no tranqui

"If your cast had superpowers, what would they be?" x

I haven't read the book but I am trans and have audacity so here we go

@devilsminionbby mentioned gabriella cutting her hair to match lestat and I truly think one of the ways the show is approaching her genderqueer subtext in the book is by having her embody her son (who is not the most hypermasculine person) as her measure of masculinity.

after reappearing in his life, she questions him about his rockstar lifestyle and how often he fucks. she perceives him as sexually active and unconcerned with it, so she reflects that in her own actions from that point forward

the scene in the club is an example of this imo as she takes the role of a man by sexualizing the workers there (ping pong balls, anyone?) and kissing the dancer. these actions could be both her sexualizing herself as she sees lestat as a sexual being, and her subverting gender at the same time

many people have talked about how the genderqueer subtext is both unsubtle and nonexistent in the show, with the pronouns and misgendering of the fang gang member. it's interesting because they're presenting genderqueerness as almost normalized. similarly, by not questioning gabriella's kiss in the club they normalize sexuality OUTSIDE of lestat which is key here. lestat can normalize the fuck out of himself in his own narrative, the question is whether or not he allows that same courtesy to others.

gabriella also subverts femininity via her dominance in almost every situation we've seen her in. she's the manipulator, the abuser ( @armandyke has a great post about incest in gothic novels that highlights this excellently). she is the one seeking out sexual partners and tossing them away when they no longer amuse her. her dynamic with daniel is a reflection of this, as he does submit to her by asking her questions (and there's a whole other post to be made about daniel's decline in interview quality pre- and post-transformation but that's for another day)