that focuses on issues surrounding modern race relations through the eyes of black college students. While I can go on for days about how amazing the show is at depicting the reality behind today's "post-racial" society, I'd rather tell you to watch it yourself, because it's really an experience you're going to want first-hand. But with that being said, I wanna talk about one of my favorite characters in the show, Lionel.

credit to Dear White People Netflix 

Lionel's arc begins in Chapter II, where we see him navigating his life as a socially awkward outcast. We see him enter a barbershop with only white barbers, who look at his afro with surprise and confusion. We then see him enter a black barbershop, where he tries to fit in, but gets rejected because of his scrawny, nerdy appearance. This really highlights Lionel's arc, as told by Lionel himself, in his article on the cover page of the school's newspaper - "while endless depictions of white men in particular exist, there aren't that many versions of us in the culture. Culture has a powerful way of telling people what they can and can't be. For people of color, the options are rather limited." This is further contextualized with the information that Lionel is attracted to men, and I don't say gay, because:

credit to https://tenor.com/view/dear-white-people-dear-white-people-gifs-de-ron-horton-lionel-higgins-labels-gif-8468698

When Lionel goes to a party on Pride Night, he's introduced to the "literary gays." His straight roommate, Troy, says: "So these are your people, huh?" to which Lionel responds: "They're gay, they're writers.. Maybe." Despite it being a party full of gay people, Lionel has difficulty feeling apart of any group. 

The intersection of Lionel's sexuality and race becomes more apparent when he's actively denied by other gay people because they're "not into black guys" or "only date white guys". This is justified as "having a type" although it's obvious racism. 

When they go to another party, Lionel tries out another group - the woke gays. While he enjoys their company, Lionel isn't into pop music or any of the in things they are, so he just feels awkward. 

credit to https://dearyoufromwe.blogspot.com/2018/05/on-dear-white-people-season-2.html

When he goes to the last party, however, he finds someone like him, also sitting alone at a table. They bond over the fact that they've both been racially objectified, and when Lionel leaves, he's reached on social media by the guy from before.

credit to dearwhitepeopledaily

They continue talking, and Lionel likes him a lot. They share a lot of interests! They're both nerdy, and awkward, and they don't adhere to one sort of "group." They start dating, and Lionel's confidence grows. We see Lionel grow into his own, not as a literary gay, or a woke gay, not even a nerdy gay, because the whole point of his arc is that these labels can be more constricting than comforting. Lionel doesn't put himself into a box, and it makes it easier for him to become closer with others.

Sometimes, as cliche as it is, you just need to be yourself.

Good-bi for now,

Nelly