This year’s winner, 21-year-old Aquaria, only knows of a world with the possibilities of “Drag Race” in it.
“[It] was something that I could look forward to and look up to and see people like the winners of ‘Drag Race,'” Aquaria says regarding a career trajectory in drag. “Especially the later seasons, really creating big names for themselves and gaining lots and lots of success.”
The art form was such a legitimate career path that Aquaria dropped out of the Fashion Institute of Technology to become a full-time working drag queen in New York City. Known for “turning looks,” Aquaria has a busy touring schedule as the reigning champion but is eventually interested in growing his brand in the fashion world and exploring other television opportunities.
Aquaria was also a key figure in one of the more striking moments of “Drag Race’s” companion show, “Untucked,” this past season. The 30-minute program, which was nominated in the Outstanding Structured Reality Program category for the second straight year, follows the contestants backstage as they wait for RuPaul and the judges to determine the winners and potential losers of each main episode. During an argument in the second episode of “Untucked” Aquaria began to cry and Chicago queen The Vixen, an African-American, called him out for it. He noted, “You say something, I say something, you start crying. You have created the narrative that I am an angry black woman who has scared off the little white girl.” It opened a discussion on race relations and perceptions that was almost unheard of on a reality-competition show.
O’Hara, who is also African-American, was not on set at the time, but recognizes importance of such discussions taking place on a show such as “Drag Race.”
“Hopefully two people are sitting down watching that episode, and one person says, ‘Oh it’s just drama’ and the other person says, ‘No it’s a real life thing’ and that opens up a conversation,” O’Hara says. “And hopefully they relate that to things they’re battling with or dealing with in their own personal lives and that maybe the beginning of someone beginning to understand what it’s like to live in someone else’s shoes. Hopefully that sparks so kind of conversation for people to take one step trying to understand what it’s like to be someone else.”
In the weeks and months that followed Aquaria and The Vixen became one of the other’s biggest supporters. Moreover, Aquaria knows the incident started a conversation that was “absolutely necessary.”
“We didn’t just cancel racism in 14 episodes of ‘Drag Race,’ that was impossible, but it just continues this conversation about race, which is extremely vital for so many people to hear,” Aquaria says. “I think what, especially Vixen and the other queens of color, started to bring up this season is very important and is a good example of how we can talk about race in the LGBTQ+ community and hopefully with our straight viewers, as well.”
Over the past decade the show has continually evolved to reflect the current political climate. The first season had a contestant, Ongina, open up about their HIV status (a rare revelation on reality TV at the time). Other queens have spoken about how they have been estranged by their families including kicked out of their homes for being gay. A number of contestants have come out as trans on the show. Another found their partner proposing to them and getting married on stage a year before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on gay marriage. And beyond touching on race relations, this season saw the aforementioned St. Clair discuss being sexually assaulted and another contestant, Dusty Ray Bottoms, reveal he’d undergone conversion therapy because of pressure from his parents. RuPaul and the show’s producers have always discussed the show as being political, but from Bailey’s perspective it’s never been more so than now.
“We’re in a culture right now under an administration that basically says it’s okay to be bigoted, to be racist, to be trans phobic, to be xenophobic, that it’s okay to hate. And I think that puts it certainly in a very political place,” Bailey says. “Now, I think it’s always been political, in the sense that in a society that you have a conservative dimension that wishes everybody to be normal and acquiescent and the same. And I think a show like ‘Drag Race’ says, excuse my language, ‘F**k that. We are not the same, we are not normal. There is no such thing as normality.’ Each and every one of us actually is a snowflake. And far from being a weakness, that snowflake is what makes each of us special and in a sense beautiful. And that is what the show celebrates. It’s that individuality, the sense that each and every one of us is different, and that really the reason we’re here and the challenge of being here, is to live that life of who you are to the fullest.”
Despite it deeper cultural and political themes “Drag Race” still, at its core, is a competition show that is meant to entertain the masses. And that’s one reason Aquaria thinks Television Academy members should vote for it.
“First of all, look at the other options, there is no better choice than ‘Drag Race.’ There’s no choice of a show that is as entertaining, is as well made, and produced, and created, edited, etc., and there’s no show that breaks ground like ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ does,” Aquaria notes. “And this is a show that is truly changing people’s lives. We love all these reality shows, but a lot of them are not life changing. These shows are saving kids from parents who might not normally understand them and their life and lifestyle, but because they get to see what LGBTQ people are like on this show, at least in the small scope of drag, they have a better understanding about that.”
His co-star has an equally enticing pitch.
“‘Drag Race’ is monumental to our society because [you witness the] deconstruction and reconstruction of people right in front of your eyes on television, with the added layer of scratching and trying to make your way to the top by trying to be someone you’re not,” O’Hara says. “And I think so many of us dress up in drag every day to try to get what it is we need out of life and it’s dressing up in drag we learn what it is we actually need from life.”
O’Hara adds, “I think it’s the most relevant art form and competition around.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10” is available on VH1, iTunes and Amazon.