Dragging Britain into the 21st Century
The American reality TV show Rupaul’s Drag race has entertained fans around the world for more than a decade, with its mix of shade, laughter and –of course-drag queens. The show has been a critical success too, having recently won another Emmy for an outstanding reality-competition program. Rupaul had answered Britain’s niche fan base and their prayers with a British spin off recently being aired on BBC, with queens promising fans to expect full glamour-yet also the grit of British charm- compared to their rather polished US counterparts. The question remains standing (on 6-inch stilettos): Is Britain ready for a much needed cultural makeover, or will our nation be the first to sashay away?
In many ways, a British Drag Race has been seen (in the eyes of super fans such as myself), as long overdue. For centuries there has been a rich history of drag as a form of entertainment in the UK. Britain was first exposed to the art of drag in the time of Shakespeare, due to bizarre social conventions meaning that women were not allowed to perform or act, in which men took on the roles of female characters. The phrase “drag queen” originated from the 19th century British slang “Polari”, used by gay men in London’s theatre community before the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Drag was soon exported to the US and during the late 20th century, the popularity of drag in the UK and the US ran fairly parallel. The US, however, started the notorious underground drag subculture in Harlem, a working class area of Downtown New York, which remains the iconic birth place of Drag Balls in 1970-80s New York. These flamboyant events involved owning the runway, wearing the finest drag around in order to wow the judges and go home with a clutch of trophies. To many, it was a form of escapism from oppressive ideologies which held queer people from being able to express themselves in society. From the fresh smoke of this innovative drag scene emerged RuPaul Andre Charles, an Atlanta drag queen with a witty sense of humour, a dream and many layers of MAC foundation.
So at what point did drag move from niche to mainstream? It was indeed the TV production company World of Wonder that originally put RuPaul’s Drag Race on the map in 2009, leading to the show enveloping popular culture during its 11 seasons of sass, starring more than 100 queens (who shall remain partly responsible for worn out phrases such as “fierce”, “tea” and “shade”) who have become worldwide stars in their own right. For those unaware of what the show consists of, Drag Race pits a host of hopeful drag queens against one another to complete challenges and “lip syncs for their lives”, until only one queen remains who shall become the next drag superstar. Britain might have a longer relationship with drag than the US, but it was the American Drag Race that made it a global spectacle: the reality TV show has been exported to more than 75 countries and has picked up 13 Emmy awards, with many celebrity guest judges and queer allies on the show such as Cara Delevingie, Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga.
With Britian already hosting Europe’s biggest festival of drag, DragWorld UK, which takes place in London every summer, to most imfamous Drag Race judge, Michelle Visage being a light footed and bedazzled contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, it is fair to say that knowledge and acceptance of drag culture has become widely accepted in this decade, with many now realising drag is entertainment for straight and LGBTQ+ people alike. However, with the Drag Race franchise booming in 2019, the show has been met with an inevitable backlash, with critics claiming it is too competitive, fake, and reduces gay people to catty stereotypes.
Drag is reaching its apex, but also a critical moment: how will this series evolve, become more inclusive and relatable to British society? Perhaps the answer will come from the queens themselves. Watching the first episode of Drag Race UK, I couldn’t help but ponder on how others may perceive this show. Such as people with substantial power within the nation : Bojo for example , who –upon many haircut cancellations- has had the time to write homophobic slurs throughout his political career , attacking “Labours appalling agenda, encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools”. Whilst being aware that the public probably agree our Prime Minister frequently engages his mouth long before his brain, his statements do matter to the minorities. Again and again LGBTQ+ people have been left scarred by demeaning slurs regarding same-sex love and marriage. Rupaul had once stated that drag is the “antithesis” of mainstream, that the subversive art form tips the notion of gender roles and may represent everything the right-wing hate. Considering that the rise of drag culture is coming in at a time period of political instability and Boris’s Brexit, it appears that Drag Race UK may have arrived right on time.