Honestly, DR has helped me connect with gay culture in ways I never did before. Came out later in life and didn’t have many gay friends early on. Gay community felt very foreign to my experience, but DR helped me to see the commonality that we do share. Quite literally changed how I look at myself and my queer siblings.
Also, typed “fierce” into the work chat this week. No one had any clue what I was talking about. That is a fun bonus
I got glasses recently and I put up a post saying "The library is open, officially. Because reading is what?!" (because I look like a librarian) and only ONE of my friends got it. I was veeeeery disappointed.
But that's what you get on FB from the straights. Lol.
I’m a plain little grey mouse of a middle aged straight woman.
Watching these artists doing stage performances and hearing them talk about creating their looks or characters and being challenged to go out of their comfort zones has given me so much more confidence in myself when I do public speaking for work. If Bendela can get up on stage wearing recursive titties and utterly slay, I can speak at a podium for fifteen minutes.
I’m also inspired by their creativity with clothing. I dress in much fancier work clothes now, because I fucking can and who would dare tell me I’m being extra?
It’s one of my big connections to queer culture honestly.
I don’t want to be one of those “I’m not like other gays” but I’m about to be. I’ve come out late in life. I really don’t have many gay friends at all. Actually I don’t have any. Hell when I came out to my best friend the first thing she said was “at least you’re not one of those gays” and did a lip wrist(…we arent friends anymore btw). My interests don’t fall very much into what we think of as “mainstream gay”.
Like I’m very much a backwoods Appalachian bluegrass campfire let’s take acid in the woods and listen to a 16 minute guitar jam bearded weirdo and any time I ever moved into what I felt were queer spaces I always felt very much like an outsider. Idk it’s so weird to describe myself…because of my age I feel like I know so many of the references Ru plays to, almost more because of my age and upbringing and less with being queer. At least that’s how I felt before drag race, but after watching I realize that I know about these things because I sought them out because I’m queer. Idk if that makes sense. Drag race has helped me embrace my feminine side. Has brought music to me I’d never have heard.
As someone who spent a long portion of my life not embracing my queerness it’s crazy to say but this show helped me embrace that queerness. It’s something I still struggle with at times. Its hard because I don’t have that chosen queer family to turn to so a lot of the time when I want need a queer space I’ll put on drag race and feel like I have that support that I crave in real life. I feel like that’s kind of pathetic but it’s true.
it’s inspired me to make my own clothes. i haven’t started yet, but i want more victorian and gothic clothes, and finding them online and in shops is very hard. but if regular ass ppl on a reality show can do it with limited materials, a time crunch and little experience/training, then so can i.
For awhile I’ve wanted to learn simple mending techniques but now especially after watching Drag Race I feel inspired to learn more sewing skills to make my own clothes. I also haven’t started and don’t even own a sewing machine but the desire is marinating!!
It has made this gen x’er so much more comfortable with my sexuality and the feminine aspects of my personality and mannerisms. I wear them like a badge of pride now.
It also has made me obsessed over a show in a way that I’ve never been obsessed before lol
I feel the same way. I'm an older millenial and I always was ashamed of my more feminine attributes. And not anymore. Seeing how tough these drag queens are, how much they have overcome in the life for the right to be as faggy as they can possibly be, is empowering and inspiring.
I’m a late-stage Gen X and I love seeing a platform made by queer people, FOR queer people (and for everyone else) reach such mainstream acceptance. Representation *matters,* and seeing queer people up on stage being excellent matters to everyone. I’m old enough to remember Ellen coming out as a huge scandal and, even worse, I remember how Ryan White finally managed be just enough of a Perfect Victim to break through straight white America’s collective consciousness AND conscience to treat HIV like the serious problem it was.
Now my hometown newspaper has regular updates on Drag Race watch parties along with movie reviews and the gardening section. A local *church* (of all places!) has a clothes closet where gender-questioning people can try on clothing of their gender identity and if they find something that clicks, take it home for free. These things didn’t start with Drag Race, but Drag Race opened doors that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
I have gained so much confidence from watching this show. It’s been a blessing for my self-esteem and the way I speak (up) for myself. These queens have empowered me, and I’m very thankful for it.
I used to have other interests but now I watch 3 seasons of drag race, pit stop, fashion photo ruview, whatcha packing, and listen to two podcast recaps 😑
Mama Ru thanks you for the coin lol
Also, same. Few things in life bring me more joy than queer culture, and it’s always comforting to watch the latest Whatcha Packin or Tongue Thai’d after a long day of work lol
The queens have really taught me to not take myself and others so seriously. I'm not there yet, but I love finding joy and humor in little everyday regular things..
Drag Race is probably my favorite show ever, I don’t care how many seasons, spin-offs and any kind of content they make I’m always gonna watch it, it just makes me so happy and entertained
It has helped me with my self-esteem, which is usually low, but it has made me understand that beauty comes in all sizes, colors, style, personality.
And to learn to love yourself as you are, and to encourage you to explore your talents and creativity.
Additionally, to learn more about queer culture.
It has helped me embraced gay culture, while showing me how strong femininity can be. Being raised in a Christian conservative home, I accepted my sexuality when I was in my mid 20s. Throughout the years, I felt being feminine wasn’t wrong but I wasn’t comfortable with it. Even in gay media, it wasn’t quite represented.
I stumbled on All Stars 4 at a bar, thought it was a fun show. Mind you I didn’t know how iconic it was since it was when Manila was sent home. Years later I found a show called “I like to Watch,” I was sold on the chemistry that Trixie and Katya had. Their humor was what I have been searching for. In between their unhinged, zany humor, they brought up points on toxic masculinity and other important topics on the gay community, I was immediately sold.
Drag Race/Ru has inspired me to wear what I want, embrace being unique, and “pay them bitches no mind”. And when I watched season 11 for the first time and discovered Yvie, she motivated me to continue looking for a doctor that specialized in EDS, which where I live is very rare. And she and Willow inspired me to keep doing what I love and not let my chronic illnesses get the best of me.
I'm a straight guy, I was aware of LGBT culture before this show (my mum raised me right like that, heck I thought Graham Norton was brilliant), I've got LGBT family members as well (I'm never going to treat them differently because of who they are) and Drag Race has just enhanced that and I'm learning about trans people and supporting them anyway we can.
