Janet Mock has blazed trails as the first trans woman of color to write and direct a TV ep and the first out trans woman to ink a multimillion-dollar deal with a major content company. But the “Pose” writer, director, and producer doesn’t just want to make strides in her career: she also wants her career to make strides in the LGBTQ community. In an interview with Deadline, Mock revealed her goal on “Pose” is to “shatter stigma. Set in the ballroom culture of ’90s New York City, the drama centers predominantly on queer people of color, some of whom are HIV-positive.
“You shatter stigma by empathically telling a story that enables people to understand those unlike them. And then you realize, through that unlikeness, you find the likeness,” Mock emphasized. “Being trans is seen as a stigma — you should be ashamed of being trans, you should be ashamed of being queer, you should be ashamed of loving a person of the same gender. You should be ashamed of contracting HIV/AIDS and living with that. We’re told constantly to just be quiet, to go live in the dark, to be secretive about who we are. And if we step forward, we’ll only be punished,” the activist, journalist, and author explained.
But on “Pose” — and, hopefully, the other inclusive stories the FX series will inspire — things are different. The LGBTQ community is celebrated and the characters, whether they are trans, gay, or living with HIV or AIDS, are treated with dignity and sensitivity. “With our show, when you step forward and be who you are, you’re met with love,” Mock said. “You’re met with acceptance. You’re embraced, and you’re embraced for all of who you are.”
Mock is also optimistic that “Pose” will establish its own legacy and continue to resonate way beyond its broadcast run. “Even long after we are all gone, I imagine that young people will watch this in the same way that they watch ‘Paris Is Burning’ [Jennie Livingston’s 1990 doc about the ballroom scene]. Years later, they can fulfill themselves watching ‘Pose,'” she theorized. “We’re archiving ourselves, and so in that sense we’re all saying collectively that we did something; that we’re here and that we’re deserving of taking up space.”
As much as “Pose” is boosting LGBTQ on-screen representation, Mock believes the show has changed her for the better, as well. “This show has empowered me,” she declared. “I showed myself, because someone supported me; because I had these collaborators; because I had this amazing cast to work with. I showed myself things that I never even dreamt that I would be able to do.” Mock added, “‘Pose’ made me solidify my own identity as a storyteller and as an artist, and there’s been no greater gift than that.”
Next, Mock is directing an episode of “The Politician,” a musical-comedy Netflix series from “Pose” co-creator Ryan Murphy. Previously, she has produced HBO doc “The Trans List” and appeared on “2 Dope Queens” and in Jay Z and Beyoncé’s “Family Feud” video.
Earlier this week Mock signed a three-year overall deal with Netflix. The pact sees her working as an EP and director on Murphy’s upcoming Netflix series, “Hollywood.” The streamer will also have exclusive rights to any TV series Mock creates as well as a first-look option on her feature film projects.
