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RuPaul’s Drag Race, a televised competition that premiered in 2009, gained a devoted cult following and recently announced its 11th season, is arguably the best reality show that straight men aren’t watching yet. For those unfamiliar, the show follows (usually) 11 nationally renowned drag queens in pursuit of the title of next drag superstar, crowned by none other than drag royalty and routine pun-abuser RuPaul. The competition is an eccentric hybrid of Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model, wherein competitors must act, design and perform their way through the week’s strenuous challenges and present themed looks down a runway to earn the esteem of the show’s panel of judges. The bottom two each week must engage in a lip sync battle, where RuPaul declares a winner and sends the other packing.
As an avid viewer of the series, I spoke to Alaska, my favorite queen, about all things drag: how performers tuck their genitals (it’s not for the faint of heart), why sex in drag is not all it’s cracked up to be and why RuPaul should be given a second chance following his controversial comments regarding trans women competing in the program.
“Drag Race gave me a career,” Alaska Thunderfuck, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Season 2 tells Playboy. “There was no way I could do drag without supporting myself with a day job before I was on the show. I’m so grateful for being given the chance to do what I love for a living.”
____With the growing popularity of Drag Race and the mainstream comeback of Queer Eye and Will and Grace, have you noticed your straight male fan base grow?
Most of the people who come to my shows are young women and gay men. But there are some straight men out there who are admirers. There’s a sexual revolution happening right now with straight men, it’s just happening behind closed doors. This might come as a shock or a surprise but straight guys love getting fucked in the ass. And why wouldn’t they? There are also more and more straight men dating trans women. There has been a social stigma in place for a long time against these men, but it is shifting gradually. The more men are willing to be open and honest, the safer and saner the world will be for everyone. Also, the more we come to accept the fact that some men have pussies and some women have dicks and some people have neither or both or are somewhere in between, the better off we’ll all be.
How does Alaska Thunderfuck differ from your non-drag identity Justin Honard?
I think Justin and Alaska have the same soul, but different packaging. Justin is very shy and reserved most of the time. He enjoys nothing more than a quiet cup of black tea and watching The Daily Show and Cheers. Alaska is an extrovert, an exhibitionist, outgoing, flamboyant and loves attention. These are both sides of the same coin. I also love that there is no illusion that Alaska is Justin or vice versa. They are distinctly and purposefully separate. Knowing that distinction safeguards me from getting caught up in any of the thousands of dangerous ego pitfalls Hollywood offers.
How has the phenomena of Drag Race changed drag?
Drag Race has created a new economy for drag. Before the show existed, the pageant system was the main way for drag artists to make a career and earn a living from their craft. But now that drag is on TV and more people are watching, it has created a lot of careers for a lot of queens. More importantly though, it has created opportunities for independent bar owners to bring in a “Ru girl” or hold a viewing party and watch their business thrive. It also gives opportunities to the talented costume designers and wig artists and cosmetic entrepreneurs to have their work showcased and celebrated by us and the community.
Do you feel more attractive as Alaska or Justin?
Personally, it’s hard for me to feel sexy when I have things glued to my face, my eyes, my fingers and my head. I feel most attractive when I’m not wearing any clothes at all. I’m sometimes a nudist and sometimes a Buddhist, but I’m never the rudest.
“Drag Race has created a new economy for drag. “
A lot of people confuse the nuances of being a drag queen with that of being a trans woman. It’s an important distinction, especially considering RuPaul’s recent controversial comments on not allowing transitioning competitors on Drag Race. On behalf of the drag community, care to explain the difference and how you feel about RuPaul’s comments?
One of the first lines in any drag queen movie is usually something like, “I don’t live my life as a woman, I just dress up like this for work.” That’s the easy-to-digest story for drag. But the truth is more complex. Some women do drag. Some of those women are trans. Drag is a complex art form that is open to anyone who is fierce. RuPaul misspoke in the interview in The Guardian. Clearly. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in a conversation and go down a road where you end up saying something stupid. What he said in that article was problematic for a few reasons. It invalidated trans drag performers and hyper queens (cis women who do drag) as well as drag kings. And he suggested that, in order to fully transition, a trans woman has to get breasts and that drag is only effective when it’s performed by cis men. People started to come for him online, and he hates that. So he got defensive and [posted something on Twitter] that was vague and sassy, doubling down on his problematic comments. I was refreshing the tweet so I could see the poignant, funny and angry responses. It’s become a type of porn in our society: waiting for someone up on the pedestal to fuck up royally so that we can watch them get stoned in the town square. The truth is, gender is confusing and complex. It’s an ongoing thing that we’re all trying to learn together. RuPaul is held to a higher standard because he is in the public eye on the biggest drag show in history. When he tweeted his apology, I accepted that because that tweet was from an open-minded person who is trying to learn and do better. I hope this would be obvious, but I support trans women who do drag (check out the [Miss Continental Pageant]), and I support hyper queens, drag kings and anyone who is brave and fierce enough to be a part of this community. Who knows, maybe all this discourse and conversation has opened the door for some of these artists to get on Drag Race.
Sex in drag: some do it, some don’t. You’ve personally expressed not being a fan. Why is that?
I’ve never actually done it. The closest was years and years ago. There was a guy who used to buy me stockings from Victoria’s Secret and would want me to wear them in the bedroom. One time he gave me cash and said, “You can go pick out something for yourself.” I think I just kept the cash and used it to keep the lights on in my apartment.
Care to explain how drag queens ‘tuck’ their genitals?
I don’t do the traditional tucking method because I find it barbaric and my friends William and Courtney tried it on me once and it didn’t work. I just wear lots of tight stockings and hope my monster mash stays flat enough to not be a distraction onstage. However, I’ll explain the methodology for the readers at home [clears throat]. If the drag performer has a penis, they shave the penis and surrounding regions. Then, a durable tape is procured and three strips about 1.5 feet long are pulled off. The drag queen then takes her testicles (if she has them) and nudges them upwards into the abdominal cavity just above the base of the penis. Once there, the remaining scrotal skin is wrapped around the penis like a burrito and a strip of tape is placed over the penis, securing it underneath and backwards. The other two strips of tape are used on the sides to secure any remaining scrotal skin attempting to escape. Voila!
Have you had any personal experiences with Playboy?
I always think of a scene from The Birdcage. The drag queens are trying to make over this flamboyantly gay apartment so that it looks more “straight” and conservative so they put a few Playboy magazines in the bathroom. The straight son says to get rid of it, but one of the queens argues, “Leave it–it’s what they read!”