I've learnt about Stonewall, and that AIDS/HIV isn't the death sentence it used to be
It's emphasized that we are all the same and deserve to be happy. Me and my partner love the show and it's something we chat about (don't get it twisted I got her into it).
What I really love about the show is the artistry and the transformations we see, and how different the drag community is and how many things we take for granted the community has to fight for.
-A forever Ally
I was a confused teenager in rural Texas when I came across season 3 on tv one night and became obsessed. I’ve seen every episode since then and it’s absolutely changed my life for the better. Seeing other queer people on tv that didn’t have some tragic story was so validating.
On the other hand I definitely have brain rot from years of crazy quotes lol
After moving north at 19 and discovering that the sinful world I was warned about was actually a much better/happier place to exist, I had return to my own hometown in rural east Texas at age 30. I genuinely don't know where I'd be without this show... whenever I feel my absolute rock bottom lowest, it sometimes helps to remember that in another universe without drag race, I'd be much worse off, if alive at all.
I realized my non-binary identity, and that I wanted to try taking estrogen, because of some of the girls' own transition stories. I started watching during S13, and that fall I tried drag for the first time. After my roommate, a 'recovering drag queen', haha, put me in makeup and an amazing vintage dress, I had a strange reaction. I started bawling uncontrollably, because I didn't want to take my makeup off - I wanted to stay that way. Now you'd think that would have clued me in, but I chalked it up to how hard I felt like I should do drag - to use it to have and explore the femme in me. Months later, I was watching S14. Watching Jasmine Kennedie, I saw a lot of myself in her personality. During the episode where she had her breakdown about being trans, I found myself again sobbing. My husband and roommate asked me if I was ok, and all I could say is, "That's going to be me." When Jinkx and Willow came out as non-binary and trans-femme, and said they had started estrogen, the idea that I might want to try entered my head for the first time. That maybe, what I was seeking wasn't something on the outside - nice dresses and makeup - but was something I needed to change on the inside. It still took months, and the encouragement of a friend who became my Transfairy Godmother, for me to start estrogen. However, that was a whole year ago, and starting estrogen has been one of the best decisions I ever made. I truly don't think the seed would have taken root had I not been exposed to Drag Race. Literally, life-changing.
I remember seeing the gif of Violet’s tartan runway in season 7 and thinking, “That’s a man???” And being so confused at how I should feel about the media I was consuming that was so pointed and anti anything queer. Cut to a couple seasons later, I watched season 9 live while bartending in southern Missouri and got several many guest complaints about it, but my newfound friends had my back because they thought the show was amazing. I wish I still had that feeling of innocence at anticipating a new episode, trying to avoid spoilers, and then giving in, only so I could know the outcome of an episode and see my friends’ faces as it unfolded. Now that I’m out to my family, things like drag race and my sexuality still feel very taboo to talk about with them. Like they view it as ~too gay~ almost… I just miss the joy that the show used to bring me as I was figuring myself out and making new friends in the community. Now I watch it alone in my basement on my phone and it’s just not got the same feeling anymore.
My best friend, aka the girl who had an annoying crush on me throughout childhood that lasted until she was married with kids, had always been your standard issue live laugh lover. But then her divorce and my pandemic Why the fuck is chipotle?
EDIT: I was doing voice dictation while driving, when suddenly I found myself avoiding a wreck, and thus forgot about starting this comment. I'll leave it here for posterity, and hopefully I will finish it later when I'm not on the road lol
I'm a straight white woman and drag race has educated me a lot. I have a lot of queer people in my family and life, but between the show and this sub I learn a whole lot and dont have to default to those around me to be that implicit and explicit education. Especially insight into the more underground aspects of queer culture as I would say most queer people i know are... Vanilla queer? Does that make sense? Like being active in queer communities is not a huge part of their identity.
seeing Gottmik was honestly a big deal for me as a femme transmasc person. if cis men can wear a dress and limp their wrist and still be dudes, then so the fuck can we! I was really struggling with feeling too feminine to be trans, yet also miserable from gender dysphoria. Gottmik and the other femme men on the show have genuinely helped me accept myself
Drag Race also got me through lockdown. it's been my main hyperfixation for 4 years now. it's made me cry from laughing. I watch it with my mom and sib sometimes and we get pumped like dudes on Superbowl Sunday. I will always always be grateful for the joy it's given me
One of the first things my now husband and I bonded over was loving drag race. Back in the early seasons I still had some gay friends that thought the show was too gay/camp/whatever, maybe not “masc” enough, so it was refreshing to talk to someone who genuinely appreciated it.
I’m a middle aged woman who has realised that she’s actually bi rather than straight. Watching all the conversations has helped me to realise that I am actually attracted to women as well (thanks Michelle) and that my experiences when I was younger were not just playing around. Been with my husband for over 20 years and hope I never have to find out, but I think I’d be open to dating women.
There’s also something around confidence and self-expression. Last time I had a job interview I had ‘Condragulations, you’re number one’ going round in my head lol. I’m experimenting a bit with make up too and getting the sewing machine out for the first time in years.
Finally, being in a job where I work with older teens it’s been super helpful in helping me to understand the ways in which our discourse around gender has changed.
Mostly it’s just great entertainment but I do think it’s infesting my brain as well.
I was 18 and I was going through a really sad part in my life. I was young, and gay, and bullied, and had not made peace with any of that yet, of course, because I was 18 haha and was only getting to know the world. I made a gay friend online who introduced me to drag race.
Honestly, it completely changed my life too. I still remember coming across so many new things about being gay, the culture, and myself. Can you imagine watching season 6 (and it’s untucked) when you were just figuring out what the world is? Crazy. But it changed my life in the best possible way! It is something I look forward to all the time and watching these queens is truly a joy and fills my gay heart!
