HEGEMONIC “REALNESS”? AN INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE by Sarah Tucker Jenkins A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express her sincere thanks to her thesis advisor, Dr. Christine Scodari, and her thesis committee members, Dr. Barclay Barrios and Dr. Wairimu Njambi for their feedback and support. She would also like to thank the teachers who have mentored her throughout her academic career including (but not limited to) Dr. Josephine Beoku-Betts, Dr. Jane Caputi, Dr. Michele Tracy Berger and Ann Propst Pallex. Lastly, a big thank you to her entire family and all her friends, for their unending support and encouragement. iii ABSTRACT Author: Sarah Tucker Jenkins Title: Hegemonic “Realness”? An Intersectional Feminist Analysis of RuPaul’s Drag Race Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Christine Scodari Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2013 RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of the few reality television shows focusing on QLGBT (queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) identified individuals that has made it into mainstream consciousness. RuPaul’s Drag Race debuted in 2009 and appears on the channels, Logo and VH1. This thesis analyzes the four seasons from 2009 through 2012. RuPaul’s Drag Race provides a unique perspective on the ways that gender identity, sexuality, size, class, race, and ethnicity intersect and interact in people‟s lives. The television show augments many of these intersections and the challenges related to these identities while still reflecting the daily struggles that people experience. In many respects, the show works to promote messages of self-love and acceptance and makes an effort to praise each contestant. However, it also promotes many problematic and damaging stereotypes. This thesis conducts a feminist analysis in order to answer the question: How does RuPaul’s Drag Race relate to iv hegemonic and oppressive stereotypes and roles associated with gender identity, sexual orientation, size, class, race and ethnicity? Does it challenge or reinforce such hegemonies? This thesis utilizes a number of secondary questions in its analysis. How does RuPaul’s Drag Race portray fat and thin contestants? How do contestants‟ socioeconomic backgrounds fit into their portrayals on the show? How does RuPaul’s Drag Race portray queer cultures, and are these portrayals stereotypical? How is race represented on the show; do racial stereotypes come into play? In order to answer these questions, this thesis examines visual imagery, narrative, and dialogue in the show as well as some supporting materials. It utilizes theories from cultural studies, women‟s studies, English, and communications within its analysis. This thesis concludes that although RuPaul’s Drag Race does engage in some subversive behavior, it ultimately reinforces harmful hegemonic stereotypes. v DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother. I couldn‟t ask for a more supportive parent, thank you for always believing in me. I have loved you since the beginning of time and I will love you until the end of time. Also, to my grandma and grandpa, who live in my heart forever. They taught me what it feels like to love, and be loved, unconditionally. You gave me roots and wings, and made me who I am today. I love you both so much. And last, but not least, to my cat, Beauty, who stood (laid?) by me (literally) through the entire creation of this thesis. HEGEMONIC “REALNESS”? AN INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE List of Figures ................................................................................................................ x Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 Background and Justification ..................................................................................... 1 Issues to Be Addressed .............................................................................................. 5 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 5 Queerness and Queer Theory ................................................................................. 6 Feminist Theory ................................................................................................... 12 Audience Analysis Theory ................................................................................... 16 Overt and Inferential Racism ............................................................................... 18 Racial and Race-Intersected Stereotypes ............................................................. 19 Stereotypes of Size and the Treatment of Fat Individuals ................................... 20 Stereotypes of Queer and Transgender Individuals ............................................. 22 Reality Television ................................................................................................ 24 Drag Culture and Camp ....................................................................................... 26 Research Procedures and Methodology: Theoretical Framework ........................... 29 Chapter Layout ........................................................................................................ 32 Chapter Two: Textual and Audience Analysis ............................................................ 34 Paris is Burning “Tells a Story Like No Other” ...................................................... 35 vii Representations of Queer Cultures on RuPaul’s Drag Race ................................... 39 Appropriation of Transgender Culture ................................................................. 39 Gay Male Stereotypes .......................................................................................... 43 Policing of Drag ................................................................................................... 45 Pseudo-Feminism and the Masking of Misogyny ................................................... 52 “Creature”: BeBe Zahara Benet as the “Exotic” Other ........................................... 57 Mystique as the Fat Sapphire ................................................................................... 61 “No Fat Girls Allowed” Raja and the Tyranny of Thinness .................................... 63 Mimi Imfurst ............................................................................................................ 65 Stacey Layne “Bryant” Matthews—The Triple Threat: Native America, Fat, and Rural Southern .................................................................................................. 66 “The Weather Girls Are Here!”: Delta Work‟s Bodily Treatment Versus Stacey and Mimi ...................................................................................................... 69 “Plus Size Barbie” Jiggly Caliente .......................................................................... 70 Madame LaQueer .................................................................................................... 71 “Take Us to Church!”: Latrice Royale as the Exemplary Fat Contestant and Honorable Mammy .................................................................................................. 72 “Escandelo!”: Puerto Rican Contestants .................................................................. 76 Policing the Borders of Identity ........................................................................... 77 Kenya Michaels, Sexualization, and “Spicy”ness ................................................ 78 Language as a Hindrance to Success.................................................................... 80 “Doesn‟t Mean you‟re Racist. You Hate Everybody, Including Your Own Race”: Cultural Appropriation and (Acceptable?) Racist Stereotypes .................... 82 Audience Analysis ................................................................................................... 88 Video and Audio Responses ................................................................................ 88 Message Board Analysis ...................................................................................... 91 “Dragulator” Regulates Racial Hegemony .............................................................. 98 viii Sharon Needles, Shirley Q. Liqueur, And RuPaul‟s Support of Racist Appropriations ....................................................................................................... 101 Chapter Three: Conclusion ........................................................................................ 105 Findings ................................................................................................................. 105 Implications for Queer Cultures ............................................................................ 107 Implications for the Treatment of Women and the Feminine ................................ 110 Implications of the Representations of Fat Contestants ......................................... 111 Implications of Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes and Exoticization ......................... 112 Hopes for a “Queer Time and Space” .................................................................... 114 Limitations of Study and Future Research ...........................................................