Gay Pride has seen increasing visibility in contemporary politics, and the Carlos museum is here to add to that! But their exhibit won’t just focus on pride, but the six other sins as well: Gay Lust, Gay Gluttony, Gay Envy, Gay Greed, Gay Wrath, and Gay Sloth.
“We think it makes sense to highlight the vivid history of both Queer rights alongside Queer wrongs,” says exhibit curator Ellen DeGeneres (no relation).
Of course, the primary attraction of the museum’s collection will highlight Gay Pride, with one of the artifacts being the mirror which every gay man poses in front of to take photos for their Grindr album – highlighting the ego and vanity that comes with being a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The other artifact will be your gay friend’s Instagram post with the caption “face card never declined,” which emphasizes the Queer community’s obsession with lying and deceit.
The next section of the exhibit, entitled “Gay Lust,” will not be open to everybody. Instead, it will only be open to members of the LGBTQ+ community, and there will be people checking qualifications. I was turned down, being informed by the bouncer that no gay man would “dress like Jiminy Cricket if he only shopped at Old Navy.”
The exhibit itself is a room with no lights, no windows, and no limits. I wasn’t let in, but it sounded like the people inside the exhibit were having fun– it really is important for the Queer community to have spaces of recreation!
The part of the exhibit that wowed me the most was the live interpretative dances for “Gay Gluttony.” The dancers do a 10-minute show every 30 minutes, in which Nikocado Avocado’s crash out is performed, mimicking contemporary dance styles. Then to conclude the show, a dancer comes out in Abby Lee Miller drag, proclaiming herself a Queer icon despite being straight. After watching her performance, I agree with the fact that she is a Queer icon.
Sadly, the “Gay Envy” exhibit wasn’t as good as the other segments of the museum. Upon walking into the exhibit, you are met with the interior of a gym, surrounded by men who have your ideal body type. You are then required to use the same machines they were using and must change the weight to something significantly smaller, all while the man with your dream body looks at you with pity. It was truly painful, but it was interesting to experience the envy instead of simply observing it.
After “Gay Envy,” the next exhibit I went to was “Gay Greed.” It was a simple white room with a single picture of Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg kissing—and it wasn’t AI.
“Gay Wrath” was a fascinating read on the Queer practice of “reading” someone. For our straight readers, a “read” is a creative and witty insult that makes you commend the person insulting you for their cleverness. The exhibit documents some of the most devastating reads in Queer culture– Azealia Banks calling Charli XCX an “ashtray,” Tiffany Pollard’s monologue to Gemma Collins, and the bouncer calling me Old Navy Jiminy Cricket. At the end of the exhibit, there was a Zoltar machine that gives you a read– I asked to get one, and he simply responded, “I don’t kick people while they’re down.”
The final exhibit that the Carlos featured was “Gay Sloth.” This was an immersive experience in which you talk to your gay friend who refuses to work or contribute anything to society. A real gay person is sitting on a couch, and you sit next to them, trying to convince them to do something with their life while they just laugh and take a hit from their Blue Razz Cherry Hayati Pro Max. A genuinely harrowing experience filled with laughing, crying, and puffing.
The Carlos Museum’s dedication to showing the good and bad of Queerness through this exhibit is truly moving. I’m still mad I got called Jiminy Cricket but that’s fine. Like the exhibit was good or whatever.
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