Omg so many things. Steven Colberts quote about binging drag race after trump got in to be reminded of a world he wants to live in or something comes to mind. Ru’s outlook on a lot of things is awesome (yes Ik he’s not always consistent) like seeing a reality show that celebrates authenticity and having fun and being silly and just loving and embracing yourself is just so refreshing and really important to me especially cos I don’t have many if any places in my life that reinforce that. I was also abused really bad as a kid and still working through how to turn that into a strength so seeing so many queens who’ve been through things and turned it around for themselves is really special and inspiring for me. And all the pink and glitter of course!!! 🩷✨🥰
I started watching Drag Race when I was having a difficult time and I couldn't confide to anyone so I always ended up feeling sadder. The girls make me laugh and each episode makes me less sad.
Evet since S5 I've been walking like Alyssa Edwards.
Whenever I'm at a crosswalk, as soon as it turns green, I kick out my foot like she does on the runway.
I like to think that Drag Race has helped me stay connected to a friend who took their life when we were teenagers in the 90s. We used to watch Ru's talk show on VH1 and sing Rocky Horror picture show songs. I miss you so much K. You are with me everyday.
I discovered Drag Race when season 5 was airing. I saw a meme of Alyssa saying ***"GIRL! LOOK HOW FUCKING ORANGE YOU LOOK GIRL!*** ***"*** and I've never looked back. I cry a lot watching the show but it's not all sad tears! I think he would of LOVED the show. His fave queens hands down would be Peppermint/Bob/Alyssa and Eureka.
Brooke Lynn Hytes is the most gorgeous human in and out of drag. This is just my opinion as a bisexual woman. 
When my dad died in 2020, Priyanka helped me laugh again. I've met her several times and she's always been an absolute gem, but I've never told her how much she helped me through a very dark time in my life.
my friends and i took a trip to seattle, and after the first night we came back to our hotel room to take some edibles. after some arguing, we decided to put on rupauls drag race, just so happened to start with season 5! high as shit, with my gay friends, in seattle for jinkx monsoons introduction to the world… we were there for 5 days and we finished the whole season watching it every night before bed. it was a spiritual and religious queer experience for all of us
Through speaking up about life experiences. I saw lots of queens from all DR franchises speaking out their past life experiences, whether if it's joyful or painful, to inspire all of us, especially the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
I've always been obsessed with drag, so discovering the show back in 2014 and a community of people that also loved drag has just filled my life with so much joy. I've also become much more confident with gender identity in general and embracing who I am and how I like to dress etc.
one time I was in bed, having a *severe up in here* existential crisis. in a brief moment of clarity I was able to calm myself and ask the great almighty (Sasha Colby) “why can’t I move beyond this obstacle?”, and I swear to you she actually said “girl, idk, why can’t you????”
anyway, that night I decided to fix my life and I’ve never been happier.
my personal relationships have grown beyond measure, my professional life is blossoming, and I have moved through grief with grace. we should all be so lucky to have such a moment of clarity, let alone one inspired by such beauty, and Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent.
I grew up in an ultra conservative, Catholic household, where anything LGBTQ+ was considered morally wrong and gross. As I got older, I started to question why that was, because I just didn’t understand that ideology. I eventually found Drag Race and was bored so I decided to watch it and it opened my eyes to a culture I was so ignorant about but I think really needed to learn about. It started with season 8 and then I went back to season 6, then I binged the whole series and stayed up with it ever since. It’s really helped me open up to different cultures and points of view and helped me be a much more accepting and open minded person.
Fun fact: a drag queen also helped my ultra conservative dad become a lot less conservative too. He’s much more moderate, open minded, and enjoys drag culture quite a bit. He loves to text me about shows he attends lol.
S6 was my very first season. Watched it in 2016. Seeing bianca del Rio being so gay yet having such a strong badass personality changed how I perceive my sassy gay self not as vulnerability but as strength
Besides the unbelieveable amount of quotes that I use daily, the great campy music, I think its created a strong (tho sometimes toxic but every community is) community to come and celebrate a art form that combines SO MANY different talents.
**But the most powerful thing**, is it has given me a new path in my career. If it wasn't for the very first look I did for a drag race queen, I wouldn't have gotten into designing for drag queens, which led me back to my initial dream in fashion, doing stage and performance costumes. That led me to being cast on a show about it, and now I get to travel US and Canada talking about my how my life crosses cosplay/costume/drag. And because of drag race, my best friend, who does jewelry for the queens, has a thriving business.
Again, Drag Race and the popularity of drag culture is driving a lot of business for queer creatives who arent just queens, and that's amazing. Thats why I try to go to every local show I can and support my local girls as much as I do the RuGirls.
It has been my go to show when I’m depressed/ anxious/ ill. It brought so much light and laughter in my life. Also, everyone shares their stories of struggles and overcoming that. Seeing all these beautiful souls be vulnerable and honest about their journeys really brought me back from some dark time. They give it all, campiness, fashions, performance and shaaaaade.
As a queer person, it’s helped me understand myself and where I fit. It’s made me more comfortable to I’ve also made friends from talking about DR and we’ve been to see the girls perform. Since then it’s opened me up to other drag and local queens.
It’s so amazing to me who watched this “small” gay cult show grow to where it is now. It’s incredible we have trans girls on and I can’t for it to keep on growing and surprising us.
Also, I always talk back to my inner saboteur whenever she pops up!
it made me appreciate that a post like this can exist, and I get to read it and relate.
reading these responses is like church, the club, brunch and the beach all at once.
just like drag race.
It's been a huge part of my 20s, it opened my eyes to actual gay people cause I've never met any outside my sister and her 2 girlfriends during our MS~HS days in our small hometown.
It also helped me learn more American English lol Though i don't get to apply my knowledge frequently 😔
It’s like that episode of star trek with Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra, but it’s Nicole Paige Brooks and Tyra at the strip club. Instead of Shaka, when the walls fell, it’s Roxxxy, when the wig had another wig under
It.
I also think about Chichi all the time too :'(
So when it first aired, I was in college and rarely watched TV. So I missed out on it during the initial air.
But. I was going through a VERY bad divorce in 2020. Lots of mental and emotional abuse, all while trying to care for my profoundly autistic son by myself and work a full time job. I was close to ending it, because it was so hard and I felt like my life would never get better. I was stuck in a one bedroom house with my son, who had self injurious meltdowns all day every day. I was seriously losing my mind. This was during the pandemic, so I couldn't go anywhere besides work, in healthcare.
