Writing about Judith Butler after graduating from colleges turns out to be just as difficult as writing about Judith Butler while in college. Instead of facing up to the daunting task, I procrastinated by watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. Every. Single. Season. And when I finally decided to take a stab at the first essay in our Reader, I found RuPaul’s Drag Race all over the place.

For those who don’t know, RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) is a reality TV-show on the queer-themed TV cable channel, Logo. Superstar RuPaul brings on a dozen virtually unknown drag queens from across the US to strut their stuff in an attempt to become the next drag superstar. They face weekly challenges where they have to do anything from write and record an original song, star in a motivational video for the troops, or design and wear an outfit completely out of hair, all while trying to impress RuPaul with their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.

At first, I thought RPDR was pretty radical–for a reality show, anyway. The drag queens, while all biologically male, constantly refer to each other as “she” and “her.” RuPaul appears on the show both in and out of drag, and there is complete transparency in the drag process; we see all the contestants put on their make-up, wigs, costumes, and various drag-specific accessories. There is relatively open discussion of gay sex and relationships, and several drag queens talk about being HIV+.

In a world where reality TV is usually mindless brain candy, RPDR seems like departure from the stereotypical notions of gender we’ve come to expect on trashy TV. But disappointingly, examining RPDR through the lens of Butler’s gender theory reveals that this isn’t actually the case.

In discussing terminology surrounding gender and choice, Butler explains the process of embodying a certain gender. She says, “Becoming a gender is an impulsive yet mindful process of interpreting a cultural reality laden with sanctions, taboos and prescriptions” (Variations on Sex and Gender, p. 26). This is precisely what many of the drag queens on RPDR are doing. Are they radically reinventing what it means to be female? No. Many contestants on RPDR take stereotypical markers of femininity to extremes. This means more make-up, huge breasts, the highest heels, and the thinnest body. If anything, this is a radical conformity to traditional notions of what women should be–that is, fitting a stereotypical, heterosexual male fantasy to a T. Ironically, on RPDR, this typically straight male fantasy is mapped out on the body of a gay man.

Some might argue that the drag queens of RPDR expand on and redefine traditional notions of gender. If only this was the case. Butler explains the connections between gender and gender norms, saying, “Less a radical act of creation, gender is a tacit project to renew a cultural history in one’s own corproeal terms” (Variations on Sex and Gender, p.26).  RuPaul’s drag queen contestants are manipulating traditional notions of femininity, whether it be large breasts or high heels, and literally creating new bodies for themselves based on these norms. Instead of redefining gender or gender expression for themselves, they reinforce cultural notions of what it means to be a pretty girl (take a look to see  what I mean).

RuPaul’s Drag Race certainly has radical potential, but it is not in the way that the contestants construct their gender identities. At the end of the day, most successful contestants perform as Dolly Parton-esque caricatures*. There is nothing radical about that.

*Of course, there are drag queens on RPDR that don’t fit this mold and in fact, one such drag queen won the competition in the previous season. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue.