This paper is an intersectional feminist analysis of the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Ra... more This paper is an intersectional feminist analysis of the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race. It firstly examines it as a reality television format and demonstrate how it operates as a pastiche of the reality television genre and queer culture. It then analyses the construction and performance of racialised gender by examining the contestants and events on the show. Finally, it proves how the show’s representation positively impacts the LGBT community and contributes to feminist discourse around transgender issues. In doing so, this thesis argues that the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race creates valuable representation for the LGBT community, and promotes female empowerment, but that this progressiveness is undercut by a privileging of white femininity.
This paper is an intersectional feminist analysis of the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Ra... more This paper is an intersectional feminist analysis of the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race. It firstly examines it as a reality television format and demonstrate how it operates as a pastiche of the reality television genre and queer culture. It then analyses the construction and performance of racialised gender by examining the contestants and events on the show. Finally, it proves how the show’s representation positively impacts the LGBT community and contributes to feminist discourse around transgender issues. In doing so, this thesis argues that the reality television show RuPaul’s Drag Race creates valuable representation for the LGBT community, and promotes female empowerment, but that this progressiveness is undercut by a privileging of white femininity.
Uploads
Papers by Kaarina Parker