Paradoxing Gender: A Literary/Textual Analysis of "RuPaul's Drag Race"

Introductory Sentence: Since the dawn of civilization, people have found a way to entertain themselves; from the cavemen to RuPaul, this notion involves challenging the very gender identities we ourselves embody on a day to day basis as oneself, together.

Evidence 1: I watch a lot of trash.

Evidence 2: "RuPaul's Drag Race" is one of the best parodies I've ever seen.

Evidence 3: Gender notions are challenged!

Thesis Statement: "RuPaul's Drag Race" is genius.

First Paragraph: As aforementioned, I watch a lot of trash. I've seen enough cycles of "America's Next Top Model" to hold my own Tour de France. I don't consider Best Reality Show Ever "Project Runway" trash, but you know, it can get kind of trashy. I was once channel surfing and passed "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency," went back to see what it was like for a minute, and ended up watching it for FOUR HOURS. Consequently, I am no stranger to the slightly talented-based reality show. "RuPaul's Drag Race"... IS A GEM.

Second Paragraph: Of all the reality show parodies (and really all that comes to mind is that Joe Schmo show... remember that one? Where everyone except one guy was in on it, and whenever it showed their confessional it would say under their name the stereotype they were portraying, i.e. The Nerdy Friend, The Bitch) (OH and Matthew Lillard in "She's All That"), this one is SO dead on. The format is basically identical to Runway and ANTM, complete with Santino playing Simon on the judges panel. BUT what makes this show so GENIUS is that RuPaul first appears out of drag, and plays TIM GUNN. AGAIN. GENIUS. He walks around and critiques the queens on whatever the challenge may be -- create a look out of thrift store crap, make a girl group and lip synch to a Destiny's Child song -- and gives them Gunn-ly advice. And instead of saying "Make it work!" he says "DON'T F*** IT UP." THEN for the runway portion of the show where they showcase whatever they were working on, RuPaul comes out in drag and plays TYRA BANKS. She's got the mannerisms and insanity DOWN. And the best part of this portion is... when it's down to the bottom two, they have to lip synch FOR THEIR LIVES. And then she'll say to one, "Shan-tay, you stay" and to the other "Sa-shay, AWAY." It still does work as a pretty entertaining reality show, but it's really obviously making fun of itself at the same time. Allow me to reiterate my thesis: GENIUS.

Paragraph Three: The queens be CRAZY. What makes this show especially interesting is that, unlike Project Runway, the contestants THEMSELVES are more on the line. They have to create their own looks, do their own makeup, and affix their own fake boobs. But what especially strikes someone with my track record of interest is how different the contestants act when they're in and out of drag. It's like twice the drama! When slutty Shannel, the Vegas showgirl, is a girl, she is a major diva, and terribly chatty. But when she's Brian, he's kind of chill. Still super confident, but doesn't have nearly the presence his alter-ego does. Conversely, Jade, the J-Lo one, is a rather meek drag queen, but as David, he will LAY SOME SMACK DOWN. My all-time favorite is Nina Flowers, aka Jorge Flores -- the Puerto Rican drag queen who barely speaks English and is covered head to toe in tattoos, and says things like "Fierce!" and "Work it baby WORK IT." every other sentence. Jorge is a butch guy, big muscles, bald, tattoos, but becomes a beautiful androgyne in drag. I also really like seeing these guys FREAK THE FUCK OUT over their makeup. And they're really entertainers, which is something you don't get in the modeling competitions.

Conclusion: Since I don't get LOGO (even though I've entertained buying cable just for IT), all the episodes so far are online. I'm very impressed at how entertaining this show is and how it's a formulaic reality show while satirizing one. You kind of forget who are men and who are women until they make a "tuck" reference, so there's your challenging gender notions for ya! --Not to mention that this is an incredibly diverse cast. The drags queens are Latina, African American, Filipino... and a lot of them talk about how they're unusual drag queens. One of my picks to win, Ongina, says she doesn't wear hair, fake boobs, or tuck. Bebe Zahara Benet, my other pick to win does the whole rigmarole, but is SO CLASSY about it. Breaking the norm of the non-norm. If this was a real college paper, that's probably what I would call it.

VROOM!