Queering and Policing Gender: The Pedagogy of RuPaul’s Drag Race

Parsemain, Ava Laure

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14872-0_5

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…What we see in RPDR is a layering up of inauthenticity and artifice; a reality format, combined with drag, combined with pop music. Against these expected areas of commodification, the programme also commodifies and trivialises the political significance of other aspects of drag/LGBTQ+ cultures, including race (Strings and Bui, 2014), HIV (Hargraves, 2011) and histories (Parsemain, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Assume the position: two queens stand before me’: RuPaul as ultimate queen

Collie

Commane

2020

Celebrity Studies

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Season 10 marked a decade of Drag Race, with RuPaul and other celebrities framing the show as a worldwide phenomenon promoting love, inclusivity, acceptance and Drag. This aspect of RuPaul's Drag Race is foregrounded in much of the existing scholarship on the reality show which considers the inclusivity and visibility that it offers (Edgar, 2011;Goldmark, 2015). Although Drag Race brings an area of gay culture and history into the mainstream (i.e. RuPaul seasons and Werk the World Tour), we argue that the only Queen and Herstory that is promoted and unquestionably validated is RuPaul Herself. Within the show, contestants often refer to RuPaul as 'Mama Ru', in direct reference to historical drag family relationships. In this article, we argue that RuPaul is positioned as the Ultimate Queen rather than Drag Mother, reflecting the more transactional relationship between head judge and contestants that we argue is constructed in the show. RuPaul as Ultimate Queen is achieved through strategically using the themes of history and authenticity to support a commodification of RuPaul which reinforces celebrity, cultural capital and authority. From Queens lip-syncing to RuPaul's back catalogue to the central place RuPaul places herself as drag pioneer; we explore 'RuPaul as commodity' and the possible implications on the presentation and marketability of gay / drag culture through the format of Drag Race and RuPaul as ultimate Queen. All queens assume the position behind her. The paper draws upon data collected through textual analysis of seasons 1 to 11, focusing primarily on themes that arose throughout the seasons, but particularly focusing on the following episodes: season opening, snatch game, makeover, finale. We will be exploring the themes history and selfcommemoration, and authenticity, and commodification.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%