By now you must have binge watched the new season of Queer Eye on Netflix—heck, you probably event went back to watch it twice…or three times! There’s no denying the new generation of the Fab Five does an excellent job at tugging at the heartstrings as they make over the lives of those who they touch on the show.
On the third season, the Fab Five met 23-year-old Jess Guilbeaux a black lesbian woman who had originally described herself as a “lumberjack lesbian”. Guilbeaux retells the story of how she has emancipated herself after her family essentially shut her out after coming out at the age of 16. Since then she has been financially independent of herself and has found a chosen family who is a great support system in Lawrence, Kansas.
Guilbeaux began as a computer science major at the University of Kansas, but due to financial hardships, she had to drop out.
the black girl magic episode of Queer Eye is powerful for so many reasons, but this particular scene, where Jess talks about her journey from giving up on unconditional love to loving and embracing who she is, is truly beautiful pic.twitter.com/aglXAKTKBq
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 21, 2019
Needless to say, the Fab Five came in and turned this young woman’s life around, giving her a head to toe makeover, redoing her home, and breathing a ton of new confidence into her.
Guilbeaux spoke with E! about her Black Woman Magic:
I just want people to hear this side of the story. I think the perspective of a queer black woman is not heard very much, especially ones that have been through a lot of things and didn’t grow up with all the privileges most people have to this day. I just want that story and that narrative to be told and heard and I wanted people who were struggling or going through things in any regard, but also specifically who are queer or black or women, to feel that they have someone out there who is rooting for them.
But after the episode aired, Guilbeaux’s was still touching the hearts of many. The LGBTQ+ community knows first-hand what it is like to have to seek out alternative forms of ‘family’ and Guilbeaux’s episode reminds us of that. So much is the impact that a random viewer took it upon herself to start a GoFundMe campaign to help Guilbeaux get back on her feet and back into college.
The campaign, now in its sixth day, has amassed over $54,000 and growing!
this is so sweet. i have no words. i’m dehydrated at this point😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/bpKHVQjJNp
— jess 🌈 (@jesslayica) March 17, 2019
During the episode, Guilbeaux mentioned to fashion guru Tan France that Janelle Monáe was her fashion inspiration. By the end of the episode, Tan had turned Guilbeaux into a stylish and polished, Janelle Monáe-esque, confident woman.
And if the GoFundMe account wasn’t enough, Jess Guilbeaux got a nice surprise from her idol that is priceless:
i just woke up to this 😭😭😭😭😭😭janelle, you inspire me and i look up to you in so many different ways. your light has taken me out of the dark on so many tough days. this means so much to me..i’ll be crying for the rest of today https://t.co/YZSu2GhiF4
— jess 🌈 (@jesslayica) March 18, 2019
If you still haven’t seen the 3rd season of Queer Eye—maybe now you’ll have some more motivation!
