RuPaul’s Drag Race has been my most recent obsession. I had always seen memes of the queens circulating on social media, but finally decided to watch it over the summer. For those who don’t watch the show, it’s a competition between fierce drag queens across the U.S. trying to win a prize of $100,000 and be named the #1 drag queen. It’s a show filled with fashion, drama, and comedy. There’s so much to love about it. Here are just a few reasons why.
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Everyone turns out serving looks.
Every episode of RPDR, there is a themed runway where the queens have to dress in their best drag. Themes can range from “Night of A Thousand Madonnas” to “Mermaid Fantasy” and the audience gets to see the interesting outfits the girls put together. Most of the queens turn out extremely creative and well-thought out looks that have all the judges shook. Some of the queens make some questionable couture, but it’s always fun to see what they come up with.
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The queens are shady in the best way possible.
Through RPDR, I’ve learned that throwing shade is an art form. It’s a way of jokingly judging someone with some truthful undertones. Throughout each episode, we get to see queens throw shade at each other about their outfits, their personalities, and everything else you can think of. They even have a segment called “Reading Is Fundamental” to see which queen can do it the best. It can be a bit brutal for those who can’t take the heat, but it’s super entertaining to watch.
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The drama is wild.
Being in a competition, there is bound to be some drama between the queens. It usually goes down right after the runway and right before a queen is about to be eliminated. The queens air out all their feelings and opinions about how they and everyone else did. It gets pretty messy as opinions clash and big personalities come out. Even though it gets intense in the moment, the girls usually get over the drama and realize that they’re all a part of the RPDR family at the end of the day.
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RuPaul is a drag queen legend.
RuPaul is a known icon in the drag scene. He has done a lot for the drag community by advocating for queer rights, bringing drag to mainstream media, and consistently spreading messages of self-care and love. Also, he has been doing drag for quite a while and has managed to look just as good in a tight silhouette in every episode of RPDR. All hail RuPaul Charles.
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Queer representation.
Bringing drag to mainstream television is extremely important as it is a form for queer representation. TV and film have had a long history of exclusion and discrimination against the community. The fact that RPDR is on a major platform and has millions of viewers each week solidifies its impact on society and significance on behalf of identifying individuals everywhere.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is amazing for a lot of reasons. It showcases the talent of drag queens that might have not received any recognition without the show. It features queens of all different backgrounds and highlights their personalities in a relatable way. It spreads positive messages to anyone watching the show and overall, has a positive impact on society. As RuPaul says at the end of every episode, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else?”
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