Blog # 21: Are Shows Like RuPaul's Drag U and TRANSform Me Setting Back TransFeminist Movement?
By transmeditations
a blog by Joelle ruby ryan
http://transmeditations.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/blog-21-are-shows-like-rupaul%E2%80%99s-drag-u-and-transform-me-setting-back-transfeminist-movement/Currently on Logo, Rupaul's Drag U (RDU) is getting a lot of airplay and attention. A spin-off of his other show, RuPaul's Drag Race (RDR), the show basically features three drag queen "professors" who help three cisgender women compete to become the most fabulous and feminine in the eyes of a panel of judges. The show reminded me of another show that aired recently on VH1 entitled TRANSform Me (TM). That reality program features three transgender women (Laverne Cox, Nina Poon and Jamie Clayton) who come to the aid of one cis woman to give her a make-over and self-esteem boost. As a Women's Studies pedagogue, a transfeminist and a media critic, I decided to view episodes of both shows to think critically about their relationship to gender politics and representation. While I reach no hard and fast conclusions, below I would like to sketch out some preliminary observations and thoughts from my vantage point as a feminist, a transgender woman and a viewer and critic of media texts.
1. Hyperfemininity is the absolute norm on both shows. Whether a drag queen, a transgender woman or a cisgender woman, the goal is always to be hyperfeminine.
