“All T, no shade:” “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has made a tremendous impact on mainstream pop culture. In 2009, the first season premiered on Logo and launched the careers of nine queens. The series had a humble beginning: the winner was promised $20,000 and a lifetime supply of MAC Cosmetics. In the years since its premiere, the show has been the launch of the careers of 100 queens, and the cash prize has skyrocketed to $100,000.
The judges on the show have been just as iconic as the queens. RuPaul herself has served as the main judge for all of the seasons, along with the likes of Santino Rice, Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley. Celebrities such as Raven Symone and Aubrey Plaza have also made appearances, among others.
The show has had a number of judges throughout the years, but Michele Visage has been RuPaul’s right hand woman since the third season of the show. Visage is tough to please when it comes to queen’s runway looks and stage performances, but it comes from a place of love. The love may have been too tough during this past season, “All Stars 2,” when Adore Delano dropped out of the competition after a particularly harsh critique from Visage.
One theme of the show is self-love. Following the elimination at the end of every episode, RuPaul repeats the same mantra: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else. Can I get an amen up in here?”
On top of the queens being absolutely “sickening” from week to week, emotions can also run high and tears may fall. In season five, contestant Monica Beverly Hillz tearfully came out as a transgender woman on the runway. During the next season, contestant Trinity K. Bonet bravely discussed her AIDs diagnosis in hopes that it would give courage for others to do so.
The theme of unabashed self-love is one of the many reasons that the show has been so successful. The show’s constant reinvention keeps things fresh from year to year. In an interview this March with Vulture, RuPaul said “We’re always inspired by the queens. And because it’s like a school, we get a new crop of kids every single year — that’s how it stays fresh.”
The show also serves as inspiration to people in the LGBTQIA+ community of all ages. Bendelacreme from season six overcame depression, and Roxxxy Andrews from season five came back from being abandoned by her mother at a bus stop at 4 years old. “Even in the face of such adversity, they prevailed and shine today,” said RuPaul. “So it’s a story of strength.”
The show has spawned an extremely successful annual tour entitled “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Battle of the Seasons.” The tour gives fans of the show a chance to see their favorite queens perform solo, as well as in groups. The entire affair is hosted by Visage, and the tour travels overseas to Europe and Australia.
With the most recent season of the show, tensions and drama were at an all-time high. With “All Stars 2” came the biggest change in format that the show has ever seen. Instead of RuPaul choosing who went home from week to week, the power to choose was in the hands of the queens. This caused contestants to accuse each other of playing favorites, especially the members of “RoLaskaTox:” Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska and Detox.
Even though the show has become more mainstream, RuPaul has a different outlook on drag itself: “It will never be mainstream. It’s the antithesis of mainstream.” This year, RuPaul won an Emmy for Outstanding Host for Reality, Reality Competition Program.
As the show continues to grow, the dedicated fan base and lives positively affected grows. Season nine is slated to premiere in the spring of 2017 and it is sure to bring another cast of amazing queens and spectacular runway looks.
