RuPaul Controversy

There is a huge controversy brewing in the LGBTQ+ sphere right now and it is about the inclusion of post-op trans and cis women on RuPaul’s drag race. With Peppermint’s moving testimony about transitioning a few seasons ago the trans community has united to protest against RuPaul’s decision to exclude them. He has allowed facial injectables as well as butt enhancing ones on the show but has never allowed a contestant with brest implants and feels like hormone therapy would provide an unfair advantage. RuPaul has recently been asked if he would change his mind about this to which he replied: “Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body. It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing.”

There is a long standing history of cis gay males subverting gender with the art of drag and I personally agree with the host’s decision to keep things the way they are. After all, since most trans women identify as women, that would leave the door open for cis-gendered women to participate which would be a real bummer for me. There’s a pattern of mass consumption of gay culture once something of ours has hit the mainstream. There was talk when RuPaul’s drag race switched from Logo to VH1 that we may see something like this occur. Perhaps because of terrible treatment and suffering, it is common for trans women to come at something with a mob mentality drawing lines in the sand. With intersectionnality comes different levels of oppression which intertwine. The expression of one oppressed group does not have to be at the expense of the other but it seems like a slew of past contestants have now joined in the chorus against RuPaul.

Drag and trans history are intertwined from the days of the Stonewall riots and it brings me grief to witness such a schism. As of now, I still think the show is about illusion and transformation and I find the trans community’s attitude quite deplorable. If gay men are not at the bottom of the totem pole, that doesn’t give another oppressed group the right to take what little we have away. Especially since these contestants may be quite effeminate which is a good enough reason to be bullied in this society. That being said, times change and so does showbiz. I would not be surprised if my opinion on this changed with the times.

The famous queen has since apologized for some of her comments about this issue: "Each morning I pray to set aside everything I THINK I know, so I may have an open mind and a new experience. I understand and regret the hurt I have caused. The trans community are heroes of our shared LGBTQ movement. You are my teachers."

More than 10% of past contestants on the show have identified as transgender. The commonality which they all share is the state of their transition which they either put on hold during the show or would be considered pre-transition or who’s transition did not include steps such as breast implants or hormones. There is no doubt that RuPaul’s drag race is history in the making and it is going to be interesting to see how things play out.

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