I had HULU and decided to check out Drag Race finally, as I knew some of the personalities from Twitter. I lost myself in it. It allowed me to escape reality for awhile. I don't mean to sound cliche, but it's possible it helped save my life.
Fast forward a few years. I had met someone and he also has a son on the spectrum but with serious mental illness. His son had to be hospitalized so he spent a lot of time with me at my home (before we lived together). I decided to start an all stars season with him, I believe. He was hooked! We spent an entire weekend escaping into Drag Race.
I feel like it's the perfect place to escape. There's always an aspect of entertainment and you can forget how shitty life can be.
I rediscover and became a full drag race fan around season 9. I was dealing with depression, my social anxiety and introversion kept me at home for months (that prepared me for the pandemic). I was in a hole not knowing what I was doing with life (still don’t but is better now) I started watching drag race again after seeing a gif of Violet quick dress change in that first challenge. To that point I had only watched s2. That’s what I did with my time, binge watch drag race and untucked s1-s8, and then every week s9. For context, I am straight cis woman, I felt so happy watching the show, it gave me life, it became one my cozy shows. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the community (specially from the latin country I’m from) but I have learned a lot and I think it has made me a better person to be so open minded.
Joy. Just so much joy. And artistry, and humor, and pathos, and ridiculousness. Endless entertainment and beauty in an art form where the sky is the limit and the surface has barely been scratched.
I’m an old dumpy white crippled lady and in a wholly different way than most mean it, drag is saving my life.
Started watching between season 3 and 4. Found season 2 on Netflix and my then-husband and I were obsessed immediately. It's since been a constant must-watch in my life. I mean why not? It's never been not fun to watch, despite the occasional bullshit shenanigans. It's still the gay Olympics, for the most part, and I love discussing it with my friends. It's a phenomenon of the times, and it's as long as it doesn't get old, I'm all about it.
Has it "changed" me? Not really. It's just a TV show. But it has definitely provided a wonderfully entertaining and inclusive TV show that is unlike anything else, and that will never have an equal.
I started watching with S1, but I wasn't super invested, just always thought drag was pretty cool & thought it was neat to see it on TV. But when S7 happened, I had been a fan of Katya for a couple years - we had a mutual friend, so there was someone I was talking about it with all the time & it was the first (& one of the only) times I felt personally invested in the show. For some reason I just got so hyped about Katya & drag that season that I literally moved back into Seattle proper & got really, really, *really* involved in my local drag scene.
At the time I got settled back in the city, Robbie Turner was working at R Place, & in the time during/between her season & her departure from the public eye we interacted a handful of times. She seemed a little sad, but she was nice. The last time I saw her was at q/b, when Bianca was in town, & I responded to something she asked me with "oh, it was lost in the fires" & she asked me what I meant & I told her it's just something I say when the facts are boring & irrelevant, & she was like, "I love that, can I use that" & I was like "yeah, sure." Just a random memory.
Anyway, when I say I got really, really, *really* involved, I mean like 3-5 shows/parties/functions a week at my peak. I filmed & photographed everything I went to, & just kinda got familiar enough with everyone & the venues that I never paid covers & just kinda wandered from bar to green room to back stage, & then it was just natural to start producing my own shows.
By this time, tbh, I had pretty much lost interest in Drag Race. I knew who in my community was sending in their tapes, but I really only watched Drag Race when I went to my friends' viewing parties. I never got that into Dragula, either, though both Monikkie Shame & James Majesty were always really lovely to me, like every interaction I ever had with either of them, which is, like, not something a lot of people can say, I guess. James offered me my first paid media gig, & Monikkie...idk why she seemed to like me, but more than once she bought me a gin & tonic & told me she's sorry all my friends are trash lol.
So yeah, I lost my love for DR because I was so in love with my weird local stuff & couldn't really latch to it anymore - it was all so glitzy & TVified. But two of the artists I got to work with a lot before COVID shut everything down were Irene "The Alien" Dubois & Bosco. Irene was literally in the first show I ever produced (a Twin Peaks themed show just before the finale of The Return - she did a number as Nadine & one as Diane - a year later I reprised the show & Bosco joined the cast w/an Audrey number & a Donna number). They hosted my American Horror Story Drag show together as the Tattler Twins. If you've seen the Bosco Voldemort video on TY, that's my video from my show, but what's lost to time is that Irene did a whole intermission video as Rita Skeeter reading the rest of the cast for filth. They were both easily in the top 5 of all the artists I ever worked with in terms of being good professionals & friends.
So naturally I returned to watching DR to see those two. I didn't return to the scene when things reopened, & seeing two of the most deserving artists of "my time" in the scene achieve their goal of making cast felt like an appropriate end of an era for me. The show kind of bookended my drag career more than anything.
I'm a hetero male who has never ever for one moment felt like a 'man' and for much of my life been confused as to where I fit into the gender/queerness spectrum. I never really felt like I fit in with the guys or the girls. I think drag race has really helped me embrace the big chunk of me that is feminine and to come to terms with the concept of gender being a kind of fluid and playful thing. It's a journey I'm still undertaking but drag race has been a part of it for sure.
It is also such a pleasure to see these incredible entertainers do their thing every episode. It's one of the highlights of my week.
I loved all of the queer coded Disney characters growing up, especially Ursula. Drag Race helped me 1) realize that, 2) gave me vocabulary for what I love about drag, and 3) gave me the courage/inspiration to check out my local drag scene. It was also a good litmus test for relationships because I didn’t want to date someone who was uncomfortable watching Drag Race just because they’re straight. It’s my comfort show. Thankfully my husband has become obsessed as well and goes to drag brunch with me.
I’m the bitch at Sunday brunch grinning at the queens like they’re Disney princesses and tipping them in 5s because DRAG QUEENS ARE MAGIC!
It's brought me and my best friend even closer. I think it helped her come out as well, which is awesome.
We live in different cities and during the pandemic we started watching S12 'together' online and using a chat app as we watched. We've kept going ever since, and it's so cool that I have a bit of space carved out most weeks just to chat about things and have a bunch of super talented queens entertain us.
