Contradictions Between the Subversive and the Mainstream: Drag Cultures and RuPaul’s Drag Race

Abstract

I explore contradictions between the subversive and mainstream dimensions of drag culture in RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR). I consider Butler’s (1990) gender performativity in terms of how drag is articulated by men performing femininity. I also interrogate authenticity (Hill 2009) for the way it contradicts the inauthentic spaces that drag occupies on RPDR. Additionally, I consider competition (Kavka 2012) and consumption (Silverstone 1999) as institutional and narrative aspects of RPDR. While competition and consumption imbue RPDR with purpose and legitimacy, they contradict drag culture’s fantasy and instability. I argue that while RPDR opens up unprecedented avenues of representation, it also demands identifying institutional strictures that constrain performativity. Ultimately, I interrogate the boundaries between drag as subversive and drag as mainstream in the context of RPDR.