![]() ![]() Take note RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 will debut on January 1, 2021, at 8 pm ET/PT on VH1. Drama (and hate) can get a bit out of control when it comes to the RuPaul’s Drag Race fandom. Fingers crossed, certain fans are nice to them. I’m looking forward to learning more about the contestants once the show airs. ![]() You should be able to find the leaked footage easily. Apparently, there’s going to be an interesting lip sync battle in the very first episode. While the latest trailer does showcase the competing queens, the fandom had already seen a leaked trailer (a short one likely made for social media) revealing the contestants and some of the twists to expect. “ Competing safely and fiercely, our 13 queens proved that it takes more than a global pandemic to keep a good queen down,” shared Executive producer and host, RuPaul Charles. This means that the latest episodes were shot during the pandemic. I talked about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 getting greenlit back in August. The latest season in the highly-popular franchise will premiere on New Year’s Day on VH1. Swann risked it all not just for individual freedom, but for the liberation of so many others.RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 Cast (Image via Twitter RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 is ready to usher in 2021 with a whole lot of positivity. In the U.S., an African American born into slavery, William Dorsey Swann, was the first-known person to identify as a “queen of drag.” Swann survived slavery, racism and the Civil War, serving as a civil rights leader who was active in the underground queer community in Washington D.C. Since the 17th century, Japanese Kabuki theater has featured male actors performing female roles. Bills like these create more stigma, discrimination and ultimately violence against LGBTQ folks - particularly transgender and nonbinary people.ĭrag as a theatrical form is as old as Shakespearean theater, when women were not permitted to act on stage and men played the female roles. They play on long-held anti-LGBTQ tropes and hurtful stereotypes that equate members of our community as dangerous. Many of these bills define a drag show as “a performance in which a performer exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth.” This would require any venue that meets these criteria to be categorized as a “sexually oriented business.” These proposed bills and those like them across the country expose themselves as blatant attempts to attack and criminalize speech while continuing to marginalize “other” members of our community. Meanwhile, bills working their way through at least 11 state legislatures are threatening to restrict or prohibit drag show performances. In November, an armed man walked into an LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs during its weekly drag show and fatally shot five people and injured 17 others. The establishment had recently held a drag event. One incident in Tulsa, Okla., this past October involved a person smashing the windows of a donut shop before lighting a Molotov cocktail and firebombing the storefront. A number of incidents involved violence or weapons. GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, in a recent report found that in 2022, there were 141 incidents of anti-LGBTQ protests and threats targeting specific drag events in 47 states. It has been extremely distressing to see the political attacks recently, not just on the LGBTQ community, but also specifically on the art of drag. I am living proof of the truth that “we are all born naked and the rest is drag.” Drag helped me discover my truth as a trans woman, and I am so grateful for this art form that has been life-changing and life-saving. Later, in my early 20s, when I was inspired to do drag myself, I discovered my transness, my feminine expression. Thanks to the goodness of others, I survived homelessness, and at 18, I made my way to Los Angeles. I hid my queerness as long as I could, but when it became too much, I had to leave. I grew up in a conservative, religious, homophobic and transphobic family that did not accept me. Seeing so many gay, trans and nonbinary people on television, doing what they love, gave me hope that I too could have a future living as my true self. I remember watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as a traumatized teen in Dallas, Texas. Throughout the month of February, Variety will publish essays from prominent Black artists, artisans and entertainment figures celebrating the impact of Black entertainment and entertainers on the world at large. Kerri Colby is a model, activist and online and TV personality who most recently appeared on Season 14 of the Emmy Award-winning series “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” ![]()
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