Black Queen Magic: Drag and RuPaul’s Drag Race as Black Feminist Action
“Gentlemen, start your engines, and may the best woman win!” — RuPaul Charles
The above famous catchphrase, uttered by RuPaul Charles in every episode of his self-made reality television juggernaut RuPaul’s Drag Race, is almost a thesis statement, a testimony to the metamorphic and gender-bending nature of drag as a form of art, performance, and self-expression. In drag, most (but not all) performers start off as cisgender gay men and, through a process of transformation, come to resemble and embody self-made female characters. In doing so, drag performers obliterate and mock essentialist notions of gender identity and gender expression, and carve out more space for women — both cis and trans — to signify their personal interpretations of gender.
In this essay, I will not only demonstrate that drag can be, and often is, a feminist act, but explore how drag can be and has been specifically a black feminist act. I will focus my analysis on the theory written about and practices of drag queens, especially black drag queens. I will do so through the lens of what is by far the world’s most visible representation of drag culture and performance: the massively popular television competition RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Before arguing that drag can be a black feminist performance, I must first establish that drag can be any kind of feminist performance in the first place. A notable amount of theorists have actually criticized drag, believing it to have misogynistic elements and often reinforcing heterosexual gender expectations for women rather than deconstructing them. By performing a certain image of femininity, many say, drag queens underline a particular image of what femininity looks like (Rupp et. al. 277). Stephen P. Schacht makes the bold claim that drag queens don’t give thought to the actual implications of womanhood, nor do they intentionally work to combat misogyny (Schacht 167).
However, many other intellectuals argue that drag queens not only help strike down gender expectations, but are most often deliberate in their activism via their performing drag and femininity. Judith Butler responded directly to claims that drag queens have narrow concepts and portrayals of femininity in her book Gender Trouble, contending that said portrayals are exactly how drag turns gender on its head. In other words, the basis of visual and manneristic “womanhood” is constructed in the first place, and drag queens mock this basis (Butler 175). The maximalism that typically defines drag helps reveal the fairly ridiculous nature of the beauty standards women are held to. Drag queens annihilate the idea of a “proper woman” by showing that these images are neither inherent nor exclusive to womanhood, and in doing so create more space for women to express themselves outside these constructed confines.
It’s also impossible to disassociate drag from what it has done in terms of transfeminist activism. On the most fundamental level, drag demonstrate that gender is largely malleable; this, then, supports the basic principles of trans identities. Like transness, drag stands in opposition to gender essentialism. Moreover, many trans women — including women who have been contestants on Drag Race,but more on that later — have gone on record as saying that drag allowed them to explore their identities in a public setting.
From all this, we can conclude that drag is in fact a form of feminism; but how is drag a specific contribution to black feminism? The answer is multi-faceted, and finds it roots in the historical precedent of black-centric drag. In the early and middle twentieth century, many jazz clubs in predominantly-African-American neighborhoods featured black drag queens as performers. There are also elements of drag-based feminism that uniquely address black women and the various discriminations they alone encounter. Historically, black drag queens have used their platforms to confront various stereotypes of black women, including the “mammy,” “angry black woman” and “welfare queen” typecasts.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has a long history of showcasing and supporting the talents and work of black drag queens. First and foremost, the show was started and is still run by RuPaul, a black drag queen who garnered widespread fame and built up a drag empire decades before the show even began. A high portion of the show’s contestants have been black queens, and many have done quite well on the show: the winners of the first two seasons, BeBe Zahara Benet and Tyra Sanchez, are black, as is the season 8 champion Bob the Drag Queen. These queens don’t simply use the show for visibility, either; many of the show’s black contestants actively use the platform for black feminism. BeBe Zahara Benet, who was born and raised in Cameroon before moving to the United States, uses her drag to celebrate her roots: she is known for frequently wearing traditional Cameroonian women’s clothing, and the original song she performed on All Stars 3 is about Cameroon.
The black queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race have also taken stands against the stereotypes of black women aforementioned in this essay. The Vixen responded directly to the “angry black woman” caricature during a season 10 episode of Untucked, which is the show’s backstage behind-the-scenes companion program. As part of an ongoing conflict with Aquaria — a white queen — The Vixen talked about the optics of how some viewers might portray their dispute: “You have created a narrative of [me being] an angry black woman who has scared off the little white girl.” (“Tap That”). Shangela Laquifa Wadley has branded herself as a hard-working entertainer, in direct contrast to the laziness associated with the “welfare queen” stereotype. Shangela was eliminated first in season 2, but then came back and finished sixth on season 3, and returned once again for All Stars 3 and nearly won the crown.
While male drag queens represent black feminism through female characters, the black transgender women who have competed on the show embody black feminism with their very existence. On season 5, which aired in 2013, Afro-Latinx contestant Monica Beverly Hillz came out as transgender, becoming the first transgender woman to do so in network television history (Shepherd).Perhaps the most significant contribution to black transfeminism on Drag Race is season 9 runner-up Peppermint, who was out before the show began airing and spoke frequently about her trans identity during and after filming.
The groundwork of drag is a type of social change and commentary, a performance that is all about defying expectations and taking a stand for individuality and freedom. A number of drag queens have demonstrated just how drag and black feminism collide, whether it be through denying stereotypes or visible transness or simply a celebration of black excellence. Drag is revolution, and black drag queens are leading the way.
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