RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Peppermint and comedian Michelle Buteau have spoken about why maintaining hope and finding joy is “critical” as Donald Trump’s administration continues to target LGBTQ+ rights.
In an impressive and increasingly rare feat, Michelle Buteau’s comedy-drama Survival of the Thickest is back for a second season on Netflix. While Buteau wrote the season long before Donald Trump returned to the White House and took aim at the LGBTQ+ community, its focus on queer joy feels even more pertinent now.
“I mean, I didn’t even know that America and this current administration would be so egregious. I feel like every generation has had to go through something, and so I was really going off of how I grew up,” Buteau tells PinkNews of the decision to make Survival of the Thickest a story of empowerment rather than trauma.
Since January, Trump has taken strides to ban trans people from serving in the military, prevent trans women from playing competitive sports in categories that align with their gender identity, and restrict gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth.
Buteau’s comedy, based on her book of essays of the same name, follows the actress as Mavis Beaumont, a stylist trying to rebuild her life after finding her partner in bed with another woman. Season one saw her trying to get her life back on track, with the help of her best friends.
Along the way, the story sees Mavis attempt to open the fashion world up for Black, plus-sized and queer people, and begin to dabble in New York’s precarious dating scene. Drag Race finalist Peppermint plays Mavis’s friend and a version of herself in the show; she’s also the owner of drag restaurant, CC Blooms.
While Mavis does struggle, overall, Survival of the Thickest is a love letter to community, chosen family, and self-acceptance. For both Peppermint and Buteau, that’s the most important message to send right now.
“I do think that joy is really critical when trying to be hopeful,” Peppermint says of the state of the world under Trump 2.0. “And personally, if I’m trying to be hopeful about something, joy is always a part of the equation.
“Right now I think people need a lot to be hopeful about. There’s just so much going on in the world and so joy and being able to live in that is what recharges us so that we can go out and have tough conversations, and we can fight for our rights, and we can withstand and just try to survive.”
Survival of the Thickest, Peppermint says, “does a great job of showing trans joy” – particularly with representation of the community still being fairly minimal on TV and in film.
“I know that according to recent statistics that there are fewer LGBTQ characters and storylines on film and television and in media in general today than there were even a few years ago,” Peppermint explains. “And that lines up with how we are being treated, especially considering that most people learn how to treat trans folks from what they see on TV.”
The drag star is “really grateful” to be a visible, Black trans woman in a fairly major Netflix show. “I’m here for it,” she rounds off. “I have my popcorn because I want to watch it, and I’m also grateful that I get to participate in it.”
For Buteau, there’s power and also positivity in making a queer show like Survival of the Thickest, as it highlights how creative, funny and versatile the community is.
“I think posting [on social media] and showing up to protests and donating is great, but if you’re creative, put it in a show,” she says.
“Use your voice for good and make it fun and funny so we can also sneak in the vegetables and be like, ‘Look, we’re amazing, OK? Why do you want to take away our rights? Why do you think we don’t have the right to exist? This is really fun and you’re making it hard. Life is hard already. When it’s good, it’s still hard. Make it better. Come on over to the other side.’”
In addition to a rainbow of people in front of the camera, Buteau wanted to make sure that Survival of the Thickest was vibrant and diverse behind the camera, too. All the directors were Black women, while an abundance of queer people worked on the show.
“I fully don’t understand these the DEI rollbacks of it all,” she says of Trump’s attempt to strip diversity initiatives out of federal agencies. “But I’m here to say, if you are other, come on over and let’s see how we can play together – because it’s just so much better.”
Survival of the Thickest season two is streaming now on Netflix.
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