the art of drag: showing vulnerability while serving cunt
on my adoration of the queens in drag race uk season 6
in october 2020, my sister sat me down to watch rupaul’s drag race. early in covid, kate found it and fell under a spell. kate had already seen every season, interacted with every piece of media on it: all the podcasts from the former queens, the youtube video essays, the reddit! she was already deeply a part of the fandom and ushered me into the fold.
kate started me on us season 6, and let me say, what a place to start. iconic queens, juicy drama, an impressive top three! from the juxtaposition (and later, friendship) of the seasoned bianca del rio and newcomer adore delano to laganja estranja’s antics and trinity k. bonet’s lip syncing abilities, it was an awesome place to begin. with that, i fell into the rabbit hole.
and it was a perfect quarantine activity. season 12 and all stars 5 were the latest american seasons, and the international drag race scene was just starting to build up (e.g. drag race uk only had one season released).
i fell in love with it just as kate did, always learning more about the artistry of drag and falling in love with new queens each and every season. when friends would come over, i’d make them sit and watch the best lip syncs! ‘so emotional’ between shea coulee and sasha velour as well as ‘shut up and drive’ between alyssa edwards and tatianna were probably the most often played syncs. i wanted to start rattling off my favorite queens and going through the reasons i loved each, but i quickly realized there are far too many i love and it could really be its own post! maybe another day…
cut to: the last week of september 2024 — drag race uk season 6 began with a bang. from the jump, my sister and i texted and called about how impressive the cast is, who our early favorites were, and sending spoilers in invisible ink while we wait for the other to catch up and chime in. honestly, our invisible ink spoiler messages are some of my favorite texts in my week. i wait excitedly for thursdays like i’m an excited, impatient child waiting for my parents to bring over my birthday cake.
each week, this cast shows their brilliance. whether it’s kyran’s innovative, stupid, and iconic looks, rileasa’s verse in ‘dead or alive’, chanel’s bitchy dramatic abilities, la voix’s elegance, or marmalade’s stunning fashions, the queens are bringing it. the drag is next level! amplify did a phenomenal interview with the queens before the season started where they talk all about their favorite seasons and lip syncs, and they touched on how “fresh” this season feels. marmalade said the queens wanted to make “not just great drag, but great tv as well.” you feel that watching it, you feel the queens are dying to show off their drag and fully present their art in the highest form.
something’s working better than before, this season feels like drag race us season 6. the queens are locked in and performing at peak abilities. it’s genuinely difficult seeing the lip syncs and eliminations because each bottom two are so talented. in last week’s newsletter, i briefly talked about how much i’ve been loving the season.
but then, on last thursday, episode 8: “all in the family” dropped.
the maxi challenge for the week was the makeover challenge, which is a staple of drag race. there have been some seasons with grand makeovers, some seasons with meh makeovers…but this? this episode was special.
before ru arrived in the werk room, her video message said:
hey sis! you can’t pick your family, but you can pick your toes. blood is thicker than wig water and bros before hoes.
the queens look around at each other, surprised and excited at the possibility of the challenge for the week. ru comes into the werk room and says she’s sure at this point in the competition, they must be missing the comforts of home. ru announces a family member for each of them: charra tea’s mother pamela, rileasa slaves’ sister channi, lill’s mother angela, kryan thrax’s partner richie, marmalade’s mother deborah, and la voix’s father richard. the reactions and hugs are priceless.
“we all know that the unconditional love of family is a gift” ru says. “and now, it’s your chance to return that love.” the challenge for the week is to glam your fam and turning their family into members of their drag family.
the makeover challenge happens around the top five or six, and by the time it occurs, fans know the queens well and get a different view into their style and makeup skills by putting another person into their drag. it’s a fan favorite, and it’s one of my favorites for good reason.
once ru declared the challenge, something felt different about this makeover episode. this cast has been really remarkable and they’ve been compared to the amazing cast of season 6 in the states. and watching the queens hug their loved ones was so joyful! the queens immediately fell into a comfortable rhythm around their family members, holding back tears and embracing each other. marmalade saw her mom come in and said: “you are lying! i’ve never seen this woman before in my life!” while la voix saw her dad and both of them started to tear up. each queen’s shoulders dropped with the arrival of their kin.
quickly, la voix sat down for a chat with her dad, richard, and asked if he knows what this whole process will be. la voix runs him through all the parts of the makeover and richard responds, with his whole chest: “seriously yes…i feel privileged and honored to be asked to come over here in such a big thing to do this with you!” in a confessional, la voix goes on to say that richard is nearly 80 years old and she feels honored that he’s come to be a part of this challenge. meanwhile, lill and her mom, angela, laugh together because if they stop laughing, they’ll cry. something that really struck me was lill’s confessional because she says, “she’s just the best. i just thinks she’s the best, and she just thinks i’m the best.” and kyran runs their partner richie through various ways of letting loose, being confident, and walking in heels.
they included a really interesting departure for the week — a moment of ru conversing with each familial pair. the queens have comedic moments and heartfelt moments with their family and ru. these conversational moments painted the queens in a sweet light, especially la voix. ru is pleasantly shocked to see richard, who shares that he is there “cause after all, he’s my son.”
and the next day as the queens are getting their family members into drag, charra tea’s mom pamela tells a story of their family at new york pride a few years prior. she challenged someone who had a poster that read “god hates gays” by saying, “god doesn’t hate anybody.” charra immediately starts to well up and laugh with her mom, explaining how proud she is of her mom.
it was time for the girls and their family members to walk the runway! it was such a delight watching each pair strut down the runway, and seeing the confidence with each step, each movement, each smile.
you can tell that the family members were held up by the confidence of their queens who put them in drag, there’s so much thought and care put into every detail. it’s just astonishing to interact with, and each look served cunt — the queens and their new drag family members really brought it!
each of the looks were so unique! and as per usual, the queens imbued their character into their look and their loved one’s look.
as ru went down the line talking about each look and sharing critiques, la voix and her father, who in drag was named ‘voix la,’ were astounding. michelle visage says she was caught off guard watching all the family members walk down the runway in drag, but especially the parents supporting their queer children. they’re simply filled with love and confidence, no misconceptions or malice. ru asks voix la if he feels powerful to which he responds:
i do feel powerful. i feel — i do feel so different. i can’t explain, but it’s a wonderful feeling. i thought it was a transformation that i felt it’s a privilege being gay. of all the hard work and effort people go through in this world, it’s tremendous. and i give praise to everybody. i’m 78-years-old and i hope i’m setting an example for other parents who should equally love their child, irrespective of gender or anything.
to see the whole clip and really get the emotions of the moment — please check this video on instagram!
there wasn’t a dry eye in the room after voix la’s sentiments. how exquisite.
all of the relationships unfold beautifully, but the parents especially share a real, deep message throughout the episode. these parents, specifically la voix’s father and charra tea’s mom, set such extraordinary examples of encouraging, genuine parental figures for their queer children. this should be how all parents hold up their children, but we know that too many parents have preconceived notions about what they believe they want for their children.
treating their children as voix la said, “irrespective of gender or anything,” allows these artists — and people — to fully step into themselves and know they have a great network of support. what a message to send. i hope these families change the views of any hesitant, prejudiced people.
i’ve thought of this episode nonstop over the course of the last week since it dropped. it was a dutiful reminder to me that this is what drag is all about: uniqueness, showing vulnerabilities, and serving cunt.
x, your pal al 🫧💘
LOOOVE this! Drag race is the best. I haven’t gotten into All Stars or the UK races yet!