RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres tonight and, girl, you better work! Let’s all prepare to sh
RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres tonight and, girl, you better work! Let’s all prepare to shante-you-stay by reading up on Drag Race and how it fits into the larger discussion of gender articulation and queer identity.From Studies in Popular Culture:“The host of the program, RuPaul (born RuPaul Andre Charles), deploys her long and successful history as a drag performer in order to position herself as the quintessential drag spokesperson. Viewers also see further examples of a type of queer legitimacy in the show through references to historically situated drag icons and practices…Perhaps the most pervasive references found on the program are to the groundbreaking 1990 documentary film Paris is Burning, which chronicles the New York City drag ball culture of the late eighties. This film is viewed by many as a source of valuable insight into the transgender and queer drag community. By referencing this film, RuPaul establishes a dialogue between it and the work of Drag Race. This connection not only legitimates the queerness of the show in the queer historical continuum; it is also an at tempt to equate the two in terms of social value…RuPaul’s usage of the term "xtravaganza” refers to one of the famous drag houses featured in the film. Additionally, one of the mini-challenges the contestants compete in is a vogue-off, a dance style featured by ball competitors in Paris is Burning. Through these references to knowing viewers, RuPaul situates her show in the context of a long and complex queer historical record.“ -- source link
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