Within the first minute of watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, I interpreted it as a queer spin-off of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM).
http://www.logotv.com/video/episode-1-season-4-rupocalypse-now/1677963/playlist.jhtml#vid=729199
As I kept watching, my judgment was confirmed. To me, there is something disconcerting about shows like this. A television series like ANTM gets criticized for “espousing empowerment and female strength and then forcing the contestants into embarrassing scenarios far outside the realm of real-life modeling.” In a way, this is exactly what RuPaul’s Drag race is doing, almost to the point where a mockery is made of it. It’s also ironic the contestants refer to each other as “wackjobs”, when the average viewer at home is probably thinking the same thing. Still, one promising/refreshing part of the show was seeing the “fat girl” win the first challenge. Mainstream modeling in America as portrayed in ANTM is not particularly accepting of “plus-sized” women.
Also, the show reinforces the binaristic view of gender we have thus far expunged in our readings and class discussion. Quoting one of the contestants proves this point: “It was a total shock to see how these girls looked as boys… Latrice looks like a construction worker.” In this scene one of the drag queens clearly discerns the gender of the contestants on the show, revealing despite their external features and over-the-top feminine performance, they still identify as males. He even goes as far as stereotyping Latrice, the large African American drag queen, claiming he looks like he belongs to a profession generally accepted as masculine.
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