Randall Jenson
Executive Director, SocialScope Productions; Creator, 50->-bleeped-<-gots
What's the 'E'? Critiquing the Estrogen Speculation Surrounding Willam Belli's RuPaul's Drag Race Disqualification
Posted: 03/27/2012 12:54 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-jenson/willam-belli-estrogen_b_1376076.htmlLast week's episode of RuPaul's Drag Race promised to be the "most shocking episode ever." Viewers learned, after watching two drag queens compete in the "lip sync for your life" elimination round, that neither contestant would be disqualified. Instead, one of the other Season 4 contestants, Willam, was disqualified for breaking the rules. As host RuPaul explained, "It has come to my attention that you have broken the rules, rules that are in place to protect the fairness of this competition. Your actions have consequences, and I'm afraid you leave me no choice." The show offered no explanation, and the Internet has been buzzing with tweets, blogs, and status updates on the peculiar nature of this queen's departure.
While it's been advertised that we'll have to wait for this season's reunion special of RuPaul's Drag Race to find out exactly what went down, this hasn't stopped fans from creating speculative theories. Whether it was promiscuity, drugs, or behavior, Willam's departure can be used as catalyst for a larger discussion on tensions between the worlds of gay men in drag and female transgender performers. I'm not too concerned about why Willam was eliminated, but I am concerned about certain types of justifications use to explain his dismissal, specifically speculation regarding the use of estrogen or hormone therapy.