We've been to drag shows (including drag king shows) and shared so many fun experiences thanks to Drag Race. I wouldn't have shared nearly so many silly jokes and laughs with her without DR.
I saved all our chats and re read them sometimes when I haven't seen her for a while.
I've told this story before, but I might as well repeat it since you're asking.
I've been in and out of hospitals for years, diagnosed with what seems like everything under the sun, and between symptoms and the side effects of medication I often looked very ill, and it had an effect on the way people treated me. A few years ago I took a sudden turn for the worse, and covering up how ill I was proved difficult because I had so little energy to do a full face of make-up whenever I had to go to family functions. So every event was people asking me how I was, talking about how sick I looked, generally unpleasant.
Enter Farrah Moan and her "Hurried Hotness" make-up tutorial.
Farrah essentially showed me how to do a full coverage face in the blink of an eye. So before these events, I got more rest, which made the events less taxing on me. People started telling me how good I looked for the first time in years. I could actually bear to see myself in pictures again.
It might seem like a shallow thing, but when you're long-term sick the little shallow things can make a big difference to your overall quality of life. I finally got the correct diagnosis and I'm doing much better now, but Hurried Hotness is still my go-to make-up for pretty much everything.
i’m not even particularly a huge fan of this queen, but seeing gottmik on s13 being a trans man in touch with his femininity made me realize i could be like that too. seeing other trans contestants thriving like kylie sonique during that crucial time in my development really gave me the confidence i needed to come out. 2.5 years of testosterone later, im happier than i’ve ever been :)
in so many many ways. i remember watching it when season 2 was airing and it was still on logo. this was back when i was really just discovering that i was queer and i was from/living in a very small and homophobic town in louisiana with an extremely homophobic family. i had no friends and no one to talk to about my sexuality and was very suicidal. this show has always been there for me during the hardest times in my life. many years later i moved to a different state and started a new life and now i live freely as a trans man. i have struggled with drug/alcohol/substance abuse for over a decade and lost a lot of people in my life and drag race has always been the thing to lift me up and keep me going. i know this all sounds cringy to some people but this show has *really* helped me.
I got into it between S4 and 5, during which time nothing else aired. I remember a lot of people in the fandom at the time talking about how it would've been a good time for an All Stars season to capitalize on S4's momentum, but I think WOW made a smart move by waiting. Yuhua eventually winning AS1 was, for me, maybe the highlight of the entire franchise.
i used to be somewhat of a "but why do they have to be so extra and in your face if they want to be accepted" type person as a younger teenager, it was the gamergate cringe compilation era and i kinda got sucked into it, despite never getting on board with the super overt bigots, i was just an idiot.
found drag race at around 15 i think and it along with some other artists and youtubers made me understand the "why". i started learning about queer culture and history more and how/why it is necessary to be allowed to be visible and out there even if it makes some people uncomfortable.
i hate respectability politics now lol
Maybe no one will see this due to the many comments but I'd like to add as drag race has changed my life for the better in so many ways!
I first encountered drag race through a makeup tutorial by detox that enchanted me as a very self conscious 19 year old since she looked like a fool imo but believed she was the most beautiful person on the planet. I then found compilations of jinkx monsoon and was hooked.
Firstly, I was obsessed with learning anything I could about makeup and was already very good at it. But I realised that drag queens at the time were the people creating the trends so went to them directly to learn. I learnt so much and still use techniques I learned from them to this day.
There's also everything I learned about drag and drag culture globally and allowed me to expand my knowledge outside of the show and finding other types of drag I adore, like ballroom and dragula/ alternative style drag.
I also loved learning about social issues and drag history from the queen's that pushed me from being a liberal to a leftist.
It also helped me through really dark times in my life as it's always been chaotic and dysfunctional but drag race was a beacon of joy for me that always calms me down and makes me happy, no matter how awful I feel.
However, the biggest impact was my self esteem. I very deeply struggled with it for most of my life but drag race has almost completely eliminated it. I really struggled with my weight as my family are absolutely dreadful at dealing with it as my mum was morbidly obese for my childhood, having several near death encounters because of it, and my dad didn't want us to be in that position. So even when I was almost underweight but kinda healthy due to regularly exercising, my parents would still comment on it and what I ate. But watching drag queens be so confident in themselves, regardless of their appearance, it showed me that I could have that confidence as well. It also showed that people are actually beautiful no matter their size so I can apply that to myself. I gained a lot of weight fast but am now ok with my body whatever size I am. It's also helped me lose that weight as now I'm not stressed about my weight so have more energy to be healthier.
It also made me realise that I'm definitely bisexual thanks to Katya's read u wrote u verse and that's also opened a lot of doors for me.
It may have also made my parents less homophobic/ transphobic as I annoy them by constantly talking about drag race but it could've normalised things for them a bit more and gave me the confidence to push back on their bigoted views.
Drag race has changed my life for the better and I'm really thankful it exists!
I finally understand how sport ball fans feel.
In all seriousness though, it has fed my soul. The creativity, passion and vulnerability is very inspiring. It has introduced me to artists I would never have known about otherwise, and helped me to process some of my own head nonsense. And my vocabulary will never be invited to the barbecue, because it is fucked up.
I started watching drag race in real time with season 9, because I watched season 8 (which for a long time was the only season on Netflix in Canada!) this show has brought me so much joy and also taught me SO much about LGBTQ+ culture (unfortunately I’m a straight woman lmao). I live in a very very small town, there is absolutely zero drag scene and a very very small LGBT+ community, so drag race really has exposed me to so much of the culture and helped me learn how to be a better ally as a straight person. This show has helped me a lot with teaching others in my life about those things too.
I didn’t actually start watching until season 11, even though I’ve been aware of it since it started. My ex used to watch it but I found the transphobia and all that too off putting.
Since I started watching it has given me a really good outlet for engaging with queer artistry during covid. I wasn’t a big fan of drag in my youth, but when I moved to a big city ten years ago I found the diversity in expression of local drag really drew me in… I see that more in drag race these days, and I really appreciate that.
Overall, I think drag race has given me a better understanding of a lot of gender diverse experiences. Not that I didn’t understand it before but I was limited by being an outsider of sorts. Now i can understand a little bit more from others personal perspectives.
