„And Don’t Forget To Subscribe…“ Reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race between the complex representation of queer identity and the commodification of individuality
Abstract
The chapter deals with the reality TV show RuPaul's Drag Race. It points out the productive ambivalence of the show: The competition is a televised remediation of live drag performances, which in many ways is subject to the logic of contemporary commercial reality TV.
Drag is mediated to an unprecedentedly wide audience through the show, but is normalized to look good on the television screen; LGBTQ identities are given complex representation in the show, but are spectacularly exposed to the audience's gaze and their range is reduced; drag performers become international celebrities through the competition, but their individuality is commodified through the revelation of the "authentic self" and through an emphasis on competition and hard work on oneself and one's drag.