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Hi ugly, it's me [ __ ] and welcome back to my channel. Orange ya glad I’m back?
And just in time too to spill the tea about the queen and everyone's mouth.
No, not me this time. Maddy Morphosis. We'll be breaking down her casting in the newly announced
Drag Race season 14 and discussing what it means for the future of the franchise to have
a cis-gendered heterosexual male competing for the crown. Rupaul really does know how
to get us talking doesn't she? Today's video is going to be a doozy, so make sure to strap
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Now let's break it down. Let's begin by answering the question: what is drag? And what is Drag Race?
Drag itself can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but since this is
a Drag Race-centric channel, we'll be defining the word through the lens of mother Ru’s eyes.
Her simplest way of defining drag is you're born naked and the rest is drag, which basically means
to say that your entire life's performance in the world is your stage from womb to death drop, right
into your coffin. In a more elaborate definition of the word drag from RuPaul’s masterclass says
that drag is a gender-bending art form in which a person dresses in clothing and makeup meant to
exaggerate a specific gender identity usually of the opposite sex. And this master class definition
goes on to explain that drag is most often used as a form of entertainment, performance,
and most importantly celebration of LGBTQA+ plus pride. And the first person to ever describe
themselves as a drag queen as we know the art form today was William Dorsey, who was an American gay
liberation activist born into slavery actually in 1858. And the first popular male impersonator,
what we might call a drag king today, was Annie Hindell. They started performing in New York in
1867, who fun fact actually married multiple women in a time of non-legal gay marriages
by dressing up as a man in the courthouses. And Drag Race as you know is a competition started by
RuPaul to find America's next drag superstar. At its core I’d say the show was about love,
inclusion, and the art of drag. And the Drag Race franchise as a whole is responsible for launching
the careers of literally hundreds of drag artists, all of whom by my account have up until this point
been open members of the LGBTQ+ plus community. Maddy's casting changes all of that, forever.
And upon the announcement of the inclusion of a heterosexual cast member in season 14, the Drag
Race fandom immediately went up into flames, as it does so often with the slightest breeze.
And amongst the burning embers of the reddit debates concerning Maddy Morphosis’ two main
questions stood out to me: can straight people do drag? And should straight people be competing
on RuPaul’s Drag Race? And when I realized all the online controversy boiled down to those two
main questions, I couldn't help but notice that these were essentially the same discussions that
people were having about women doing drag when Victoria's Scone was revealed to be
cast on season 3 of Drag Race UK. And about trans women concerning Vanessa von Cartier
on Drag Race Holland in season 2 for example. And to me the pattern and problem were obvious:
the othering of these contestants by parts of the fan base, not all, I think has largely been
the problem of Drag Race itself. The franchise is a trend maker in the space of drag. In fact,
there are many fans of the show who could probably name every winner off the top of their head,
but has never actually gone and seen a real live local drag show. And therein I think
lies the problem. Drag Race built its brand, for the most part, on gay men dressing up as
pretty ladies. And most of its history didn't showcase other types of drag. In that different
types of people could do drag. I mean even RuPaul himself once infamously compared trans queens to
athletes doping in the Olympics. Which is of course completely ridiculous in and of itself,
because this show has never been about who can present the most like a woman in drag.
It's always been about the challenges, you know, that was several years ago though, and I do think
we have to applaud and recognize that Ru and the franchise as a whole have been making huge strides
in the diversity realm of casting. So firstly can straight people do drag by Ru’s definition,
yes. And not only can straight people do drag, but oh my god are they doing it! When you take a look
around at westernized Hollywood pop culture, you'll realize that it's kind of everywhere.
For example Tyler Perry's Madea character, Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire, Marlon and Sean Wayans
in White Chicks, Chris Lilly as Ja’mie Private School Girl, Nick Kroll is Liz in Publizity,
and countless more. And those examples are the type of drag that I would call entertainment value
drag, not necessarily done to uplift or promote LGBTQ+ community values, but simply done to have
a laugh and subvert norms. However straight men do also have a history of acting in drag roles that
celebrate more traditional drag we'll say. Or drag that uplifts and celebrates LGBTQ+ values,
for example To Wong Fu and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. And I’d say not only was queer culture
celebrated and uplifted in those movies, but those movies became pop culture staples responsible for
setting trends in the drag community, and before drag played by straight men in modern pop culture,
I’d say that straight men had a pretty rich history of dressing up as women in theater.
For example more recently British panto and way back in Greece when men would play the roles of
women in the theater, which they did of course because they didn't respect women enough to
actually let them on stage, but that is a whole other topic completely. And one of Dragula’s most
beloved alumni, Disasterina, is straight man married with kids. I’m imagining the
12 year old drag race fans are clutching their pearls as i speak. Anyhow whether or not someone
thinks a straight cis man can or can't do drag, the point is moot. They've been doing it sis. At
least by RuPaul’s own definition of the term. So now that we've established that straight men can
do drag, let's move into the next topic: should straight men be competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race?
This is where things get juicy. The most salient argument that I’ve seen in opposition
to casting straight people on Drag Race, is that casting a straight queen does ultimately take
a valuable platform spot from a member of the LGBTQ+ community? And that argument is definitely
not without its merit. For far too long the entertainment industry has platformed heterosexual
people in the roles of LGBTQ+ characters. For example Priscilla Queen of the Desert and To
Wong Fu that we talked about earlier, and in a wider non-drag related sense we even have people
like Eric McKinnon who played will from Will & Grace, the main gay character, actually being
heterosexual. RuPaul’s Drag Race on the other hand has been a boom for LGBTQ+ people looking to get
a platform or step up in the entertainment industry. Simply put, there is no other show
that has platformed so many queer people. I even saw someone online comparing Maddy’s casting to
replacing JVN with a straight man on queer eye. Which is an interesting comparison, although I
don't think holds its weight because JVN is like what one fourth or fifth of the entire cast?
