The drag scene has always been around, but it hasn’t always been so popular- especially amongst young people. Drag queens were among the first to start the Stonewall Riots, they were there in celebration of LGBTQ+ awareness, and now they have a more public platform that has absolutely exploded awareness of the culture: RuPaul’s Drag Race, a competition aired on VH1 where drag queens compete by completing challenges associated with fashion, comedy, cosmetic beauty, acting, singing, dancing, and not to mention all the pressure that comes with that.
RuPaul himself has become quite the sensation and has even been credited with the boom of drag culture. Since 2009, his show has been used as a platform for fans to watch the birth of gigantic careers as well as heated drama. Even if a queen does not win her season, she often goes on to be known as a “RuGirl,” and forever has the eye of at least a few fans encouraging her to newer heights. Winners such as Bianca del Rio or Jinkx Monsoon have seen explosions of popularity, leading Bianca to release movies and comedy tours around the world while Jinkx has her own albums and stands among Seattle, Washington’s finest drag queens. Losers, however, such as Adore Delano or Trixie Mattel, have had equally as much success in their careers; both have launched albums, toured from city to city, and have a plethora of fans and merchandise. Trixie Mattel even has a TV Show with partner-in-crime Katya Zamolodchikova, another loser of Drag Race.
This all seems too good to be true. Fame, money, clothes for days, makeup for years, brand deals, photoshoots, appearing on magazine covers, creating music. Those are just a few of the things some of these queens have really come to enjoy and see more of with their appearances on the show. It seems as if an appearance on RuPaul’s show could guarantee a lifetime of success. So why do some girls who appear on the show break down or even speak lowly of their experience? Shouldn’t all of them be so grateful and treasure every second moving forward from Drag Race?
Despite the fame and success, just like other celebrities that have been seen having absolute meltdowns or mental breakdowns, drag queens have also been through an immense amount of stress and anxiety. Some of the drag queens have altogether had to take time away from work for mental health reasons. Both Adore Delano and Katya Zamolodchikova, as mentioned above, are currently taking mental health hiatuses or have previously had to take hiatuses to get to the point of being mentally healthy in order to keep working. Those two are incredibly notable names within the scope of the culture; there are of course many more. A lot of fellow queens in the community have supported to decision to take time off for both girls; however, why is it that the show still prevails despite this mental health red flag?
Drag queens work day and night to be the queens they become. A lot of them have to have strict diets, work out rigorously very often, have what is considered acceptable makeup and wardrobe, and learn to lip sync in heels for minutes at a time and know all the words to said songs. Not to mention, each queen has to have her own personality and quirks to create “the full illusion” and keep up with fans on social media. Fit all of that as well as basic human functions like eating, sleeping, making time to be alone, making time for friends, as well as keeping up with personal health into one day every day of the week. Work out and live in the day and perform at night in front of fans at shows which could take hours to fully perform. Then, after shows, go on to appease fans by taking pictures and stopping by to talk to them. Queens have to make sure to do these things or they could lose their base and be out of the job.
With so much going on the life of being a drag queen honestly sounds so exhausting. Fulfilling, but something that would really take a lot of poise and effort to manage every day of the week. No, I’m not a drag queen myself, so I can’t say for every person; but from an outsider perspective, it seems really tiresome. No wonder these people have to take months at a time off for break. Sure, everyone else also puts out a lot of work into their everyday schedule and has trouble balancing such. But imagine doing an everyday routine with working out and eating right as well as organization and planning in the day and the shows are at night, all while putting on an entirely different persona and dressing to it.
I think that there really needs to be more of a spotlight on such issues, especially with a community that has been named as welcoming and diverse. Mental health is something really important for everyone to keep in check, especially amongst those who have so much to juggle. If RuPaul’s Drag Race continues, as it most likely will for a while, I feel as though these girls should get some type of slack for all their hard work. Going from a normal day to no internet and no outside connections with loved ones or friends in the stress of a reality show competition and then the aftermath of appearing on said show is quite a lot for one human. As noted by Season 6 winner Bianca del Rio in an episode: “We’re drag queens in a competition. The only thing worse is prison.” I personally really enjoy the show, but I come to worry about these people outside of seeing them on the screen all the time. What happens when they go home and take off all the makeup and can finally take a deep breath- oh, but only for a few hours can that breath last, because they have to be up early in the morning?
