{"id":75161,"date":"2019-03-15T16:19:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T16:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=75161"},"modified":"2019-03-16T09:20:21","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T09:20:21","slug":"rupaul-toxic-fandom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/","title":{"rendered":"Has RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019s toxic fandom gone too far?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4568,10172,10897],"tags":[12224,12220,10959,9328,12226,12228,12222,5342,12223,12219,6728,12227,4496,12221,12225,3874,12158,3392,10951],"class_list":["post-75161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-film","category-opinion","tag-abuse","tag-asia-ohara","tag-ballroom","tag-drag-queens","tag-gia-gunn","tag-michelle-visage","tag-plastique-tiara","tag-racism","tag-reality-tv","tag-rupaul","tag-rupauls-drag-race","tag-shea-coulee","tag-social-media","tag-soju","tag-the-vixen","tag-transgender","tag-transphobia","tag-troll","tag-trolling"],"acf":{"main_category":10897,"legacy":false,"exclude_from_ads":[],"hero_title":"","subtitle":"Several queens have recently spoken out about online racist abuse. As the new season kicks off, we spoke to fans and experts to unpick the problem.","hero":{"video":false,"image":{"ID":75183,"id":75183,"title":"tenor","filename":"tenor-1.gif","filesize":945366,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/tenor-1.gif","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/tenor-2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tenor-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75161,"date":"2019-03-15 16:26:59","modified":"2019-03-15 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Drag Race Season 9, courtesy of VH1"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

It\u2019s been known for a while that <\/span>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race <\/span><\/i>fans can get pretty nasty, but last year things came to a head when Asia O\u2019Hara shared that a fan<\/span> had threatened to burn her alive<\/b><\/a> for being black. The season 10 finalist explained that the threat had resurfaced old trauma; a group of local boys had actually attempted to set fire to a young O\u2019Hara for being gay. \u201cThat strong and resilient person I had become was instantly reduced back to that 11-year-old boy,\u201d she wrote. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fast-forward just a few months and it seems the problem refuses to go away.<\/span> Naomi Smalls<\/b><\/a> recently<\/span> received death threats<\/b><\/a> for sending home a fan favourite during All Stars 4; only two weeks ago, season 11 contestant<\/span> Soju<\/b><\/a> was<\/span> forced to defend herself online<\/b><\/a> after being cruelly mocked and told she was \u201cless of a drag queen\u201d for wearing flats (she has tendonitis); even Vietnamese season 11 queen<\/span> Plastique Tiara<\/b><\/a> caught some serious heat<\/b><\/a> for comically exaggerating her own accent in a recent challenge. From mindless verbal attacks to threats of actual violence, it seems there\u2019s no predicting the <\/span>Drag Race <\/span><\/i>fandom.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":75163,"id":75163,"title":"PastedGraphic-2","filename":"PastedGraphic-2.png","filesize":65278,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/pastedgraphic-2\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"pastedgraphic-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75161,"date":"2019-03-15 13:45:18","modified":"2019-03-15 13:45:18","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":618,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","thumbnail-width":123,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","medium-width":618,"medium-height":484,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","medium_large-width":618,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","large-width":618,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","1536x1536-width":618,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","2048x2048-width":618,"2048x2048-height":484,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","trp-custom-language-flag-width":15,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-2.png","wpvr_mobile-width":618,"wpvr_mobile-height":484}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

But one thing is predictable: queens of colour will receive the most hate. Countless queens have described the show\u2019s fandom as explicitly racist, and season 10 finally saw the show<\/span> address race relations<\/b><\/a> \u2013 albeit terribly \u2013 by making somewhat of a scapegoat out of<\/span> the Vixen<\/b><\/a>, who called out fellow queen Eureka for racist rhetoric. She was tarred with the \u2018angry black queen\u2019 trope so often used to undermine people of colour, and when the reunion episode came, only Asia O\u2019Hara came to her defence. This sparked an altercation with Ru, who explained: \u201cI have been discriminated against by white people for being too black, by black people for being too gay and by gay people for being too femme. But did I let that stop me from getting this chair? No.\u201d Ultimately, The Vixen\u2019s politics proved too radical for the show and its capitalist \u2018by the bootstraps\u2019 rhetoric.<\/span><\/p>\n

