Ru Paul is without a doubt the most well-known Drag Queen. Her show, Ru Paul's Drag Race, is a competition (similar to America's Next Top Model) on who will be the next drag superstar! The deeper question is, is this exploiting Drag Queens in a negative way or is it shedding light on a community which was once not talked about?It is so progressive for television to have a show dedicated to Drag Queens. From Strykers article, "The Introduction to Transgender Terms and Concepts", she writes how "there is a steady increase in transgender visibility, and the trend has been toward increasingly positive representation".The show reveals the inside scoop of what goes into becoming a Drag Queen-- padding, make-up, clothes, waxing, etc. It is showing real men who are dressing up and performing as women. The reason people think it could be negative is because they are used for the amusement of viewers to either make fun of or to bond with. When you really think about it, what reality show doesn't do that? Hetero-normative reality shows are used just the same as Queer shows are, such as Ru Paul's Drag Race.
Either way you want to look at it, the word is getting out there. The show has been said to make people feel that they are a part of a community. For instance, if a little boy who loves to dress up as a woman feels alone because he truly doesn't know what is wrong with him. He can look up to Ru Paul and see that there are other people just like him. The show brings such positivity in that respect. It truly reveals to the masses that Drag Queens do exist and that they are real human beings that love to dress up and nothing is wrong with it. It makes it normal. Which is how it should be. After all, we as humans are the one's that created clothes to have a specific gender affiliation. Who is to say that make-up and dresses are a feminine attire, we do. If we just get rid of gender stereotyping clothes then there would be no such thing as drag, and it would be seen as normal.
"We are all born naked, and the rest is drag!"- Ru Paul
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