RuPaul embraces the power of drag in the face of US anti-drag legislation
The latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race saw contestants come together for the grand finale by producing the musical Wigloose: The RuSical! But it wasn’t just big hair and funny spin-offs, as this parody of Footloose coincided with the current bill spreading across the US to prohibit drag performances.
The performance centred on a satirised version of the famous musical where teens in a small town overturned the ban on dancing. Drag Race contestants created the fictional town of West Bumtuck to speak out against Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Bill. The bill in question was passed earlier this month and aimed to stop “adult-orientated performers that are harmful to minors” in the presence of the public or children. The ban stops drag performances from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks or places of worship.
A separate legislation banned transgender minors in Tennessee from receiving gender-affirming care like puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery. Violating the anti-drag law is punishable by a $2500 fine and up to six years in jail. Many are criticising the wording of the bill as putting trans people at risk for going out in public, as the prohibitions aren’t made clear as the ideal continues spreading throughout the US. Dozens of states in the US are already beginning to introduce this bill already.
In a video for GLAAD, current Drag Race contestant and activist Sasha Colby speaks out about the current bill and the poignancy of Wigloose: The RuSical!: “The state of the world that we live in – it’s so wild. Now they want to outlaw drag and they now feel entitled to hurt you. It’s such a hard place to be because you really want to be yourself and you really want to celebrate who you are. But sometimes you have to be forced to be quiet for pure safety.”
Colby’s drag daughter Kerri Colby from Season 14 added that “this tradition has gone back for hundreds of years and it’s brought so much positivity. I’m on here to just continue to spread that positivity because we need more of that.”
The lead actor of the original 1984 musical Footloose, Kevin Bacon, spoke out on his Instagram stories in support of the performance. “Big shoutout to @rupaulsdragrace‘s Wigloose: the RuSical! (and props to Heaven Bacon). With all the recent anti-drag bills, this came at just the right time. Drag is an art and drag is a right.”