Not 1 14th like in Maddy’s case or 180th in the case of just US seasons of RuPaul’s Drag
Race. Like we're talking about 0.5% of every drag queen that's been on the show being heterosexual,
which is hardly a heterosexual gentrification of our small tiny queer neighborhood that we call
RuPaul’s Drag Race. And I also think people are quick to forget that the show has indeed
platformed and showcased straight people many a time before. Bryce, one of the pit crew is
straight, and do y’all remember Wintergreen? She was Peppermint's makeover partner. And if
I remember correctly I remember people campaigning for Wintergreen to appear on the next season like
nobody else. And girl, straight as could be. Not to mention several of the show's spin-offs have
featured heterosexual people like, dare I say it, Secret Celebrity Drag Race. Sorry I just
had flashbacks. Or Drag U. That really was a rough spot, huh? But in all seriousness I do
understand how that could be a problem. Drag Race has only been on for like 13, 14 years,
and we've got hundreds of years to make up for in terms of LGBTQ+ representation. Like I 100%
get why so many people are looking at this like a betrayal, especially on a show that admittedly,
as we talked about earlier, hasn't been the quickest in the past to keep up with the
modern advancements in language, we’ll say with like for example using the tea slur on
early seasons. And while there are plenty of trans queens in the alumni of Drag Race, it's
only recently, well, season 13 and now season 14 that we're seeing these queens come to the cast,
openly and proudly declaring that they are loud, proud, and trans. And it's beautiful to see. And
spoiler alert: but Kylie just won All Stars. And Vanessa von Cartier won all in season 2,
both openly trans competitors. The franchise is making progress, and it's exciting to see.
But let's get back to the point at hand: are we being betrayed by Maddy’s casting?
I would say no. Because at the end of the day, doing drag is not an identity. It's a performance,
a celebration of gender, a celebration of LGBTQ+ pride. Or in a larger sense,
sometimes just a celebration and mockery of pop culture. Yes drag is, and dubiously,
a quintessential cornerstone of queer culture, however straight people have been doing drag,
and probably will continue to do drag whether or not they are represented on Drag Race. And
speaking of representation, I think everybody deserves some. Is one out of 180 enough?
I don't know. I don't know how many straight queens there are out in the
clubs performing that really wouldn't be on the show, but needless to say I’m happy to see it,
and proud of Drag Race for branching out. Drag is an art form that seeks to subvert
norms at its core, and is inherently political. I think it should challenge people when they see it
and while drag may seem super normalized in the LGBTQ+ community, I think we should take a step
back and realize that the heterosexual community doesn't necessarily feel the same way that we do
about, you know, putting wigs and like that and talking to cameras on YouTube. That is to say I
love all my straights watching, but there are many straights that move a lot slower than progressive
communities like ours do. For example, Harry Styles. While he's doing nothing new by the
standards of fashion icons like Billy Porter, he is being celebrated in his circles because
he is subverting norms. And personally I’m happy to take any wins that I can get outside of our
bubble. And finally for anyone still pondering this question, I have to say that I’m sorry
because Drag Race has already decided for you. Should heterosexual queens compete? They said yes.
And finally I’m gonna leave y'all with some food for thought to chew on. I feel like I’ve always
proudly bragged about how the LGBTQ+ community is built on pillars of inclusion and acceptance,
which includes all sexual orientations, all gender identities, and even allies. Allies like Maddy,
who from what I can tell so far, is somebody who is choosing to celebrate and uplift pieces
of culture within our community that she enjoys. And it's important I think that we always leave
room for allies in our little queer bubble because allies can open doors that we can’t,
and speak up in rooms where we don't have voices. I think our community is ultimately served better
by keeping our gates open, rather than closed. And with that I open my arms to Maddy Morphosis
and drag of all kinds. And surprise surprise, you're getting the best of both worlds today.
After I originally filmed my video, Maddy finally spoke out, giving us her thoughts on the fans
reaction to her casting so far. She wrote, “Hi everyone. I just wanted to take a moment and talk
about a few things regarding myself, the show, and the reaction. Obviously with short clips and
snippets you don't get a full sense of who someone is or their story. I entered the scene shortly
after high school because it was a safe space for me to explore my own gender identity. The people I
met and the experiences I had helped me understand more about gender and sexuality, what it meant
to me, and where I fit in with everything. Drag wasn't even something I considered when I first
started going out, it was something that just happens to be in the scene I was in that I fell
in love with. But doing drag the past five years has given me even more opportunities
to further explore my own identity and also understand more about others. The concepts of
masculine and feminine are arbitrary and made up and the rigid line drawn between them just
feeds the stigma of men who embrace femininity and perpetuates the cycle of toxic masculinity.
If there's a message that I hope to convey to people, it's that you don't have to inhabit the
box society puts you in, just to be comfortable in your own sexuality. I’m not here to show the world
that straight guys can do drag. For anyone saying that I’m representing an underrepresented group,
I appreciate you but, straight men are not a persecuted and excluded group within the drag
community. I’ve always felt welcomed in every drag space I’ve entered, and have never been shunned,
excluded, or persecuted because of my sexuality. But I know many entertainers
who have been discriminated against for being a fab trans POC and more. I think one of the best
things to come out of my casting is that it's kicking up a lot more talk about representation
in the drag scene. And I hope that it helps lead to more marginalized groups being showcased
and represented. Thank you to everyone who has sent me love and support. Thank you, MM.”
So there you have it, the community's thoughts, my thoughts, and Maddy’s
thoughts. The only ones missing are yours. So don't be shy to let me know how you're
feeling in the comments down below about Drag Race's first heterosexual contestant.
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