‘Assume the position: two queens stand before me’: RuPaul as ultimate queen

ABSTRACT

Season 10 marked a decade of RPDR, with RuPaul and other celebrities framing the show as a worldwide phenomenon promoting love, inclusivity, acceptance and Drag. This aspect of RPDR is foregrounded in much existing scholarship on the reality show which considers the inclusivity and visibility that it offers. Although RPDR brings an area of gay culture and history into the mainstream, we argue that the Queen and Herstory that is promoted and validated is RuPaul Herself. Within the show, contestants often refer to RuPaul as ‘Mama Ru’, in reference to historical drag family relationships. In this article, we argue that RuPaul is positioned as the Ultimate Queen rather than Drag Mother, reflecting the more transactional relationship between head judge and contestants that we argue is constructed in the show. RuPaul as Ultimate Queen is achieved through using the themes of history and authenticity to support a commodification of RuPaul which reinforces celebrity, cultural capital and authority. From Queens lip-syncing to RuPaul’s back catalogue to the central place RuPaul places herself as drag pioneer; we explore ‘RuPaul as commodity’ and the possible implications on the presentation and marketability of gay/drag culture through the format of Drag Race and RuPaul as ultimate Queen.

KEYWORDS:

• Reality Television
• celebrity
• RuPaul’s Drag Race
• authenticity
• history
• commodification
• drag Culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hazel Collie

Hazel Collie is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications at Birmingham City University, and a researcher in television audience identities, cultural studies and gender. Her research focuses on backfilling audience histories and feminine cultures.

Gemma Commane

Gemma Commane is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, and an active researcher in the fields of media and cultural studies, and gender and sexuality. Her research interests focus on contemporary cultural studies, gender and sexuality, bad girls and dirty bodies, entrepreneurship at the margins, and researcher positionality.