RuPaul blasted for comments about trans contestants on ‘Drag Race’
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RuPaul is getting flack and being accused of gatekeeping what it means to be a drag queen after he said that he didn’t want transgender women on his Drag Race show.
“Drag loses its sense of danger and its sense of irony once it’s not men doing it, because at its core it’s a social statement and a big f-you to male-dominated culture,” RuPaul said in the interview with The Guardian. “So for men to do it, it’s really punk rock, because it’s a real rejection of masculinity.”
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Asked if he would allow a transgender woman on his show, RuPaul doubled down, saying, “Probably not. You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body. It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing. We’ve had some girls who’ve had some injections in the face and maybe a little bit in the butt here and there, but they haven’t transitioned.”
Then, there’s the case of Season 9 contestant Peppermint, who was the first openly transgender woman to compete on the show. RuPaul seemed to be picking nits when he explained why she was okay to compete but transitioned transgender women weren’t.
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“Peppermint didn’t get breast implants until after she left our show; she was identifying as a woman, but she hadn’t really transitioned,” he explained.
Unsurprisingly, Twitter and social media tore into RuPaul for the comments, accusing him of transphobia and of gatekeeping the community.
— Transgender men change their bodies, retain their blackness —
RuPaul doubles down
Although RuPaul faced online backlash for the comments, he stuck to his position, taking to Twitter with controversial tweets, including, “You can take performance enhancing drugs and still be an athlete, just not in the Olympics.”
“Ego loves identity. Drag mocks identity. Ego hates drag,” he also tweeted.
https://twitter.com/RuPaul/status/970679587326771205
https://twitter.com/RuPaul/status/970709820364881920
https://twitter.com/toritouzinsky/status/970713581745516546
https://twitter.com/ANGUSRAZE/status/970712612810973185
How is transitioning to female "performance-enhancing"? That would seem to imply that the end goal of drag is simply to look like the fishiest woman. I was led to believe it was about charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. And turning the very idea of gender on its head.
— Quiçá (@lackOfDaysical) March 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/TheVickyVox/status/970464472648228864
Although I do feel the separation from being a drag queen and now a trans woman, there should not be any reason to be “not accepted” when it comes to the art of drag. If you are a fierce artist, your a fierce artist & should be judged based on your art. NOT your gender identity!
— Gia Gunn (@GiaGunn) March 5, 2018
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