The Logo. The logo. That's all a person needs to know about the most iconic visual representation of drag culture and everything it has come to represent in society. But if you dig just a little deeper, that logo takes on a whole other shape and form, as does your understanding of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The Logo is the brainchild of RuPaul—a cuddly man with a crinkled nose who looks like he stepped out of an acid-washed 1967 Dodge Dart commercial and into our hearts forever. He’s also the host of Drag Race, one of the most prominent queer television shows on air today. Each episode features six contestants vying for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar by lip-synching against each other until elimination occurs until one queen remains standing—all while pitting different factions within drag against one another to uncover their true natures and see which side they really belong on.
If all this sounds like something you’d be interested in watching and/or participating in, then you're in luck! You see, there are many people just like you out there who have been craving a show like this for so long now... but where do we go from here? What type of show should we make? And how are we supposed to get it off the ground? Allow us to guide you through the world of Drag Race and help you find your niche within the vast network that is drag culture today.
The title of Drag Race—and with it, the entire idea of a reality competition show featuring drag queens—has been somewhat misconstrued by the media over the years. The show is not a pageant for drag queens or a competition about cosmetics or wigs. It is not a “fashion show” or a “makeover” show.
It is a competition show about drag queens and the queens are judged by their skill in performing specific styles of drag. The term “drag” is used in a broad and inclusive sense, as is evident by the fact that contestants frequently describe their acts as “queercore,” “arty,” or “campy” rather than using heterosexual-centered terms like “dress up” or “makeup.” The show is also not a show about “transgender,” “genderqueer,” or “non-binary” drag. While the show occasionally features some of those concepts, they are incidental, not central to the show’s purpose.
The show’s main inspiration comes from a combination of events that occurred in RuPaul’s life and career before the show ever took off. The most notable is RuPaul’s involvement with the “Butch-Femme” binary-breaker movement of the mid-1990s, an issue that has since gone largely unnoticed by mainstream society.
The second inspiration comes from RuPaul’s history in the LGBT community and his work as a drag artist. He has an extensive history in the NYC drag scene, performing in shows throughout the late ‘80s and early ‘90s to rave reviews. From there, he took his talents to the world and became a pop icon, with his album, Supermodel of the World, selling over a million copies and winning multiple Grammy awards in the process.
Everything’s Better with Music!
Drag Race doesn’t just have one kind of music for contestants to lip-sync against one another to. It has a variety of musical styles, from ‘80s glam to hip-hop to funk to songs from musicals. Much like the variety of drag styles, there’s no one kind of musical style represented. And the musical styles aren’t just chosen by the producers; they’re chosen by the contestants.
Contestants often pick the musical style they think will help their act stand out in the competition. The contestants have a lot of control over the musical style of their lip-syncs—one of the most important aspects of performing drag!
Drag Race is more than just a competition show. It’s a window into a whole new world that’s often been sidelined in mainstream media, a world that’s been underrepresented by the mainstream and censored by the LGBT+ community at large. It’s a world of confidence, creativity, and radical self-expression that’s often been demonized by our society. And most importantly, it’s a show that’s all about inclusivity, acceptance, and respect between all people, regardless of gender, sexuality, or race. The world could use more of that these days. The show could not be more important.
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