These conversations had already been happening, but not actually on the show. \u201cQueens of colour are less celebrated than our white counterparts,\u201d said season 9 queen<\/span> Shea Coul\u00e9e<\/b><\/a> earlier last year in a<\/span> roundtable discussion<\/b><\/a>. \u201cBut that\u2019s life, we have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition.\u201d The same is true of social media, too \u2013 even the most successful queens of colour have significantly less followers.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other factors at play when it comes to deciding which queens receive the most vitriol. \u201cThere\u2019s also that \u2018traditional\u2019 trope of gay men targeting queens of size and transgender performers,\u201d says Berlin-based superfan and fellow drag queen Christoph. \u201cStill, it certainly seems like many fans are all too willing to jump at any tiny character trait of a queen of colour that rubs them up the wrong way; they\u2019re also willing to give white queens more free passes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":75164,"id":75164,"title":"PastedGraphic-1","filename":"PastedGraphic-1.png","filesize":194299,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/pastedgraphic-1\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"pastedgraphic-1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75161,"date":"2019-03-15 13:55:43","modified":"2019-03-15 13:55:43","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":623,"height":699,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","thumbnail-width":86,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","medium-width":623,"medium-height":699,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","medium_large-width":623,"medium_large-height":699,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","large-width":623,"large-height":699,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","1536x1536-width":623,"1536x1536-height":699,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","2048x2048-width":623,"2048x2048-height":699,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","trp-custom-language-flag-width":11,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-1.png","wpvr_mobile-width":623,"wpvr_mobile-height":699}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

This hatred is at odds with the show\u2019s overarching message of self-love, but<\/span> Carolina Are<\/b><\/a> \u2013 a social media consultant, lecturer and researcher whose work focuses heavily on online trolling \u2013 argues that fans are just trying to mimic queens that \u2018read\u2019 each other and \u2018throw shade\u2019. These terms are rooted in<\/span> queer ballroom culture<\/b><\/a>, and they describe a back-and-forth exchange of clever insults which are playful and shady, but never <\/span>actually <\/span><\/i>mean. The show\u2019s<\/span> \u2018roast\u2019 challenges<\/b><\/a> are a prime example: queens are praised for witty put-downs, but punished when they cross the line into straight-up nastiness. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you watch the \u2018reading\u2019 challenges, the editing and reactions make it clear when someone crosses that line,\u201d Are tells me. \u201cOnline, it\u2019s trickier to get that moment of reckoning. You just post, and there\u2019s no editor there to tell you you\u2019ve gone too far.\u201d She also points to the show\u2019s growing popularity and highlights that <\/span>Drag Race <\/span><\/i>now propels queer people \u2013 and their culture \u2013 to international celebrity status almost overnight. This celebration of subcultural art in mainstream culture has undeniably tinged drag with capitalism \u2013 queens are expected to be \u2018polished\u2019 when they arrive \u2013 but it\u2019s also made stars of marginalised people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, <\/span>Drag Race <\/span><\/i>is subversive by mainstream standards, but certainly not by international standards. When RuPaul was called out for transphobic comments in a <\/span>Guardian<\/span><\/i> profile<\/b><\/a> (he insinuated that Peppermint wasn\u2019t quite trans enough to be classed as a woman contestant;<\/span> an apology later ensued<\/b><\/a>) the limitations of <\/span>Drag Race <\/span><\/i>became evident. <\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":75162,"id":75162,"title":"Ross Mathews, Michelle Visage, RuPaul, Carson Kressley, & Christina Aguilera - Episode 1, Season 10, courtesy of VH1","filename":"Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","filesize":226439,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/ross-mathews-michelle-visage-rupaul-carson-kressley-christina-aguilera-episode-1-season-10-courtesy-of-vh1\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"ross-mathews-michelle-visage-rupaul-carson-kressley-christina-aguilera-episode-1-season-10-courtesy-of-vh1","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75161,"date":"2019-03-15 13:32:03","modified":"2019-03-15 13:32:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1500,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":85,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","medium-width":1500,"medium-height":1000,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","medium_large-width":1500,"medium_large-height":1000,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","large-width":1500,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","1536x1536-width":1500,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","2048x2048-width":1500,"2048x2048-height":1000,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Ross-Mathews-Michelle-Visage-RuPaul-Carson-Kressley-Christina-Aguilera-Episode-1-Season-10-courtesy-of-VH1-e1552926608860.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1500,"wpvr_mobile-height":1000}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"6","caption":"RuPaul's Drag Race judges, courtesy of VH1"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

