Rachel Hinton - Rupaul: In His Own Words

In His Own Words

EDITED BY

RACHEL HINTON

AND

HELENA HUNT

Copyright 2020 by Agate Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher.

RuPaul: In His Own Words is in no way authorized, prepared, approved, or endorsed by RuPaul and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of his past or present organizations.

Printed in the United States

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: RuPaul, 1960- author. | Hinton, Rachel, editor. | Hunt, Helena, editor.

Title: RuPaul in his own words / edited by Rachel Hinton and Helena Hunt.

Description: Chicago : B2 Books, an Agate imprint, [2020] | Summary: This collection of quotes has been curated from RuPauls public statements--interviews, books, social media posts, television appearances, and more. The collection includes information on his career, his effect on pop culture, and his perspective on identity, love, and life--Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019034718 (print) | LCCN 2019034719 (ebook) | ISBN 9781572842793 (trade paperback) | ISBN 1572842792 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781572848375 (ebook) | ISBN 1572848375 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: RuPaul, 1960---Quotations. | Television personalities--United States--Quotations. | Female impersonators--United States--Quotations.

Classification: LCC PN1992.4.R86 A25 2020 (print) | LCC PN1992.4.R86 (ebook) | DDC 791.4502/8092--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034718

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034719

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B2 Books is an imprint of Agate Publishing. Agate books are available in bulk at discount prices. For more information, go to agatepublishing.com.

When you become the image of your own imagination, its the most political thing you can do. When you decide to become a drag queen, which is contrary to everything this male-dominated culture is about, it is the most rebellious act.
BUZZFEED NEWS, JUNE 2, 2015

E VEN AS A CHILD, RuPaul Charles knew that he was destined for fame. Though he didnt know he would become the worlds preeminent drag queen or star in an Emmy-winning TV series that would launch multiple spin-offs and countless drag careers, the young RuPaul held a singular conviction: I knew that I would be famous and I knew that I would be a star. Raised by a single mom in San Diegos tract housing, RuPaul was a dreamer from an early age, a sensitive boy who surrounded himself with others who could speak [his] language.

At 15, RuPaul moved to Atlanta and attended the Northside School of Performing Arts, an experience he credits with shaping what would become his stage persona. He later began performing on Atlanta public access television, and during that time, a chance performance in drag transformed not only the way others saw him but the way he saw himself. RuPaul worked the Atlanta club scene, but he was no overnight success. Everything about Rus career has been a slow rise, says friend and producer Randy Barbato. This period, which RuPaul characterizes as not officially drag yet but rather punk or gender fuck, was a crucial stage in his artistic evolution. During this time, he formed relationships that would sustain him throughout his career and honed his triple-threat talents as a singer, dancer, and performer.

RuPaul moved to New York in the mid-1980s, working as a go-go dancer and performing at the annual drag festival Wigstock. With the release of his first single, Supermodel (You Better Work), in 1992, he experienced his first taste of international fame. Two years later, he was asked to be a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics, making him the first drag queen to become the face of a major cosmetics campaign. He continued making TV and film appearances throughout the 1990s, developing his signature glamorous Barbie-blonde drag look, releasing multiple studio albums, and starring in his own talk show.

It was after a nearly eight-year hiatus starting in the late 90s that RuPaul eventually launched what has been his most influential and massively successful project: RuPauls Drag Race. The reality competition show, which crowns one lucky queen Americas Next Drag Superstar, premiered in 2009 to a small audience, but the shows viewership grew by word of mouth, and it soon became a cultural phenomenon.

It is difficult to overstate the impact that the show has had in bringing awareness of drag to mainstream America over 11 seasons and counting. The show now boasts multiple spin-offs and Emmy wins and has featured such high-profile guest stars as Diana Ross, Cher, and Lady Gaga. The show has also firmly positioned RuPaul as the reigning queen of drag queens, as he has helped launch the careers of the more than 100 contestants who have competed on the show.

While Drag Race has done an enormous amount to centralize the LGBTQ experience in American popular culture, RuPauls relationship with the LGBTQ community has, at times, been controversial, and those controversies have reflected the evolution of the LGBTQ community over the decade since the shows premiere. RuPaul came under fire in 2018 when he stated in an interview that he probably would not allow a trans-gender contestant who had begun the process of transitioning to compete on Drag Race, and then followed up with an ill-advised tweet doubling down on his position. Shortly after, he recanted his statement and indicated he had much to learn from the transgender community. More recently, he has expressed an openness to learn from contestants on the show and evolve as times change: Every season the girls come and they challenge me, he says.

Not surprisingly for a drag queen, transformation is a major theme throughout RuPauls body of work. He consistently emphasizes the power of drag to expand ones consciousness, speaking of drags power to upend notions of identity: Were all born naked and the rest is drag, he is fond of saying. RuPaulMama Ru, as his legions of fans affectionately call himcites Oprah Winfrey as one of his heroes, and in many ways, at 59 years old, RuPaul occupies a similar cultural position to Oprah as both a spiritual and business guru. (GuRu, not coincidentally, is the title of his third book.)

His latest project, a revamped version of his mid-90s talk show, RuPaul, seems a fitting platform to showcase the wisdom earned over a long career. RuPaul credits his longevity in show business to both flexibility and perseverance, and he shows no signs of slowing down. I dont turn down jobs. I will work until I cant work no more, he said in May 2019. The same tenacity that drove the sensitive young boy growing up in San Diego is, it seems, still driving RuPaul today.