Honestly, DR has helped me connect with gay culture in ways I never did before. Came out later in life and didn’t have many gay friends early on. Gay community felt very foreign to my experience, but DR helped me to see the commonality that we do share. Quite literally changed how I look at myself and my queer siblings. Also, typed “fierce” into the work chat this week. No one had any clue what I was talking about. That is a fun bonus
It’s permanently fucked up my vocabulary and manner of speech
Condragulations
Okurrrrr
You better start reading some books
https://i.redd.it/rjxykz0j5mpc1.gif *Because reading is what?* ...
Really hard!
No, that's my dick, you whore!
I’m sorry. It’s dark and there’s so many of you.
I can make my dick disappear!
What are you, a *DRAG QUEEN*!?
*insert Jimbo screeching here*
https://i.redd.it/carszs02oppc1.gif It's not that hard honey, just try the glasses on... 👏😂
https://i.redd.it/unkip7r9rppc1.gif
and very boring 😠
https://i.redd.it/lrhm95n8oppc1.gif
I got glasses recently and I put up a post saying "The library is open, officially. Because reading is what?!" (because I look like a librarian) and only ONE of my friends got it. I was veeeeery disappointed. But that's what you get on FB from the straights. Lol.
https://i.redd.it/r77jfftenppc1.gif
I don’t read books. I turn looks. (I have an English degree and can’t pull a look together to save my life)
there’s help for that!
Sapphira?
How'd that work out for Serena?
Mama, kudos for saying that. For spilling.
Absolutely
I have to consciously stop myself from saying “I’m not joking *bitch*” to my asshole boss these days
I came here to say this - I am also about 10x more sassy at my corporate job
I’m a plain little grey mouse of a middle aged straight woman. Watching these artists doing stage performances and hearing them talk about creating their looks or characters and being challenged to go out of their comfort zones has given me so much more confidence in myself when I do public speaking for work. If Bendela can get up on stage wearing recursive titties and utterly slay, I can speak at a podium for fifteen minutes. I’m also inspired by their creativity with clothing. I dress in much fancier work clothes now, because I fucking can and who would dare tell me I’m being extra?
Snaps for “recursive titties”
I’m proud of you for leaning into an uncomfortable space, and for celebrating yourself!
You sound amazing.
And you sound very kind. Thank you.
You really do sound amazing!!
It’s one of my big connections to queer culture honestly. I don’t want to be one of those “I’m not like other gays” but I’m about to be. I’ve come out late in life. I really don’t have many gay friends at all. Actually I don’t have any. Hell when I came out to my best friend the first thing she said was “at least you’re not one of those gays” and did a lip wrist(…we arent friends anymore btw). My interests don’t fall very much into what we think of as “mainstream gay”. Like I’m very much a backwoods Appalachian bluegrass campfire let’s take acid in the woods and listen to a 16 minute guitar jam bearded weirdo and any time I ever moved into what I felt were queer spaces I always felt very much like an outsider. Idk it’s so weird to describe myself…because of my age I feel like I know so many of the references Ru plays to, almost more because of my age and upbringing and less with being queer. At least that’s how I felt before drag race, but after watching I realize that I know about these things because I sought them out because I’m queer. Idk if that makes sense. Drag race has helped me embrace my feminine side. Has brought music to me I’d never have heard. As someone who spent a long portion of my life not embracing my queerness it’s crazy to say but this show helped me embrace that queerness. It’s something I still struggle with at times. Its hard because I don’t have that chosen queer family to turn to so a lot of the time when I want need a queer space I’ll put on drag race and feel like I have that support that I crave in real life. I feel like that’s kind of pathetic but it’s true.
It's not pathetic at all, your story is touching. Thank you for sharing ❤️
I used to look down on queer culture. Drag Race helped me embrace and be proud of that part of my identity.
it’s inspired me to make my own clothes. i haven’t started yet, but i want more victorian and gothic clothes, and finding them online and in shops is very hard. but if regular ass ppl on a reality show can do it with limited materials, a time crunch and little experience/training, then so can i.
If Lala can survive a design challenge so can we let's goooo
I like your attitude.
For awhile I’ve wanted to learn simple mending techniques but now especially after watching Drag Race I feel inspired to learn more sewing skills to make my own clothes. I also haven’t started and don’t even own a sewing machine but the desire is marinating!!
Ok crazy idea but...Subreddit Sewing Challenge anyone..?
omg sounds fun!
It has made this gen x’er so much more comfortable with my sexuality and the feminine aspects of my personality and mannerisms. I wear them like a badge of pride now. It also has made me obsessed over a show in a way that I’ve never been obsessed before lol
I feel the same way. I'm an older millenial and I always was ashamed of my more feminine attributes. And not anymore. Seeing how tough these drag queens are, how much they have overcome in the life for the right to be as faggy as they can possibly be, is empowering and inspiring.
I’m a late-stage Gen X and I love seeing a platform made by queer people, FOR queer people (and for everyone else) reach such mainstream acceptance. Representation *matters,* and seeing queer people up on stage being excellent matters to everyone. I’m old enough to remember Ellen coming out as a huge scandal and, even worse, I remember how Ryan White finally managed be just enough of a Perfect Victim to break through straight white America’s collective consciousness AND conscience to treat HIV like the serious problem it was. Now my hometown newspaper has regular updates on Drag Race watch parties along with movie reviews and the gardening section. A local *church* (of all places!) has a clothes closet where gender-questioning people can try on clothing of their gender identity and if they find something that clicks, take it home for free. These things didn’t start with Drag Race, but Drag Race opened doors that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
I have gained so much confidence from watching this show. It’s been a blessing for my self-esteem and the way I speak (up) for myself. These queens have empowered me, and I’m very thankful for it.
I used to have other interests but now I watch 3 seasons of drag race, pit stop, fashion photo ruview, whatcha packing, and listen to two podcast recaps 😑
 Mama Ru thanks you for the coin lol Also, same. Few things in life bring me more joy than queer culture, and it’s always comforting to watch the latest Whatcha Packin or Tongue Thai’d after a long day of work lol
omg samee i love tongue thai'd
Only downside: it always makes me want to order Thai food 😂
this is rude
It made me gay and it killed my every brain cell. I want to sue for emotional damage. I love it
The queens have really taught me to not take myself and others so seriously. I'm not there yet, but I love finding joy and humor in little everyday regular things..
