RuPaul was recently interviewed by Michelangelo Signorile on his Sirius OutQ radio show and clearly demonstrated how completely out-of-touch he is with the reality that most full-time trans people (i.e., transsexuals) actually live in.
Before I continue, I want to make clear that my opinions expressed here are directed toward RuPaul exclusively, not toward drag performers in general, nor toward drag as a concept or an art form.
The truth is that RuPaul's drag persona is not a real person but a fictional character he portrays as a performer to make money, no more a reflection of true reality than Captain Kirk or Stephen Colbert, who, like RuPaul, also uses his real name when portraying a caricatured, fictional character created and performed solely for entertainment purposes. As RuPaul himself has said of his drag performances, "I do it once in a while for fun, but I really only do it when I'm getting paid, ch-ching!"
For someone like RuPaul who does not actually live a transgender life but only engages in transgender expression as a way to make money, his response to Signorile's asking what he thought of Lance Bass apologizing for using the word "tranny" was a testament to his ignorance of and utter detachment from the lives most trans people live:
It's ridiculous! It's ridiculous! Words -- it goes back to grade school: "sticks and stones," you know the rest. The thing is you have to look at the ego, you have to follow the money, and the payoff. And the payoff is that the ego wants attention no matter what. It will try to get it wherever the hell it can, whether it's positive or negative. So you have to ignore it, basically; you have to starve it out. And unfortunately in our culture, one person can write a letter to the network and they shut something down. It's unfortunate. But I love the word "tranny."
And no one has ever said the word "tranny" in a derogatory sense. In fact, you have to go to the intent of the person saying it. Of course, Lance Bass, his intent would never be to be derogatory. Never. So, you know, that's really ridiculous. And I hate the fact that he's apologized. I wish he would have said, "F-you, you tranny jerk!"
While like many real-life trans folks, I'm tempted to ask "Is he for real?", I already know the answer. Yes, he is for real, because RuPaul is neither a true trans woman nor someone who lives a life reflecting reality for most of us. What RuPaul actually is is a gay male actor, a super-rich celebrity performer who has probably made more money portraying a comedic caricature of a woman than most real trans women will see in their lifetimes.
As a celebrity performer, RuPaul is someone who doesn't have to go to interview after interview looking for work, always hoping that this will finally be the time that the interviewer will actually consider his résumé, not his gender identity, as the key factor in deciding whether or not he'll be hired.
RuPaul doesn't have to worry if one day his landlord will decide he doesn't want a "tranny" around and legally throw him out on the street without notice. He doesn't have to be concerned that his bosses might fire him and replace him with a non-trans person just because a higher-up decides he doesn't want a "tranny" working for his company.
Not only doesn't RuPaul have to worry about facing discrimination because of his transgender expression, but he has financially profited quite handsomely from it. If we use the quote above as our guide, RuPaul doesn't see his doing drag as a form of self-expression, but rather simply as a business, a route to wealth and financial success. Ch-ching indeed.
While I thought that for the most part Signorile conducted an excellent interview, I have to wonder why he chose to ask RuPaul the question in the first place. From my perspective, it's much like asking William Shatner what he thinks of NASA. Shatner might have some interesting thoughts on the subject, but it's understood at the outset that he portrayed a role, a fictional character, that he's never actually gone into space himself, and he's not really an expert on space travel.
For someone like RuPaul, who engages in a form of transgender expression part-time exclusively as a moneymaking enterprise, to try to tell people who live and work 24/7 in a gender role they were not assigned at birth, people who are legally denied the right to work, rent a home, or even just to have a drink in a local bar free of discrimination in 34 states, what they should or shouldn't find offensive is the very height of arrogance. It's also clear evidence of a complete detachment from and lack of interest in the reality most trans Americans actually live in.
No, RuPaul, you don't get to tell me or any other real-life, 24/7 trans person what we should or shouldn't be offended by. You don't get to tell us to lighten up, not when our lives, our ability to live, work, and take care of the families that depend on us are on the line, not when we can still legally be fired, thrown out of our homes, or even denied access to public spaces just because we're transgender in most of this country. You don't get to compare yourself to us or cast yourself as a voice of our community, because you neither represent us nor understand us. You don't get to speak for us, RuPaul, or get to tell us what to think or how to feel, because the truth is that you're not one of us.
You're nothing like us, RuPaul, nothing like us at all.
Follow Rebecca Juro on Twitter: www.twitter.com/beckyjuro
But did you catch under the surface of what RuPaul was stating?
His whole point was to try to lessen the effect of the word, as all derogatory terms should. Don't focus on such menial problems, like being offended by words, in the LGBT community, focus on bigger issues.
If there are lessons from RuPaul that gender variants can take -- whether they are crossdressers, transgender or intersexed (as I am) it is this: you have to be tough because life is tough. You also have to love yourself because until you do you can't be loved. You have to be yourself because that's who you are. You have to take care of yourself to be your best. Those are four things Rupaul says over and over again. They are well worth heeding and living.
RuPaul has been doing drag since when he was living in Atlanta at a young age. RuPaul obviously LOVES what he is doing, and just because he was able to make his career based on it (which most people only dream of doing) doesn't mean he is "only doing it for the money". He has spread the world of drag to the world, a true hero for the drag community.
1st time Straight person sees Rupaul on TV " OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " /brain explodes
2nd time Straight person sees Rupaul on TV " HIM AGAIN ITS SO WEIRD!! "
3rd time Straight person sees Rupaul on TV " HES REALLY PRETTY... FOR A GUY"
34th time Straight person sees Rupaul on TV " Ok, im over it now "
I dont entirely agree with what Rupaul said, but if you take it within the context of using shock value to normalize the topic, then its clear that he is trying to take the bite out of the T word, similarly to how black celebrities have watered down the N word. Offensive words will always be harsh if they are spoken with hate, however.
I don't think Rebecca pretends to speak for all trans persons. That much should be clear from her intro. "People like Rebecca" are not the reason many wanted to drop the T from LGBT. That movement, which began long before people like us began to speak, had to do with inclusion debates within a queer theoretical context. A debate which is pretty much understood to be dead.
How does this article help trans rights?
RuPaul is black. Are we to assume that no one ever called him the 'n' word? Are we to ignore that he has clearly taken that power away from people who would use said word? The premise of his argument was that words will have power while we a) give them power by starting a petition online to chastise people who use them and b) while we allow cultural norms that sanction power behind certain words.
If Ms. Juro was concerned about trans people being evicted, she ought to start an activist group & take it to her legislators so that transpeople can gain rights. There are plenty of cities making progress, but that progress is not self-initiating.
Because of Mr. Charles, there is an appreciation of non-gender binary gender expressions. I have never heard a Queen make fun women or be "anti-trans." They put themselves in a position where they ask people to examine their thoughts about people whose gender is not "male" or "female", and anyone who has watched his show knows they drag artists respect women and people whose gender is not what the culture assumes gender to be.