my latest guilty pleasure – rupaul’s drag race

I don’t know why I love drag queens, but I do.

Actually, I’m lying. I do know why I love ‘em.

As a youngster, I was certainly no girly girl. My wardrobe consisted largely of baggy jeans, tees, and baseball caps fitted snugly around my head which was forever buried in a book. But in my late teens, I frequently traded in the baseball cap and jeans for heels, makeup, and high fashion – modelling in fashion shows and (accidentally) winning a beauty pageant. Much of my ‘diva training’ - from how to work a catwalk, to which fork to use for salad, to when and how to leverage a flair for the dramatic, had been delivered to me over the years by several ‘artsy uncles’, who at the time I viewed as simply… eccentric.

C’mon.  It was a small GA town in the 80s…what did I know?

Besides that, I generally admire anyone who has the, er… balls to get on stage and perform. And even more admiration goes to those transformer performers that totally become someone different when they get in front of a crowd.

So when my friend Kali hipped me to LOGO’s new reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race, I was instantly hooked!

The show borrows alot of its format from my other guilty TV pleasure – America’s Next Top Model. But instead of young would-be models blossoming under the tutelage of Tyra Banks, the show’s contestants are some of the fiercest female impersonators in the US, lorded over by the grand-diva of them all, Ms. (“you betta work bitch”) Ru Paul.

So far, my fan favorites are the cute little Asian queen, Ongina, and the beuatifully bizarre Nina Flowers (girl’s accent is the cutest). But all the girls serve it up with full glamazon drama and attitude. In each episode, the contestants are given a challenge, and the bottom two losers of each challenge, must (drum roll, please) lip-synch for their lives!! Without a doubt, it’s the best part of the show, and I must admit, I end up lip-synching right along with the divas as if my life depended on it. I think I may have a future as a female impersonator impersonator. Stage name: Candi Tucker.

New episodes air every Monday at 10pm on the LOGO channel. Or you can watch full episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race online. Check it out and prepare to get hooked.

cheers, bitches!

k

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