Ru is of the opinion that drag is more subversive when cis gay men are the artists behind it, but there are countless<\/span> trans, non-binary and cis women performers<\/b><\/a> worldwide bending gender to their will and battling misogyny on top of that. In-depth conversations of trans identity on the show have been largely missing despite some queens \u2018coming out\u2019 mid-season, although Peppermint and Gia Gunn (who was featured on All Stars 4 after this controversy) have both spoken about drag as a tool to explore their gender identity and make a viable living. Drag is social commentary first and foremost, and marginalised performers are harnessing that potential to radical effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for fans, it\u2019s also hard not to read their comments in a wider cultural context. The rise of racism and right-wing rhetoric has been swift over the last few years, and it just so happens that queens are being caught in the crossfire \u2013 and despite coming to each others\u2019 defences, it seems the show is reluctant to officially call it out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely think that queens of colour are targeted more frequently and aggressively than others,\u201d says Jasmin, a UK-based PR consultant and self-identified superfan. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think that\u2019s something that\u2019s unique to the fandom. A combination of Brexit and Trump\u2019s election have emboldened racists; they\u2019re now so openly vile because they feel it\u2019s acceptable. As much as the fandom wants to declare that it\u2019s completely unprejudiced and loving, there are evidently some prejudices being pulled to the surface in this current social climate.\u201d Incidentally, a recently-announced UK version is in the works \u2013 although it remains uncertain whether the cast will mirror the country\u2019s more DIY, genderfuck approach to drag.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":75166,"id":75166,"title":"PastedGraphic-3","filename":"PastedGraphic-3.png","filesize":64226,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/pastedgraphic-3\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"pastedgraphic-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":75161,"date":"2019-03-15 13:58:08","modified":"2019-03-15 13:58:08","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":630,"height":404,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":82,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","medium-width":630,"medium-height":404,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","medium_large-width":630,"medium_large-height":404,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","large-width":630,"large-height":404,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","1536x1536-width":630,"1536x1536-height":404,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","2048x2048-width":630,"2048x2048-height":404,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/PastedGraphic-3.png","wpvr_mobile-width":630,"wpvr_mobile-height":404}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

The problem is complicated and multi-pronged: sometimes queens are attacked by self-anointed \u2018critics\u2019; at other times they\u2019re targeted by straight-up homophobes and racists; but more frequently it seems they\u2019re torn apart by overzealous fans who take what is essentially a reality show way, <\/span>way <\/span><\/i>too seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes queens fight to the death on-screen but then take an Instagram selfie together, so you never know whether feuds are scripted or \u2013 if not \u2013 if they\u2019ve been resolved,\u201d explains Are. But even if these are storylines custom-built to spark controversy, the reality is that queens are dealing with the consequences. \u201cThere have been some instances where Ru or other queens have addressed the trolls; But ultimately I think the show would do more; it needs to publicly and properly distance itself from the trolls.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the core issue \u2013 accountability. It\u2019s all well and good to turn marginalised performers into stars, but how ethical is it to throw them to the fandom wolves without adequately calling out their behaviour?<\/span><\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nHas RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019s toxic fandom gone too far? Has RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019s toxic fandom gone too far?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/rupaul-toxic-fandom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Has RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019s toxic fandom gone too far? 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