Core Response #5 (Devin Glenn)

On Access and Exclusion in Drag Race

Drawing from the words of Amy Adele, Strings and Bui identify the racial commodification that takes place in RuPaul's Drag Race which “produces race as a superficial highly visible aspect of identity while erasing racisms and structural inequalities” (824). In essence, Strings and Bui examine how Drag Race paradoxically encourages contestants to challenge the legitimacy of gender constructs through the art of drag while simultaneously rewarding contestants who play into radial stereotypes which “match” their appearance, thereby reifying the “authentic” and “real” status of race in potentially destructive ways even though the contemporary world generally acknowledges that race, like gender, is socially constructed. As Strings and Bui point out, often this push to “race it up” in Drag Race is manifest in the judges’ suggestions to contestants that they show more “personality” (826-827). However, that “personality” seems to only be acceptable within the bounds of an individual’s appearance, or their performed racial “realness.” The racisms and structural inequalities inherent in this process of racial commodification are unveiled as Strings and Bui inspect the way in which Black queens are only allowed access to a racial performance which “reflects” their lives outside of drag whereas white and Asian queens are given much greater freedom to “race-bend.” This problematic phenomenon highlights the structural inequality of a program that purports to champion inclusivity while encouraging contestants to commodify their race and exploit it, although in this regard, the rules also change depending on one’s race.  

Drag Race, then, could be viewed as a space which ostensibly embodies the principles of inclusivity, but which only grants access to contestants and viewers through exclusionary frameworks in the show’s production and distribution. This is certainly the case with the aforementioned process of racial commodification. As the language of this term suggests, these exclusionary practices are very much wrapped up in capitalist ideologies. Much like the problematic notion of the American Dream which claims that anyone can make it big so long as they work hard, Rupaul’s Drag Race and its adherence to the Reality TV model presents the possibility that anyone can be crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, so long as they adequately prove they have what it takes through consistent success. The issue here, though, is that each queen is asked to prepare the majority of her runway looks ahead of time. Therefore, a queen that is more financially well off will have greater access to quality materials, seamstresses, etc. which inevitably gives her the advantage to succeed over queens that might not have those same resources. This means that systemic inequality is built not only into racial performances on Drag Race, but also into its operational framework. This is compounded by the fact that Drag Race is only available to stream on a select number of platforms.

            To adequately explain the exclusionary aspects of Drag Race’s distribution, it is first necessary to give a brief overview of the show’s unique and chaotic history of airing/streaming. From Seasons 1-9, the show was originally released on Logo TV and later made available on Hulu and Paramount+; from Seasons 9-14, it was released on VH1 and later made available solely on Paramount+; and for its latest season (15), it is currently being released on MTV. In other words, Drag Race’s distribution deals are anything but simple and stable. This has led countless fans to feel frustrated as they constantly have renegotiate which platform they want to subscribe to depending on whether they want to be able to rewatch past seasons of the show, keep up with current seasons, or do both. There is a workaround to this, however, in the form of the WOW Presents Plus membership. Created by World of Wonder (the production company responsible for the RuPaul franchise), this monthly subscription allows greater access to Drag Race content, but even that depends on which country your account is set to. While all seasons of Drag Race are unavailable to users who have their accounts set to the US, those who select the UK option have access to Seasons 1-10, 14, and 15 while those who select Canada as their country have access to Seasons 1-13. Again, anything but straightforward. And that doesn’t even begin to account for the other 28 Drag Race spinoffs and their respective availability. The ever-expanding RuPaul franchise and its adherence to capitalistic notions of supply and demand encourages exclusivity in its spectatorship through its complicated, shifting access portals.

            Although Drag Race presents itself as a Reality TV program which functions as a site for inclusivity and democracy, its structures which promote racial commodification, systemic inequality, and exclusivity through limited distribution accessibility work directly against this objective.