Shanna Schipper

David Weston

English 100

Sept 20th, 2018

Ruthless Ru

A groundbreaking, comedic, reality show unlike any other reality show on TV.

Had a long or rough day and looking for an easy to watch, laugh? Or possibly your day was completely normal and you just don’t know what to throw on TV. If you have not yet, I highly recommend to you that you give RuPaul’s Drag Race a go, this show is anything but dull and is very eye catching and I must say very hard to take your eye off the screen, in the most positive and entertaining ways possible.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is becoming more and more popular every season and has become a true achievement for the gay and drag communities. In each episode we see, queens (the men competing in drag) complete mini challenges and a runway walk, the results are then judged and the bottom two queens must lip-sync to avoid elimination. As many reality competition shows, there can only be one winner and this winner earns a prize. What differs this show from most competition reality shows such as Americas Next Top Model etc, is RuPaul’s Drag Race has an element of humour that we don’t see in most shows, in fact in this show your comedic skills may get you further than the other competitors. This may make the show more appealing to people not interested in the fashion aspect, and easier to watch for everyone.

With all this comedy previously discussed, you may think how is this a show to be taken seriously and how can this be a step forward for the drag and gay community? RuPaul’s Drag Race can take a turn for the more serious sides of things in-between all this humour, when it does it is usually a very serious, sometimes hard to discuss the topic. Being a show of gay men there are major issues they open up and talk about such as their families and the reaction to their sexuality or things like STD’s and the AID’s epidemic. The dramatic characters and the humour in the show make it easier to watch these hardship moments, at the end of each episode, you will remember your laughs but also perhaps have gotten some insight of the lives of these men.

RuPaul’s Drag Race has paved a way for many men starting and already in drag and is a major milestone forward for the gay and drag communities. Breaking traditional stereotypes of what men need to wear, do and say, so many men are able to express themselves in a way they never imagined. This show also helps raise awareness that drag is a thing and shouldn’t be looked down on; that it’s just another form of expression. With the frequently used quote in the show “you’re born naked, everything else is drag”, it gives its viewer a greater understanding that drag is truly just a form of expressing yourself the same way that the clothes you chose to wear daily are also a form of expression.

If you’re at all interested in expression/fashion or have any sense of humour, or hey maybe your even thinking like drag is something you want to try then I more than recommend giving an episode a shot and I’m sure you will be hooked to RuPaul’s Drag Race in just minutes. You will most likely learn a new saying or two and hopefully, gain a greater understanding of drag and its art form and the gay community as a whole.

“Born Naked” RuPaul’s Drag Race, created by Mathu Andersen, performances by RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Kathy Griffin, season 7, episode 1, VH1, 2015