Research Session 5

For this post, I researched what drag is like in the media. I started my fifth research session with entering "RuPaul's Drag Race" into the Google search engine. I used the Wikipedia page--I checked to make sure that it had references at the bottom so I knew there were outside sources that went into the article. The drag race is a reality competition show in which contestants go through challenges and do runway walks to move forward in each episode. RuPaul judges the competition as a drag queen, but when the contestants partake in the challenges, he gives instructions and advice to them as a man (Wikipedia). The one part that I found to be true to drag is that the contestants can be any sexual orientation. The rest of the show doesn't seem to be what I had expected. In previous research, I had learned that drag shows actually have meaning behind them. This show was created for entertainment purposes and make drag look like something that is just for fun. I also searched YouTube in hopes of finding an episode, but instead found an entire channel created by the producers of the show in which the drag queens from past episodes are interviewed or participate in games. This promotes the T.V. show, which further proves that this form of drag is for entertainment purposes.

https://www.youtube.com/user/WOWPresents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RuPaul%27s_Drag_Race

I then put "drag in movies" into Google and found a list of movies that I had not expected to see. I was assuming I'd get results such as Rent or Kinky Boots because those movies have obvious examples of drag. While these did come up, I also saw movies such as Hairspray. This shocked me because that movie does not include any drag shows or include men dressing as women as part of the plot. However, the media defines it as drag because the role of the mother is played by a man. This does not influence the plot, but is used to keep the audience interested. It struck me that the media things of drag as a man or woman dressing up as the opposite sex. But my previous research has shown me that it is more than that. There is a community and culture that goes along with it. It is not something that people strictly do for fun. A man dressing as a woman for comedic effect should not count as drag, in my opinion. http://www.imdb.com/list/ls057512964/

I did not find any information of movies or shows including drag kings. This shows me that drag queens are more accepted in society and they are what people think of when one says the term "drag." From the emotional reaction I had, I can tell that this project is influencing my thoughts on drag in the media.