During the season 4 premiere of 90 Day Engagement: Another WayThe first viewers should meet Gabriel Paboga.
We have to wait before the show introduces us to Isabel Posada, let alone the reaction of Isabel’s parents.
Gabe is transgender. In fact, she is the first trans cast member of any gender in the history of 90 Day Fiance as a franchise.
Yes, his journey brought long-standing representation to the show. But it’s more than that. Audiences have experienced disappointment before. Will the event finally work out properly?
Before we get into why this could be such a refreshing change for the franchise, let’s talk about Gabriel himself.
He is, as we learned in the season premiere, a businessman.
Gabe makes soft underwear for trans people like himself. Not all trans people seek bottom surgery or even experience genital dysphoria, but for those who do, a built-in packer can be life-changing and affirming.
In addition to showing his work for the camera, Gabriel also showed his sense of humor.
They pride themselves on creating products that help people – especially marginalized and vulnerable members of their communities.
Gabriel knows what the product does for men because he overcomes the weight and embarrassing moments of regular packing.
Gabriel talks about his own journey as a trans person. Obviously, just like gender and sexuality are diverse and bring many experiences, being trans in America away from one-size-fits-all.
Some trans people know their gender from a young age (as do many cis people). As for Gabe, he just knew something was different.
It wasn’t until she saw a documentary about trans people that she found herself. And now he is free to live his best life.
Gabe was in Colombia looking for a manufacturing partner when he met Isabel at a friend’s house.
The two immediately hit it off. They spend the day dancing, kissing, and hanging out. Isabel, it turned out, did not have sex on the first date.
That suits Gabriel. He wanted to find the right time to come out to her as trans. He did it. Soon, he got an apartment so he could come and visit her regularly.
As he discusses with his friend Kion, part of Gabriel’s story in Season 4 will hinge on people’s reactions to finding out he’s trans. This can be, quite literally, a matter of life and death for trans people.
Kion’s concern is about the community in the part of Colombia where Isabel lives. Gabe points out that he won’t be the only trans person, and the two acknowledge that random strangers may not be able to harass trans people. That is, to identify them as trans.
Meanwhile, Gabriel’s biggest worry is Isabel’s family. How did his parents react? Because he must have had a plan to tell before marrying his daughter.
When Gabriel receives a tattoo as a tribute to the woman he loves, his cheerful sister, Monica, shows up to grill him.
He notes that he is sometimes very impulsive. And he reminded her of various past mistakes.
Isabel is not the first woman to have tattoos on her body. In fact, he still had to cover the one around his neck.
From Monica’s point of view, the main source of worry is that Isabel has a child, and Gabriel has not intended to date another mother.
He argued that this was different – Isabel’s children, teenagers and tween, were older. They have a better dynamic with him.
Viewers don’t know what happened to Isabel, her parents, or her children. But many are hoping that Gabriel’s milestone casting in the franchise will break the unfortunate pattern.
90 Day Engagement has actually been quite good when it comes to the race.
Oh, there was indeed xenophobia and racism among the audience. And yes, the show really does work.
But if you compare this franchise, say, Scholar, racial diversity is getting better. (Even if 90 Day Engagementthe well-known problem of misogyny is even worse)
But the representation in other areas is very low. And, to be fair, we think that at least some of the producers for Sharp Entertainment really want to see better LGBTQ+ representation.
It’s time for the unfortunate explosion of the month: Stephanie Matto and Erika Owens. They were the first to show the same-sex couple.
Both women are bi, both have interesting personalities and backstories. Unfortunately, one season completely blew up in everyone’s face.
Many couples have problems together, even if the viewer only blames one of them. But… there is no evidence of these two.
By all accounts, Stephanie is just a standoffish person, even hostile when she meets Erika in person. Totally different from how he is online.
We’re not saying that Stephanie is one of the biggest monsters in this franchise or anything like that. But he made a terrible impression on the audience and Erika.
Stephanie and Erika were not the first or last cast members. Only the first same-sex couple.
Tarik Myers and Hazel Cagalitan are hoping to be the franchise’s first polyamorous relationship.
Hazel is out and proud that she is bisexual. Not all of them are polyamorous (just like not all of them are monogamous), but he and Tarik are looking for a boyfriend.
Unfortunately, the third goal fell short. Part of it was a previous bad experience with a girl named Minty.
To be honest, that part also has the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s hard to find a girlfriend when you’re locked up. It was a bad time.
It’s not fair that monogamous marriages fail on screen all the time without that person as “proof” that monogamy doesn’t work but polyamory doesn’t have that luxury.
But that’s the way it is. Polyamorous viewers admitted on social media that it would have been better if Tarik and Hazel hadn’t tried.
At least, not that season.
At 90 Days: The Single Life‘s Season 3 Tell All special, Caesar Mack shares some of his own throuple goals.
He announced that he was in a relationship with two Ukrainian women. The plan was that the two of them would live with him, and it would be a family of three.
There are many people who live like that. But some of his friends question whether this is for real, as he has seemed gullible in the past. And Natalie Mordovtseva cursed people in a vicious, judgmental way.
The latest season of Love in Paradise: The Caribbean have a same-sex couple and try to fail in a polyamorous group (which, in turn, includes a same-sex couple).
And we’re not pretending that the franchise hasn’t had LGBTQ+ representation before.
Kenneth Niedermeier and Armando Rubio are not the only positive representations of two gay fathers who find infinite love. He’s a fan favorite, and for good reason.
Fans are hoping that the production has been made and will continue to make exciting choices with Gabriel’s real life and story on screen.
We all know that the editing room can amplify the bad moments and erase the positive ones. It is, one might argue, part of the job.
But Gabriel and viewers deserve to see an honest, positive portrayal of a trans man who lives and loves his future wife. We’re rooting for him!