Drag Race UK was fabulous, but didn’t represent the full scope of British drag
Hardcore fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race look back at the first US season with a combination of fondness and bewilderment.
Sure, it was campy and charming, but it was also in definite need of a few improvements. Even the camera work was blurred by a layer of steam (it was filmed in a bathhouse), a fact often referenced by fans and even the show with in jokes about the so-called ‘season one filter’.
The first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the British version of the show, will likely be remembered similarly – not due to a lack of budget or polish, but because a few key issues are still stopping the show from becoming the progressive powerhouse it could be.
Ever since the show announced its debut cast, fans have taken to social media to criticise the lack of diversity in the line-up – not only the fact that there’s only two queens of colour among the cast, but also the lack of variation in their aesthetic.
The UK’s drag scene stretches back to the early days of Shakespearean theatre and pantomime, but clubs across the country are now brimming with fresh, innovative talent whose looks and routines take a rhinestone-studded axe to the gender binary. It seems there’s still no room for acts like these on Drag Race UK.
Last week, this was particularly stark as the remaining queens were tasked with giving their sisters and mothers a glamorous drag makeover. It was the first time that women – aside from the few trans queens featured in the US seasons, almost all of whom came out as trans midway through their seasons – had been recognised by the show as drag queens.
It was a heartwarming challenge, but one which stuck to the route of conventional drag, and even highlighted the often overlooked fact that gay men can be misogynistic, as Baga Chipz made disrespectful comments about his mum which rubbed the workroom (and the internet) the wrong way.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The RuPaul team wouldn’t have had to look far for female and non-binary drag queens who could have taken part in the series.
Non-binary queen Victoria Sin found huge success in London but now tours the world creating high-concept, high-glamour performance art; Lacey Lou and Amber Cadaverous have made a name for themselves in Birmingham; the likes of TeTe Bang, Venus Dimilo and Ms Kevin LeGrand and countless others are also creating drag magic which challenges our ideas of gender.
They’re all disproving the myth – reinforced by RuPaul’s notorious interview with The Guardian – that drag is the exclusive domain of cisgender men.
Despite this lack of inclusivity, the show’s first season has undeniably spotlighted some of the brilliance of British drag: its niche cultural references, penchant for piss-taking, and crude sense of humour amongst them.
But aside from pulling out some incredible, avant garde looks for select runways (the Vivienne’s ‘rainy day eleganza’ and Sum Ting Wong’s iconic postage stamp moment), none of the queens have deviated too heavily from the polished, hyper-glamorous norm that the US franchise holds as its gold standard.
When they do – for example, when The Vivienne donned pirate boots for her brilliant Pete Burns tribute – they were met with skepticism from the judges.
Again, this refusal to embrace more radical drag sets the show back. Artists like Cheddar Gorgeous and Charity Kase, whose looks are more ‘creature’ than ‘queen’, have injected experimentalism into the UK scene; other drag stars like China and Lewis G Burton similarly push drag beyond the boundaries of gender, creating visual performance art that would guarantee some seriously gag-worthy moments.
None of this is to say that Drag Race UK isn’t entertaining or necessary – the first season has exceeded many fans’ expectations, my own included.
Its combination of quick wit, filthy humour and emotional backstories resonates with audiences worldwide, and the sprinkling of British references will expose talented UK queens to a global audience.
But the lack of a diverse cast – acknowledged by contestants and Michelle Visage herself – and a commitment to old-fashioned, binary drag means that what we’re seeing is more of the same, rather than a step forward.
These could be minor issues waiting to be resolved, or they could be a sign that this is as progressive as Drag Race will ever get. But for some fans who adore the show and want to see it pushed to the next level, they’re small but fixable flaws.
When the show returns for its second season in 2020, it could make a statement by embracing more experimental artists, and at least acknowledging that its definition of drag is limited by modern standards. The show has already achieved the once-unthinkable, by bringing the subversive artform to the mainstream.
Now, it’s time to push things further by fully representing the true, boundary-pushing brilliance of the UK’s drag scene.
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