--- description: FX's ball-culture drama was a groundbreaker and a tear-jerker. But its legacy goes far beyond the stories it told. title: How 'Pose' Changed the Culture, Onscreen and Off image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltecc6b02d2c38e77a/698a1a0f01168254ae980ad5/POSE_306_2211r.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Pose_ Was More Than Just a TV Show. It Changed the Culture, Onscreen and Off  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic Jun 3, 2021 12:00 PM CUT  L-R: Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson and Mj Rodriguez in 'Pose' L-R: Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson and Mj Rodriguez in 'Pose'Eric Liebowitz/FX  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic Jun 3, 2021 12:00 PM CUT Weddings may be a staple of TV series wrapping up their runs, but the medium had never seen one quite like the showstopper [FX’s _Pose_](https://time.com/5296664/ryan-murphy-pose/ "undefined") staged for Sunday’s penultimate episode. Exchanging vows was golden couple Angel—a sex worker turned model played by [Indya Moore](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567698/indya-moore/ "undefined")—and Lil Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel), who, in managing her career, found a calling of his own. Following the death of Papi’s ex, Angel suddenly had the life so many of her trans sisters dreamed of: not just the glamorous career, but also the adoring husband and a cute stepson to raise alongside him. The day wasn’t just about them, though; it was about the whole ballroom community. Thanks to the largesse of phone-sex mogul Elektra (Dominique Jackson) and her mobster business partners, every trans woman got to attend in the wedding gown of her dreams. Like all of the show’s greatest set pieces, it was a stunning fusion of high artifice and deeply felt emotion. I sobbed all the way through the ceremony, and the tears—happy, sad, just generally _verklempt_—kept flowing as I screened the two-hour finale that will air on June 6\. _Pose_ has never been pristine prestige television; co-creator [Ryan Murphy](https://time.com/5667752/ryan-murphy-netflix/ "undefined") is too fond of spectacle and of melodrama and of using characters to painstakingly articulate big ideas for that. Rushed, overstuffed and plagued by plot holes, this year’s third and final season was easily its weakest. Yet for all its cringey lines, this series about queer men and trans women of color forming chosen families within New York’s ’80s and ’90s [ball culture](https://time.com/5941822/ballroom-voguing-queer-black-culture-renaissance/ "undefined") never stopped hitting me hard in the heart. Besides, _Pose_’s legacy reaches far beyond the revolutionary story it’s been telling, to the very center of pop culture. It certainly wasn’t the first show to feature realistic, humane depictions of trans characters. Netflix’s [_Orange Is the New Black_](https://time.com/5631804/orange-is-the-new-black-season-7-legacy/#:~:text=They're%20also%20privileged%20white,first%20five%20seasons%20take%20place. "undefined") launched the career of [Laverne Cox](https://time.com/magazine/us/135460/june-9th-2014-vol-183-no-22-u-s/ "undefined") and exposed the plight of incarcerated trans people; Amazon’s [_Transparent_](https://time.com/3204275/transparent-a-breasted-development/ "undefined") took a broader approach to gender and sexuality, but one that was undermined by the choice to cast a cisgender man, who was later accused of abuse, as the trans heroine. The Wachowskis’ cult sci-fi hit [_Sense8_](https://time.com/3903793/review-sense8-netflix-wachowskis/ "undefined") introduced a major trans character (Nomi Marks) played by a trans performer (Jamie Clayton) and created by a pair of trans writer-directors. And reality TV churned out flattering profiles like [_I Am Jazz_](https://time.com/3957689/review-i-am-jazz-tlc-transgender/ "undefined") and [Caitlyn Jenner’s _I Am Cait_](https://time.com/3969498/i-am-cait-caitlyn-jenner/ "undefined"). In the second half of its 12-year run, [_RuPaul’s Drag Race_](https://time.com/5188791/rupauls-drag-race-history/ "undefined") has increasingly—and [often infuriatingly](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/6/17085244/rupaul-trans-women-drag-queens-interview-controversy "undefined")—addressed the complex relationship between drag and gender identity. The big screen was a mixed bag of groundbreaking indies (_Tangerine_, _Laurence Anyways_) and bland studio efforts, like [_Dallas Buyers Club_](https://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/12/dallas-buyers-club-mcconaughey-shines-as-a-homophobe-who-gets-aids/ "undefined") and [_The Danish Girl_](https://time.com/4119978/the-danish-girl-reflects-on-loves-power-to-transform/ "undefined"), that enlisted famous cis men to play trans women in what appeared to be shameless awards bait.  