RuPaul Hag Race Leftovers - Thread 3

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What is your opinion? Do you think RuPaul is right?

Metro:

RuPaul doesn’t think transgender queens should compete on Drag Race after transitioning

Peppermint became the first out trans woman to enter RuPaul’s Drag Race, with many other queens now openly identifying as transgender. But RuPaul isn’t sure about allowing those who have fully transitioned to enter the contest. The 57-year-old has called the topic of trans drag queens ‘an interesting area’, saying that while you can identify as a woman and do drag, he isn’t sure you can do drag with a female body. Speaking to the Guardian, RuPaul said: ‘Peppermint didn’t get breast implants until after she left our show; she was identifying as a woman, but she hadn’t really transitioned.’

When asked whether he would accept a contestant who had transitioned, he said: ‘Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body...

RuPaul added that he believed drag loses its ‘danger’ when it’s not men doing it, saying: ‘At its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture. So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity.’

Completely agree with him. They can compete if they want to do boy drag, otherwise no. Imagine women (what these individuals *actually* are) dressing up as... women. That's not drag, that's just girls playing dress-up at a sleepover.

I think RuPaul is correct because if he allows it then how would he justify not letting women compete?

Does Peppermint still call herself a drag queen after having transitioned?

Pepper's Twitter page says "trans entertainer".

r6 Ah, thanks, that makes sense. And shows self-awareness so I don't really think this will ever be an issue.

As usual, RuPaul is right. As is R4, because the narrative all along, which is constantly and loudly repeated, is that "trans women are women".

Also, FWIW, Peppermint actually went to the defense of India Willoughby after that nonsense on Celebrity Big Brother UK.

[quote]Also, FWIW, Peppermint actually went to the defense of India Willoughby after that nonsense on Celebrity Big Brother UK.

That's unfortunate but not really surprising. It's sort of understandable she'd defend the only trans person in the house, however vile that individual might be.

I'll never forgive India for likening drag to the minstrel shows. It's basically subtle homophobia and it's ridiculous that she got away with it.

The following Twitter comment shows that some people don't get drag at all. If you just want to express yourself then join a beauty pageant. Like RuPaul says, there is NOTHING daring about a "bio queen" (stupid term for a woman drag contestant) dressing as a woman. Trans women insist they are women so there is NOTHING daring about them dressing as women either.

The bio queens & trans queens could easily start their own contests but they know no one would watch it just like all the other failed trans programming. So instead they try to hedge in on RuPaul's success. I laugh at all the comments saying if only they could get RuPaul out of the way. So stupid! He's the reason people watch. He's the one that spent decades building and maintaining a career. Some of these young ones are very stupid.

❁ gisselle ❁‏

Okay honestly, if you agree with Rupaul and think that women or anyone who isn’t male cannot do drag, Unfollow me. ⚡️

Drag shouldn’t be tied to one gender, that’s bullshit.

Drag is for everyone. it’s a way of art and expressing yourself and should be valid for everyone.

[quote]Drag is for everyone. it’s a way of art and expressing yourself and should be valid for everyone.

Except it's specifically about one sex (irrespective of gender identity) dressing up as the other sex. You're thinking about cosplay and beauty pageants, dear.

That same idiot whose tweet R10 posted also supports RuPaul being replaced on her own damn show with Alaska (???).

Looks like Trixie Mattel is in support of this ridiculous idea, but then again the average age of her fan base is 13.

r12 Ooh, he looks [italic]very[/italic] cute out of drag. Still dumb as fuck, but cute. Gorgeous, even.

Should've kept his mouth shut and auditioned for the show instead.

ICYMI, here’s Ben de la Creme’s interview with Entertainment Weekly. I am OK with his explanation.

I am rewatching the last episode and Ben was really upset and obviously checking out early in the episode. The dressing-down he got from Morgan and all the drama clearly wore him down. After having read his exit interview I linked above and rewatching this, I don’t think he left to come across as a martyr or because he felt like he was just running away with all the wins. He looks exhausted and annoyed with the bullshit responsibility of becoming a de facto villain by eliminating people after he wins every competition. I can’t blame him for that. I think I would feel the same way—like why does having talent and performing well get me a “win” that ends up making me feel like an asshole every week?

