Does RuPaul’s Drag Race have an ageism problem?

In the latest episode of rupaul’s drag race Beginning in Season 17, this year’s new queens began playfully calling the oldest member of the cast, Louisville’s Lexi Love, “Grandma.” At the time of filming, she was 33 years old.

As I wiped the tears from my wrinkled, sagging, nearly 30-year-old face, I began to wonder. Is this me? Am I a grandma? I don’t think I’m a grandma. Maybe I am too?

Seriously speaking, drag race Girls aren’t serious. As one Gemma Collins might say“I kind of laughed. I was just kidding, Daniel. That’s funny!” That may be true, but it opens the door to bigger questions that are softer and more collagen-rich. drag race Do you have an age problem?

The most obvious proof is “No”, of course not, don’t say anything stupid. This is a television empire that is currently being led and hosted. RupaulA drag queen who turns 65 this year.

Throughout its 17 seasons in the United States and countless international franchises, there have been many “older” queens (say, 40 and older) who have made it through the competition. exactly 2 months ago drag race uk Season 6 became one of the most beloved seasons in fandom. This is largely thanks to County Durham’s La Voie, who won four challenges and made it to the final two at the age of 44.

But she didn’t win. Kailan Slax, 27, won.

In fact, all 73 winners over the entire period drag race It’s pretty pathetic that in the universe as a whole, only five people (less than 7 percent) over the age of 40 have won the honor (Chad Michaels, Alyssa Edwards, Jimbo, Vanessa Van Cartier, and The oldest is drag race españa Star Sharon). The latter was 45 years old when he won the 2022 contest. Even she would be considered an unusually young grandmother in the real world.

Of course for older people drag race In order for a competitor to win, they must first appear on the show. On average, new seasons feature the youngest cast members in the show’s history, with an average age of 26.3 years. Season 14 had the second youngest. The oldest queens, Lady Camden and Deja Skye, were only 31 years old. The original series featured 224 queens in all 17 seasons, but only eight were over 40 at the time of filming.

When seasons feature older queens, their appearances are often the subject of ridicule and not “Lexi Love is a grandma!” method. In Season 7, Tempest DuJour was the oldest queen to ever compete at 47 years old at the time. When she entered the work room, fellow queen Candy Ho, then 27 years old, immediately asked her: “So, how old are you?” before suggesting she was “trying to be funny” in “old-school drag.” Tempest retorted, “You never stop dreaming when you get to a certain age,” but RuPaul seemed determined to do so and sent Tempest home first.

Two years later, Season 9 introduced Charlie Hides, who at age 52 became the oldest contestant in the show’s history (the average age of Season 9 contestants was 30.3 years old, making him the oldest contestant to date). Ta). Although she managed to survive cheerleading challenges such as shoulder stands and split legs, she chose to stand still while lip-syncing Britney Spears while her rival Trinity the Tuck threw herself on stage. He was eliminated in 12th place. Another queen, Aja, described Charlie’s behavior as “like telling the kids to get off the lawn.”

Dita Garbo, then 48 years old, was eliminated in second place. drag race uk Season 6. Tamisha Iman, then 46, was third. drag race us Season 13. Ginger Bitch, then 44 years old, came in fourth place. drag race france Season 2. It’s a fairly uncontroversial trend.

Some people drag race This challenge is suitable for the average older contestant (although the term “older” here still often refers to people in their 40s).

Regarding recent seasons, canadian drag racingone of the most interesting contestants, transgender star and fan favorite Jayleen Tyme, 52, surprisingly lost 8 after giving a relatively low-energy performance on this season’s Girl Group Challenge. He was defeated in first place. Last season in Canada, Kitten Kaboodle, 57, was sent home during a match where he kicked and slashed while lip-syncing. Both queens were given the title of “Miss Congeniality,” leaving a unique atmosphere of “Wow, you did a great job!”

Although the possibility is low, drag race The casting team is proactively sidelining older queens rather than having truckloads of younger queens start applying. Queens of a certain age may refrain from applying for fear of receiving Tempest or Charlie treatment. They may have been doing drag for years before there was a reality show, and they’re trying to convince teens on the internet to judge their numbers based solely on whether Doja Cat can do a high kick. He simply has no interest in being recognized for his decade-long career.

In general, it is also possible that the population of older queens is simply smaller now. The AIDS pandemic of the ’80s and ’90s led to the collapse of the queer community, the painting of queer people, and the associated treatment of their art form as dangerous or dirty, which young queer people at the time They didn’t have much of the infrastructure or opportunity to get into drugs like Gen Z. There is today. All you need now is a wig and a TikTok account. Plus, Gen Z is the queerest generation ever, with drag babies being born every day.

that’s right drag race Do you have an age problem? Fandom certainly isn’t. “Grandma” Lexi Love is the clear favorite to win on social media, as is La Voie from British Season 6. Online, fans regularly call for a more experienced and older queen to appear.

As for the show itself, it’s impossible to argue with the lack of old tropes. It’s great to give young queer people a platform to look at themselves, but we’d love to see another season. drag race We have three or four queens who have been in the game for two or three decades. Ironically, there is nothing more innovative than this.

rupaul’s drag race Season 17 airs on Fridays on MTV in the US. WOW Presents Plus Internationally.

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