L-R: Janet Hubert as Latrice, Billy Porter as Pray Tell in 'Pose' Eric Liebowitz/FX _Pose_ expanded the palette immensely, placing several very different Black and Latinx trans characters—all played by trans actors—at the center of its story, and thereby obliterating the binary of “positive” vs. “negative” representation. If Angel was the Chosen One, destined to soar above a painful past, and Elektra was the imperious, ambitious, often cutthroat survivor, then [Mj Rodriguez](https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718792/mj-rodriguez/ "undefined")’s Blanca was the hero, a fundamentally generous, nurturing soul who lived to care for the handful of queer and trans street kids who called her “Mother.” Snarky best friends Lulu (Hailie Sahar) and Candy (Angelica Ross) could be harder to love, though a [Season 2](https://time.com/5603918/pose-season-2-review/ "undefined") story line that culminated in Candy’s murder also helped to explain why each woman developed such a hard, self-protective shell. (Thankfully, on _Pose_, a character’s death rarely meant their disappearance from the show. Ghosts inhabited every corner of its AIDS-stricken ’80s and ’90s New York.) Though each character got some time in the spotlight and many individual actors delivered astonishing performances—including [Billy Porter](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888234/billy-porter/ "undefined"), whose portrayal of the gay male ball-scene eminence Pray Tell won him an Emmy in 2019—_Pose_ was ultimately a celebration of community. A deeper, if fictionalized, dive into the same world that Jennie Livingston documented in the 1990 film _Paris Is Burning_, the show was unflinching in its depiction of the threats that subculture has faced: violence, addiction, body issues, HIV/AIDS, employment discrimination, the perils that can accompany sex work, food and housing insecurity. But it also lavishly recreated the moments of ecstasy they conjured together at DIY parties more fantastical than anything you’d find at the most exclusive Manhattan nightclub. In three seasons that spanned a full decade, we watched these characters lean on each other. Estranged (or worse) from blood relatives who repeatedly let them down, they created in Blanca’s love-filled House of Evangelista their own ideal family. That community spilled over from the set into the cast and crew’s activism, their public appearances, their relationships with a still-thriving ball culture and, perhaps most influentially, their careers beyond the show. The show’s fashion-forward stars became the [highlight](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a25729624/pose-fx-cast-golden-globes-red-carpet/ "undefined") of every [red carpet](https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2019-09-22/pose-cast-turns-up-the-fashion-heat-on-the-emmys-arrivals-carpet "undefined"), with Porter making a particular splash in everything from [capes and gowns](https://time.com/5748458/billy-porter-best-red-carpet-fashion/ "undefined") to [angel wings](https://time.com/5759160/golden-globes-2020-billy-porter/ "undefined") and (in a gesture of pro-choice solidarity) a [suit shaped like a uterus](https://time.com/5603960/billy-porter-tonys-2019-red-carpet/ "undefined"). In May, he came out as HIV-positive with a [Hollywood Reporter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/billy-porter-hiv-positive-diagnosis-1234954742/ "undefined") cover story in which he called _Pose_ “an opportunity to work through the shame \[of HIV\] and where I have gotten to in this moment.” The show’s cultural politics are more sophisticated than those of the era it’s set in; along with critiquing Madonna’s “Vogue” period, creators Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals avoided such appropriation by hiring ballroom legends like Jose Xtravaganza and Leiomy Maldonado as cast members and consultants. _Pose_, in turn, brought visibility to the community’s present-day struggles. When Layleen Polanco, a young trans woman from the House of Xtravaganza, died in prison, Moore, Ross and [Janet Mock](https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217624/janet-mock/ "undefined") [showed up](https://time.com/5622385/pose-season-2-ryan-murphy-janet-mock-interview/ "undefined") at a demonstration to demand answers.  L-R: Dyllón Burnside as Ricky, Hailie Sahar as Lulu, Mj Rodriguez as Blanca, Indya Moore as Angel, Angel Bismark Curiel as Lil Papi Eric Liebowitz/FX Now that _Pose_ is coming to an end, there’s reason to believe that its legacy of centering queer and trans people of color in popular entertainment will continue. Rodriguez is gearing up to star opposite Maya Rudolph in an Apple TV+ comedy from _Parks and Rec_ vets Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard. Jackson appeared earlier this year on Starz’s _American Gods_, perfectly cast as one Ms. World. Moore is building a film career, with roles in [_Queen & Slim_](https://time.com/5740126/queen-and-slim-movie-review/ "undefined") and July’s _Escape Room_ sequel. Ross has entered Murphy’s infinite [_American Horror Story_](https://time.com/4547319/american-horror-story-is-frightfully-good-with-secrets/ "undefined") universe. Sahar has a role on Freeform’s _The Fosters_ spin-off, _Good Trouble_. And Porter is popping up everywhere, from [Taylor Swift videos](https://time.com/5608341/taylor-swift-you-need-to-calm-down-references-explained/ "undefined") to last month’s _That Damn Michael Che_ to the upcoming _Cinderella_ remake where he’ll play a “[genderless](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billy-porter-to-play-fairy-godmother-as-genderless-in-upcoming-cinderella-remake/ "undefined")” Fairy Godmother. In 2019, [Mock](https://time.com/5783985/janet-mock-television-representation-change/ "undefined")—the author and activist who worked as a writer, producer and director of _Pose_—joined Murphy at Netflix, becoming the first trans woman with an overall studio deal. The volume and variety of these projects is thrilling. Even more encouraging is the way _Pose_’s influence has rippled throughout the industry. Ball culture has become pop culture, in reality competitions like [HBO Max’s _Legendary_](https://time.com/5841541/hbo-max-originals-what-to-watch/ "undefined") and films like the just-released _Port Authority_. That movie’s star, [Leyna Bloom](https://time.com/6053051/leyna-bloom-interview/ "undefined"), who also played a role on the final season of _Pose_, will also appear this summer as the first Black and first Asian openly trans woman in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In the years since _Pose_’s 2018 debut, we’ve seen more and more trans actors—[Hunter Schafer](https://time.com/collection/time100-next-2021/5937659/hunter-schafer/ "undefined"), [Patti Harrison](https://time.com/6048628/patti-harrison/ "undefined"), [Brian Michael Smith](https://time.com/5686290/transgender-men-representation-television/ "undefined"), [Josie Totah](https://time.com/5371387/josie-totah-transgender/ "undefined"), [Eve Lindley](https://time.com/5791978/eve-lindley-dispatches-from-elsewhere/ "undefined"), [Leo Sheng](https://time.com/5744710/the-l-word-generation-q-review/ "undefined"), [Logan Rozos](https://time.com/5686290/transgender-men-representation-television/ "undefined")—in complex, specific roles that neither avoid nor fixate on their characters’ gender identity. Of course, one show could never entirely fix an entertainment industry that still too often stereotypes queer and nonwhite characters, and one whose earnest efforts at trans inclusion began less than a decade ago. There is still plenty of work to be done when it comes to intersectional depictions of the LGBTQ community in pop culture; the need for more trans creators with broad platforms and more stories about trans men is real. But to the extent that Hollywood is finally learning that trans people—and trans communities—contain multitudes, _Pose_ deserves much of the credit. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6053227/pose-finale/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6053227/pose-finale/"},"headline":"Pose Was More Than Just a TV Show. 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