2 - The Neoliberal ‘Ru-presentation’ of Drag as a Key to Success and Acceptance

Summary

It is slightly past 6 pm on 13 May 2019 and the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles is packed with an excited crowd. The audience is paying tribute to a group of drag performers who, just a few minutes before, had been photographed at the entrance runway, Hollywood-diva style, and are now fiercely walking the catwalk on the theatre stage in their majestic outfits. Roars come from the crowd, as one by one the queens are introduced. The camera pans over the audience, as we see people clapping vigorously: there are young men screaming in exaltation, women with incredulous open mouths, and drag queens with exaggerated make-up waving at their idols and peers. Finally, a voiceover announces the entrance of the ‘Queen of Queens’. The audience gives a standing ovation, as a drag queen dressed entirely in elegant green appears on stage.

We are watching the Grand Finale of Season 11 of the talent show RuPaul's Drag Race, and RuPaul – the host – has just entered the scene: she is ready to serve the audience a spectacular event that will ultimately proclaim America's next best drag superstar. However, before the show can fully commence, RuPaul silences the crowd and takes a minute to dedicate some words to her audience (S11, E14, 00:04:28, emphasis added):

To the millions of fans watching, on VH1 and around the globe, I want to say thank you. Because of you, our little drag show has become a cultural phenomenon. Because of you, 140 Ru Girls are spreading their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent for all the world to see. And because of you, a TV show of queer people, by queer people, and for queer people has won nine Emmy awards. Can you believe it?

If it were possible to travel back in time several decades before that night, one would be shocked at a very different event to be witnessed. Exactly 60 years before, in May 1959, just a few blocks away from the Orpheum Theater, one of the first LGBTQ+ uprisings in the US was taking place (Faderman and Timmons, 2009 ). Transgender women, lesbian women, gay men and drag queens were rioting against police harassment and mistreatment at the 24-hour Cooper's Donuts café: the police patrols had asked some of the guests for their IDs – a usual habit for police officers at that time, aimed at arresting men who were ‘masquerading’ as women.