The Cultural Impact of Rupaul's Drag Race

Book excerpt: This edited volume is an exploration of the social, cultural, political, and commercial implications of the trailblazing reality television series RuPaul's Drag Race. Going beyond mere analysis of the show itself, the contributors interrogate the ways RuPaul's Drag Race has affected queer representation in media, examining its audience, economics, branding, queer politics, and every point in between. Since its groundbreaking and subversive entry into the reality television complex in 2009, the show has had profound effects on drag and the cultures that surround it. Bringing together scholarship across disciplines--including cultural anthropology, media studies, linguistics, sociology, marketing, and theater and performance studies--the collection offers rich academic analysis of Ru Paul's Drag Race and its lasting influence on fan cultures, queer representation, and the very fabric of drag as an art form in popular cultural consciousness.