A few observations about Adam Lambert from this episode:

1. He gave great constructive advice. His interpretation of how BDLC should perform an angry goth girl was astute.

2. Either his skin has been miraculously well restored or the makeup and lighting on this show are phenomenal.

3. Bad skin or good skin, and even knowing how filthy Lambert has to be on the road, I would suck him off before he could finish saying the word “suck.”

Why does everyone agree Milk is cute out of drag? He looks like a newly hatched birdlet. I think Chi Chi and Trixie are the cutest guys from among this bunch. I guess Milk probably has the best body, but he is talentless and his personality is a total turnoff. I actually found Aja to be charming this season.

There's an opinion piece in The Independent titled 'No, RuPaul, the drag queen world does not only belong to men – everyone can explore femininity'. You can find it in the tweet below as Independent links are banned on DL.

Tom&Lorenzo tweeted this in response to the piece, and I think their take is pretty valid.

[quote]So many people seem to want #RuPaulsDragRace to be something other than RUPAUL'S Drag Race. It's not "America's Next Top Drag Performer" and it's certainly not the be-all and end-all of drag. It's a show based entirely on Ru, her career, and her own vision of drag.

I can see why they had Chi Chi go first from here group in the Kitty Girl challenge, she sings pretty goodI. I was pleasantly surprised. Would love to hear her really belt.

What exactly is preventing someone (say Trixie or Alaska) from doing a show that showcases the drag skills of women and transwomen? Why should Rupaul have to compromise his idea of drag to placate these people?

Why should the Academy Awards have to recognize black filmmakers and actors when there’s already an NAACP Image Awards and a BET Awards, R20?

The question above is meant to be rhetorical. There’s always a counter argument, and those keep things moving forward and backward.

On one hand, you could argue that RuPaul is the CEO of drag race, denying employment opportunities to women based on their sex.

On the other hand, sex and racial discrimination are allowable in casting, and this is a casting job.

On yet another hand, Abercrombie and Fitch was sued several times for denying work to Asian American and black people, or to hiring them but hiding them in the stockroom overnight. The company later re-classified sales positions as “modeling” jobs so that they could legally discriminate based on appearances, including racial ones.

How different is it, really? I don’t have the answer, but it’s a question worth seriously asking.

“but it’s a question worth seriously asking.”

Fuck off. No it isn’t. These destroyers are just reframing the questions preloaded with their ideological assumptions and biases to disguise and deflect from the self-evidently obvious ttruth that drag is a cultural tradition belonging to MEN, specifically GAY MEN. So don’t even try it, bitch

Drag is an art form so not really comparable to office work the discrimination that goes on there. You wouldn't hire a male opera singer for the part that requires a female voice, would you?

Also, homosexuality is criminalized in 75 countries around the world and being a woman is not (nor was being black at the time of minstrel shows which ignorami like comparing drag to). Can we please have just this one fucking thing to ourselves? Seriously, we're not asking for much here.

And again, do these trans women wish to dress up as men on RPDR? If so, that's perfectly fine with me and I wouldn't mind seeing that at all. Although I'd question their motives for doing so, seeing how they worked so hard to escape the male image, but whatever.

*office work AND the discrimination

Long live separate-but-equality!

R25 Culturally appropriating other people struggles? How very SJW & tranny

i can see why Ben Dela did what she did but my god i’m going to miss watching her every week. My favourite drag queen without a doubt.

Aja's new video is probably the best of drag race girls. She got talent, y'all. And sexy in and of drag.

The editing of this episode...tha fuck?? Every segment seems sped up and abbreviated. Why? The catwalk was nothing this week.

[quote]doing a show that showcases the drag skills of women and transwomen?

They used to call those Beauty Pageants.

Drag is a persona you put on and take off. Trans is what you are.

That said, trans folk can compete...IF they present drag that is opposite of their biological gender.

Ru is correct.

The trans debate is another thread. This one was supposed to be discussion of the episodes.

Nah there's already a long thread for that:

[quote]Either his skin has been miraculously well restored or the makeup and lighting on this show are phenomenal.

Of course it is. Even Ru looks young.

I think the top four is pretty tragic. Shangela for the win.

Tonight’s choreographed scene was actually entertaining verging on impressive!

Aja's little fat friend is kind of cute.

Chi Chi is a delight.

Kennedy and Trixie.

Hmmm

r40 That gif makes me understand better why she has sex in drag so often.

I am glad a handful of DLers appreciated my thread title and posted here.