RuPaul’s Drag Race Christmas special makes poignant trans change
RuPaul appears on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
The RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay SpectacularĀ Christmas special made a subtle change to an iconic Drag Race staple to be more trans-inclusive.
The drag reality contest aired a festive special on DecemberĀ 7, with a number of fan favourite drag queens making their return for the occasion.
Among those to appear was Sonique, who competed on Season 2 of Drag RaceĀ back in 2010 and came out as a transgender woman at the end of the season.
Sonique makes a comeback on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Christmas special, RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular.
The inclusion of Sonique comes after a firestorm sparked by RuPaul in March, when the TV host suggested trans women should not be eligible to appear on Drag Race.
Sonique’s trans identity was not referenced on the special, butĀ Drag RaceĀ made one very subtle change to be more welcoming of the female contestant.
“Ladies and gentleman, start your engines, and may the best woman win.”
ā RuPaul
Instead of a catchphrase used in nearly every episode of the show to date, “Gentleman, start your engines, and may the best woman win,” RuPaul said: “Ladies and gentleman, start your engines, and may the best woman win.”
The tweak was praised by fans on social media.
One noted: “Ru now says ‘ladies and gentlemen start your engines and may the best queen win’ and that makes me so so happy.”
Others said it was “the only good thing” about the special, which was otherwise panned for its lack of genuine competition and reliance on scripted segments.
RuPaul had said trans women couldn’t compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul was called out in March after claiming that he would āprobably notā allow a trans woman to compete on the show.
āYou can identify as a woman and say youāre transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body,”Ā RuPaul said.
āIt takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what weāre doing.”
RuPaul doubled down on the comments on Twitter and compared taking hormones as a queen to athletes on steroids.
āYou can take performance enhancing drugs and still be an athlete, just not in the Olympics,ā he said.
The television personality later apologised for the comments after being schooled on the importance of intersectionality by the likes of former contestants Courtney Act and Monica Beverly Hillz.
Mama Ru wrote on Twitter: āEach morning I pray to set aside everything I THINK I know, so I may have an open mind and a new experience.
āI understand and regret the hurt I have caused.
āThe trans community are heroes of our shared LGBTQ movement. You are my teachers.ā
RuPaul’s Drag Race has made trans-inclusive tweaks before
In 2015, the show ditched long-running catchphrase āYouāve got she-mailā following complaints from trans people that “she-male” is a transphobic slur.
RuPaulĀ spoke out against the decision to axe the catchphrase, which was taken by production staff.
Speaking to the Guardian, RuPaul said: āI would not have changed it, but thatās their choice.
āOur intention was always coming from a place of love. On paper, you cannot read intention, so it was actually hurtful.
āFirst of all, drag is dangerous. We are making fun of everything. But when someone doesnāt get the joke or feels offended by it, itās a lose-lose situation, because you canāt explain a joke.
āIt isnāt funny if you explain it.ā
In 2014, RuPaulĀ vented about being banned from using the word ātrannyā on the show.
