Opinion | Why everyone should appreciate ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

This past month I have been utterly addicted to “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” It is the only show I find myself watching during my free time and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I have completed watching four seasons of the show in only three weeks — almost. The show is everything that you could want when watching reality television or competition shows. It’s entertaining, funny, creative and overall an amazing show. I think when it comes to listing legendary shows on television, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is one to consider. Not only is it an addicting show but it portrays the art of drag in such a positive light and is an incredible platform for the queer community.

Firstly, all of the contests on the show are amazing. It’s incredible to watch the passion and drive that they have for their art. All the queens on the show are hand-picked by RuPaul himself because he sees potential in all of them to become America’s Next Drag Superstar. The drag queens in the show vary in age, race, looks and personality. No two performers are alike. Every queen has a different style of drag that is special to them and watching these contestants take such pride in their art is enjoyable to watch. 

Along with their creativity, all the queens have such big and lovable personalities. The queens on the show have such an undeniable confidence about them — they are all so funny and entertaining. There is no doubt that once you start a new season, you will fall in love with many of the queens because they are all so lovable.

Secondly, the show itself is beyond comparison in many ways. In every episode, the show has a new celebrity judge. The judges range from models like Gigi Hadid to singers like Ariana Grande and even designers like Marc Jacobs. The regular judges are also a great addition to the show. Michelle Visage and Santino Rice have great energy and never shy away from giving the cold hard truth when judging. 

Along with phenomenal judges, the show is set on keeping their watchers engaged. Each week the queens are challenged to do something new for the episode, whether that’s making a costume from scratch, giving someone else a makeover, performing in a musical or even creating their own music video. Every challenge keeps the viewers entertained and keeps the queens on their toes, making comedy gold. Some challenges that make “Drag Race” so special are the Snatch Game and Lip Sync For Your Life.

Snatch Game is probably one of the most iconic challenges on each season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Many of the queens prepare for this challenge as soon as they know they were chosen to compete on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The basis of the game is that the queens choose a celebrity to impersonate while also being on a game show hosted by RuPaul himself. The game is full of laughs as each queen tries their best to make Ru laugh while also doing a good impersonation of the celebrity of their choosing. Every Snatch Game has always left me wanting more and laughing so hard my stomach hurts. It is most definitely one of the highlights of every season. 

Lip Sync For Your Life is also quite legendary in the series and always an amazing watch. In this challenge, the queens ranked in the bottom two for that episode go up against each other by lip-syncing to a song, and whoever loses the lip-sync is sent home. The lip syncs are always high energy as you watch the queens dance across the stage with devotion. They are always a highlight of the episode.

While “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is always a joy to watch, it has also given an incredible platform for the art of drag and the queer community. Drag has been around for hundreds of years and is not a new thing in the scene of entertainment. Drag is a form of gender expression where people can perform and entertain in such a special way. With drag, people are able to embrace who they are and be authentic with the people around them. Using makeup, wigs, extravagant costumes, music and performance, drag is an art that displays how gender is not constricting, but can be very fluid. As said by season nine winner, Sasha Velour, in her PBS NewsHour interview, “Drag is heightened performances of gender. So we take all the ideas that make characters in this world, which are always gendered ideas, and we twist them around, exaggerate them, invert expectations and create something new in the mixing of seeming opposites.” 

RuPaul is especially a pioneer in the queer community and also in the drag world. Many credit RuPaul with bringing drag to the mainstream media and showing people that drag is a craft that must be celebrated. With a show specifically centered on drag, it gave many people a way to experience drag for the first time. Since drag is also very popular within the queer community, this was also a way to celebrate queer performers that are involved in drag. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is a trailblazer when it comes to representation for drag queens and queer people alike.

Now I do understand that “Drag Race” may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I strongly advise everyone to give it a chance. Before I was a mega fan, I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy the show. But now I love it, and even now while writing this article I am watching the show. The show is something that I truly would recommend to all. Even if you don’t enjoy the show, it is still important to recognize all the good that RuPaul and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have done for people. “Drag Race” represents a group of people who are confident, comedic, charming and trying to show people that being yourself is okay.

Danae Poteat writes primarily about pop culture and current events. Write to her at dmp152@pitt.edu.