Alysse Dalessandro Loves RuPaul's Drag Race

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 4th, 2010 | 10:09am

Being known as a reality TV junkie, a few friends recommended that I watch RuPaul's Drag Race. I hesitated in watching it—not because I wasn't interested, but because I knew I would might get addicted. I was right. The show is like Project Runway meets America's Next Top Model except all the contestants are fighting to be "America's Next Drag Superstar." Not only do they make their own outfits and walk the runway, but each episode ends with two contestants lip-syncing for their lives.

Legendary drag queen, RuPaul, stars as the host and the mentor. The challenges range from standard photo shoots to playing the wacky "The Queen is Right," a humorous take on "The Price is Right" where contestants guess prices of drag queen necessities like tube socks, duct tape, wigs, and pepper spray.

More than just another crazy contest show, Drag Race lifts the veil on both the serious and fun side of this campy past time. Both the participants and the host are shown in both female and male garb, which makes sense since RuPaul is known for indifference towards gendered pronouns. Before each challenge, he says, "Gentleman start your engines and may the best woman win." Sometimes contestants go deep by discussing gender identity while putting on makeup. Of course, that occurs in between smack-talk (it is still a reality show, after all).

Moreover, the beloved host encourages contestants and viewers to embrace individuality and ends every episode saying, "Remember, if you can't love yourself, how the hell are you going to love somebody else?" For more of RuPaul's positive quips, check out the show on the Logo network.

Alysse Dalessandro is Venus Zine's Visual Art Editor