So, I think that your vitriolic effort to define and mangle Sasha’s art is inherently what artists fight. They don’t want to be analyzed and interpreted and put into comparative contexts unless they specifically bait their critics as part of the performance. Also, they don’t want to be subjected to such elementary analysis by someone who clearly has no expertise when it comes to their art form. 1) You don’t cite any of Sasha’s live performances, which are remarkable, diverse, smart, and entertaining (note: her style of drag isn’t my cup of tea; I prefer a traditional dancing queen or someone really out of left field; however, you came for a queen that is among the best in the business so I’m not going to sit here and let your slander go by as if it’s warranted). 2) You don’t comment on the beauty and precision of Sasha’s paint (her transformation is subtle but very specific and carved; she even contours her scalp, for christssake). Her mug is unclockable every, single, time. That takes tremendous skill in the madness that is this competition. 3) You ignore or do not know that the NYC drag scene is the most competitive in the business and getting paid livable booking fees is a fantasy at best, but Sasha was doing the slog and working as hard as queens have to in the city. She is vetted. 4) Her lip sync against Shea was a tour de force, a complete and total murder that will live on as a pinnacle moment in the pantheon of DragRace. 5) Sasha’s niche is the meta level, which based on your article is obviously not your forte. She also combines the literal and symbolic in a tongue-in-cheek way that always has a root in queer theory. That is her brand, and it is transparent. You don’t have to be mysterious to be artistic.
Your critique is banal (and really, you want to compare her to Max? I am seriously embarrassed for you; pasties and a corset is not unique… have you been to an actual drag show?). You have completely ignored the fact that you are watching very specifically crafted television that was aimed at a general audience. For example, only a thimbleful of the genius comments RuPaul herself makes to the contestants get into the broadcast, so you are only experiencing what will read best in front of a target audience. You are watching what was selected for you. It is clear you miss the point of this show completely, and, worse, have launched and botched a character assassination of one of the freshest queens that has come on this show… ever (I would even go so far as to posit that you haven’t seen every season of this show… someone left their cake out in the rain). Lastly, it is beautifully ironic that drag queens fought at Stonewall to subvert heteronormative culture, yet here we are in 2017 subjected to the pedantic and recycled opinions of lesser critics. Since you have forgotten, I will remind you: RuPaul has the ultimate say in who wins, and she chose Sasha. Mother has spoken, and we have our new queen. Bend the knee.