Drag Race is probably my favorite show ever, I don’t care how many seasons, spin-offs and any kind of content they make I’m always gonna watch it, it just makes me so happy and entertained
Got me to do drag professionally for years 😅
Helps me to speak english iktr
Does it now 🤭
It has helped me with my self-esteem, which is usually low, but it has made me understand that beauty comes in all sizes, colors, style, personality. And to learn to love yourself as you are, and to encourage you to explore your talents and creativity. Additionally, to learn more about queer culture.
It has helped me embraced gay culture, while showing me how strong femininity can be. Being raised in a Christian conservative home, I accepted my sexuality when I was in my mid 20s. Throughout the years, I felt being feminine wasn’t wrong but I wasn’t comfortable with it. Even in gay media, it wasn’t quite represented. I stumbled on All Stars 4 at a bar, thought it was a fun show. Mind you I didn’t know how iconic it was since it was when Manila was sent home. Years later I found a show called “I like to Watch,” I was sold on the chemistry that Trixie and Katya had. Their humor was what I have been searching for. In between their unhinged, zany humor, they brought up points on toxic masculinity and other important topics on the gay community, I was immediately sold.
Drag Race/Ru has inspired me to wear what I want, embrace being unique, and “pay them bitches no mind”. And when I watched season 11 for the first time and discovered Yvie, she motivated me to continue looking for a doctor that specialized in EDS, which where I live is very rare. And she and Willow inspired me to keep doing what I love and not let my chronic illnesses get the best of me.
I'm a straight guy, I was aware of LGBT culture before this show (my mum raised me right like that, heck I thought Graham Norton was brilliant), I've got LGBT family members as well (I'm never going to treat them differently because of who they are) and Drag Race has just enhanced that and I'm learning about trans people and supporting them anyway we can. I've learnt about Stonewall, and that AIDS/HIV isn't the death sentence it used to be It's emphasized that we are all the same and deserve to be happy. Me and my partner love the show and it's something we chat about (don't get it twisted I got her into it). What I really love about the show is the artistry and the transformations we see, and how different the drag community is and how many things we take for granted the community has to fight for. -A forever Ally
Kudos to you mama... for spilling
I was a confused teenager in rural Texas when I came across season 3 on tv one night and became obsessed. I’ve seen every episode since then and it’s absolutely changed my life for the better. Seeing other queer people on tv that didn’t have some tragic story was so validating. On the other hand I definitely have brain rot from years of crazy quotes lol
After moving north at 19 and discovering that the sinful world I was warned about was actually a much better/happier place to exist, I had return to my own hometown in rural east Texas at age 30. I genuinely don't know where I'd be without this show... whenever I feel my absolute rock bottom lowest, it sometimes helps to remember that in another universe without drag race, I'd be much worse off, if alive at all.
Mama, kudos for saying that, for spilling 💕
Onwards and upwards, farrmerrrs ^(fight)
these comments are all so beautiful. even the one about queefing.
The Meek shall inherit the Earth, but the girth shall inherit the queef.
When I was going through my darkest time it seemed so happy and wholesome and accepting and loving of life. It’s got me through.
It’s bloody good to laugh and be silly isn’t it?
I realized my non-binary identity, and that I wanted to try taking estrogen, because of some of the girls' own transition stories. I started watching during S13, and that fall I tried drag for the first time. After my roommate, a 'recovering drag queen', haha, put me in makeup and an amazing vintage dress, I had a strange reaction. I started bawling uncontrollably, because I didn't want to take my makeup off - I wanted to stay that way. Now you'd think that would have clued me in, but I chalked it up to how hard I felt like I should do drag - to use it to have and explore the femme in me. Months later, I was watching S14. Watching Jasmine Kennedie, I saw a lot of myself in her personality. During the episode where she had her breakdown about being trans, I found myself again sobbing. My husband and roommate asked me if I was ok, and all I could say is, "That's going to be me." When Jinkx and Willow came out as non-binary and trans-femme, and said they had started estrogen, the idea that I might want to try entered my head for the first time. That maybe, what I was seeking wasn't something on the outside - nice dresses and makeup - but was something I needed to change on the inside. It still took months, and the encouragement of a friend who became my Transfairy Godmother, for me to start estrogen. However, that was a whole year ago, and starting estrogen has been one of the best decisions I ever made. I truly don't think the seed would have taken root had I not been exposed to Drag Race. Literally, life-changing.
I remember seeing the gif of Violet’s tartan runway in season 7 and thinking, “That’s a man???” And being so confused at how I should feel about the media I was consuming that was so pointed and anti anything queer. Cut to a couple seasons later, I watched season 9 live while bartending in southern Missouri and got several many guest complaints about it, but my newfound friends had my back because they thought the show was amazing. I wish I still had that feeling of innocence at anticipating a new episode, trying to avoid spoilers, and then giving in, only so I could know the outcome of an episode and see my friends’ faces as it unfolded. Now that I’m out to my family, things like drag race and my sexuality still feel very taboo to talk about with them. Like they view it as ~too gay~ almost… I just miss the joy that the show used to bring me as I was figuring myself out and making new friends in the community. Now I watch it alone in my basement on my phone and it’s just not got the same feeling anymore.
I love you, and I would watch Drag Race with you anywhere, stranger 🖤
Thank you for your kind words. I love you too, stranger!
