RuPaul: Queer Pioneer for Mainstream Media

RuPaul Andre Charles
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Born on November 17th, 1960, RuPaul Andre Charles has become one of the most famous queer African Americans in the United States. Revered most for his TV series PuPaul's Drag Race, his career has not only modernized the portrayal of LGBTQA individuals in mainstream media, but also opened the door for openly LGBTQA individuals to participate in the mainstream without as great of fear for repercussions.

RuPaul's early life began with his mother and three sisters in San Diego, California, but he did not begin his path toward iconic stardom until he turned 15 and moved to Atlanta, Georgia to study the performing arts. In these formative years, RuPaul worked on low-budget projects and underground cinema to get his name and brand out into the world. After almost 10 years, RuPaul's first big-screen exposure was as an extra in the music video for "Love Shack." Not exactly the glamorous role as he is seen in today, but this began the rise to eventually landing a full TV series in 2008 that would air for over 10 years into today. Aside from his show, RuPaul released a number of albums and other media that also contributed to his name and brand of "gender-bender" femininity.

Though it is arguable that RuPaul has had limited direct contributions to activism and the feminist movement, it is his representation, career, and media outlets that have served to further the causes of gender equality and LGBTQA rights. In RuPaul's own words, as quoted by The Guardian,

RuPaul: In Drag
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"For people to do drag and make it their profession in a male-dominated culture, they have to go through so much emotional tug-of-war... the strength and humanity it takes to maintain yourself and your dreams create many different layers of consciousness. That's where the humanity comes from."

At the core of his television series, RuPaul believes there is a political message to be understood. RuPaul's Drag Race began as an act of counter-culture against the expectations found in gender roles, and laid the groundwork to introduce and normalize aspects of queer culture that were previously taboo. According to The Huffington Post, drag to RuPaul exaggerates gender to the point of ridiculousness in the art of hyper-femininity. Drag reveals the artificial nature of gender roles, and draws attention to the idea that all people within society are putting on a performance of sorts to conform to the gender they align with. The concept of men dressing up as hyper-feminine women is to show the world that all persons are allowed to "perform" as they see fit, and we should not allow society to constrain us to a narrow idea of acceptable appearance and behavior.

Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 10
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As the show has evolved, RuPaul has become increasingly aware of the impact the drag race has had on younger generations. During a kiki (casual, laugh-filled chat) with Oprah, RuPaul gives some insight on how he understands the audience of his own show, 

"There's a new breed of young people out there... they've almost got a new belief system that's completely of the 21st century. Our show speaks to that forward-thinking voice. They see the kids on our show overcoming adversities and realize, I can do that."

RuPaul continues to evolve and produce content that reshapes the way people see and understand themselves. As The Atlantic points out, RuPaul continues to be one of gay pop culture's most enduringly relevent figures; he utilizes media to preach self-love and hard work to counter social stigma and self-doubt.

To conclude, I leave you with an iconic quote: "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?"

Works Cited:

Aitkenhead, Decca. “RuPaul: 'Drag Is a Big f-You to Male-Dominated Culture'.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/03/rupaul-drag-race-big-f-you-to-male-dominated-culture.

Kornhaber, Spencer. “Why Drag Is the Ultimate Retort to Trump.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 20 May 2017, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/rupaul-gets-political/524529/.

Shultz, Zach. “Opinion | RuPaul Is Reinforcing The Very Thing His Show Is Supposed To Rebel Against.” The Huffington Post, Oath Inc., 8 Mar. 2018, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-shultz-rupaul-drag-race-trans_us_5aa05785e4b0e9381c15039d.

Winfrey, Oprah. “Oprah Talks to RuPaul About Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Fabulous.” Oprah.com, Harpo Inc., 16 Jan. 2017, www.oprah.com/inspiration/oprah-talks-to-rupaul.