RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: ButtrFace? I Hardly Know Her… Face
The feathers were flying in this week's ep!
Some call Dr. 90210 because this week, Ru was truly sickening… and by that I mean the poor thing was clearly under the weather. Mama Ru’s voice was softer than a Sky News interview with a conservative politician. Luckily, plenty of other queens this week used their voices and used them well. Racial tensions set the cat amongst the pigeons as feathers flew and a few queens got into quite the flap. Oh, and also COURTNEY LOVE WAS A GUEST JUDGE.
Black Black Black Again
Ten bucks says there’s a culturally inappropriate porn parody of this scene on the way…
Regular readers of this Ru recap will know when it comes to RuPaul’s Drag Race, I’m all about that race… politics. RPDR lifted Harlem ballroom culture and translated it into a pop culture phenomenon, and that act of appropriation for massive profit sits uncomfortably with some. Ru of course was of that world, mixing in the Susan Bartsch club kid scene as well as ballrooms and more, but always with an eye on making it big.
Over 13 seasons of RPDR and All Stars, many African-American contestants have had their mix of triumphant and tragic storylines, with a big dollop of a neoliberal “just believe in yourself” narrative thrown in (see: Tyra, ChiChi, Trinity K Bonet, and Ms Dogeared Determination herself, Shangela Laquifa Wadley). These narratives frequently involve a “started from the bottom, now we’re here” building up of ones self, often with somewhat tragic origin stories involving poverty, rejection from family, or other social burdens like taking care of younger family members.
Until recently, most of these narratives have been held in isolation as solo storylines, sometimes in stark contrast with the rest of the cast whose high performing members come from larger cities (LA, NYC, Chicago). Something is shifting though, and this season there seems to be higher numbers of black queens who are keenly aware of the standard RPDR narrative and are forming a cabal to disrupt it.
This week, on Unplucked.
We started seeing something like this in AS3, where Shangela, Kennedy, and Chi Chi formed a mini-clique dubbed on Reddit as the black Rolaskatox. This season, it seems there is somewhat of a critical mass of black queens who are keenly aware of the optics of the “crying white girl” and the trope of the angry black person. The Vixen and Aquaria were at it again this week, and not only did The Vixen refuse to back down, but on Untucked she clearly and concisely articulated how racial stereotypes feed into imbalances in the storyline and edit.
The Runway
This week’s feathered runway soared above others, and made up for the B-grade performances in what should have been an A+ main challenge. It is a known fact that a good feather look can’t be done cheaply, even with free delivery on Ali Express, so there was no plucking around this week. Let’s take a look at some of the best feathery frocks…
Asia O’Hara serving “Bird to the Mother” realness.
The best look on the runway. Thank this raven for saving Kameron’s muscle butt.
“I FEEL VERY A-QUACKED!” – Aquaria
Peak cocky from The Vixen, but so justified this week.
Your fave could never. Hashtag Justice 4 Plucka Duck
The Lip Sync
Kameron’s runways look saved him from lip syncing this week, but Mayhem Miller and Yuhua Hamasaki more than earned their spot in the dirty bird bath that was this week’s feathery bottom.
Bird jokes and compelling racial/cultural commentary aside, this entire episode could have been nothing but Ru reading Santino’s post-RPDR CV ‘highlights’ and it still would have been killer thanks to the lip sync. Seeing two drag queens lip sync to Hole’s ‘Celebrity Skin’ while the Queen of Grunge Courtney Love herself looked on (possibly somewhat sedated) is a pop cultural moment sixteen year old me needed.
Any Hole’s a goal.
As soon as Yuhua started to air guitar, I knew this Chinese queen wasn’t going to be taking a Great Leap Forward in the competition. Mao Tse-Better Don’t be doing that shit in front of Courtney Love, honey.
Meanwhile, Mayhem managed to strike the right balance of grunge and glam, serving face and violently tearing the feathers from her decidedly un-rock and roll gown. It was perfect, and she sent Yuhua packing.
Who’s Taking The Nina Crowners?
If these black queens keep unionising like they are, it’s entirely possibly that one of them will take the crown. Asia walked away with the win this week thanks to her Buttrface scene stealing and Tweety Bird couture on the runway, and as drag mother to infamous alum Phi Phi, she should have the inside scoop of what to expect. I am still holding a candle for Monet, but she needs to lift her game and get amongst it (although I am a big fan of the recurring sponge joke).
Over at Team White Girl, the real winner of the week from that camp was Blair St Clair, who romped it home in the mini-challenge with that tap dancing punchline, plus a solid performance in the main challenge, and a super classy runway look (Michelle hated it, so you know it was fashion-forward).
Question: who is this new Pit Crew member, and can I bill Junkee for my subscription to his Only Fans?
Special mention should also go to Dusty Ray Bottoms who opened up and shared a very sad and moving story about his ultra-religious upbringing. But it may have been too much reveal too soon in the season — chances are this means Dusty will slip up soon and head home.
Sadly, the two Latinx queens and the one Asian queen are now booted, so strap yourselves in because it looks like this season is going to serve up some black on white on black Oreo-oh-she-better-don’t drama.
No-one tell Pauline Hanson…
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RuPaul’s Drag Race is fast-tracked from the US on Stan. Read more Drag Race recaps here.
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Nic Holas has written for The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Archer Magazine, and Hello Mr. You can find him on Twitter @nicheholas, or in his role as co-founder of HIV movement The Institute of Many.