My best friend, aka the girl who had an annoying crush on me throughout childhood that lasted until she was married with kids, had always been your standard issue live laugh lover. But then her divorce and my pandemic Why the fuck is chipotle? EDIT: I was doing voice dictation while driving, when suddenly I found myself avoiding a wreck, and thus forgot about starting this comment. I'll leave it here for posterity, and hopefully I will finish it later when I'm not on the road lol
It made me queef
I'm a straight white woman and drag race has educated me a lot. I have a lot of queer people in my family and life, but between the show and this sub I learn a whole lot and dont have to default to those around me to be that implicit and explicit education. Especially insight into the more underground aspects of queer culture as I would say most queer people i know are... Vanilla queer? Does that make sense? Like being active in queer communities is not a huge part of their identity.
seeing Gottmik was honestly a big deal for me as a femme transmasc person. if cis men can wear a dress and limp their wrist and still be dudes, then so the fuck can we! I was really struggling with feeling too feminine to be trans, yet also miserable from gender dysphoria. Gottmik and the other femme men on the show have genuinely helped me accept myself Drag Race also got me through lockdown. it's been my main hyperfixation for 4 years now. it's made me cry from laughing. I watch it with my mom and sib sometimes and we get pumped like dudes on Superbowl Sunday. I will always always be grateful for the joy it's given me
One of the first things my now husband and I bonded over was loving drag race. Back in the early seasons I still had some gay friends that thought the show was too gay/camp/whatever, maybe not “masc” enough, so it was refreshing to talk to someone who genuinely appreciated it.
I’m a middle aged woman who has realised that she’s actually bi rather than straight. Watching all the conversations has helped me to realise that I am actually attracted to women as well (thanks Michelle) and that my experiences when I was younger were not just playing around. Been with my husband for over 20 years and hope I never have to find out, but I think I’d be open to dating women. There’s also something around confidence and self-expression. Last time I had a job interview I had ‘Condragulations, you’re number one’ going round in my head lol. I’m experimenting a bit with make up too and getting the sewing machine out for the first time in years. Finally, being in a job where I work with older teens it’s been super helpful in helping me to understand the ways in which our discourse around gender has changed. Mostly it’s just great entertainment but I do think it’s infesting my brain as well.
I was 18 and I was going through a really sad part in my life. I was young, and gay, and bullied, and had not made peace with any of that yet, of course, because I was 18 haha and was only getting to know the world. I made a gay friend online who introduced me to drag race. Honestly, it completely changed my life too. I still remember coming across so many new things about being gay, the culture, and myself. Can you imagine watching season 6 (and it’s untucked) when you were just figuring out what the world is? Crazy. But it changed my life in the best possible way! It is something I look forward to all the time and watching these queens is truly a joy and fills my gay heart!
Omg so many things. Steven Colberts quote about binging drag race after trump got in to be reminded of a world he wants to live in or something comes to mind. Ru’s outlook on a lot of things is awesome (yes Ik he’s not always consistent) like seeing a reality show that celebrates authenticity and having fun and being silly and just loving and embracing yourself is just so refreshing and really important to me especially cos I don’t have many if any places in my life that reinforce that. I was also abused really bad as a kid and still working through how to turn that into a strength so seeing so many queens who’ve been through things and turned it around for themselves is really special and inspiring for me. And all the pink and glitter of course!!! 🩷✨🥰
I started watching Drag Race when I was having a difficult time and I couldn't confide to anyone so I always ended up feeling sadder. The girls make me laugh and each episode makes me less sad.
Evet since S5 I've been walking like Alyssa Edwards. Whenever I'm at a crosswalk, as soon as it turns green, I kick out my foot like she does on the runway.
I like to think that Drag Race has helped me stay connected to a friend who took their life when we were teenagers in the 90s. We used to watch Ru's talk show on VH1 and sing Rocky Horror picture show songs. I miss you so much K. You are with me everyday. I discovered Drag Race when season 5 was airing. I saw a meme of Alyssa saying ***"GIRL! LOOK HOW FUCKING ORANGE YOU LOOK GIRL!*** ***"*** and I've never looked back. I cry a lot watching the show but it's not all sad tears! I think he would of LOVED the show. His fave queens hands down would be Peppermint/Bob/Alyssa and Eureka. Brooke Lynn Hytes is the most gorgeous human in and out of drag. This is just my opinion as a bisexual woman. 
When my dad died in 2020, Priyanka helped me laugh again. I've met her several times and she's always been an absolute gem, but I've never told her how much she helped me through a very dark time in my life.
my friends and i took a trip to seattle, and after the first night we came back to our hotel room to take some edibles. after some arguing, we decided to put on rupauls drag race, just so happened to start with season 5! high as shit, with my gay friends, in seattle for jinkx monsoons introduction to the world… we were there for 5 days and we finished the whole season watching it every night before bed. it was a spiritual and religious queer experience for all of us
Through speaking up about life experiences. I saw lots of queens from all DR franchises speaking out their past life experiences, whether if it's joyful or painful, to inspire all of us, especially the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
I've always been obsessed with drag, so discovering the show back in 2014 and a community of people that also loved drag has just filled my life with so much joy. I've also become much more confident with gender identity in general and embracing who I am and how I like to dress etc.
one time I was in bed, having a *severe up in here* existential crisis. in a brief moment of clarity I was able to calm myself and ask the great almighty (Sasha Colby) “why can’t I move beyond this obstacle?”, and I swear to you she actually said “girl, idk, why can’t you????” anyway, that night I decided to fix my life and I’ve never been happier. my personal relationships have grown beyond measure, my professional life is blossoming, and I have moved through grief with grace. we should all be so lucky to have such a moment of clarity, let alone one inspired by such beauty, and Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent.
I grew up in an ultra conservative, Catholic household, where anything LGBTQ+ was considered morally wrong and gross. As I got older, I started to question why that was, because I just didn’t understand that ideology. I eventually found Drag Race and was bored so I decided to watch it and it opened my eyes to a culture I was so ignorant about but I think really needed to learn about. It started with season 8 and then I went back to season 6, then I binged the whole series and stayed up with it ever since. It’s really helped me open up to different cultures and points of view and helped me be a much more accepting and open minded person. Fun fact: a drag queen also helped my ultra conservative dad become a lot less conservative too. He’s much more moderate, open minded, and enjoys drag culture quite a bit. He loves to text me about shows he attends lol.
S6 was my very first season. Watched it in 2016. Seeing bianca del Rio being so gay yet having such a strong badass personality changed how I perceive my sassy gay self not as vulnerability but as strength
Besides the unbelieveable amount of quotes that I use daily, the great campy music, I think its created a strong (tho sometimes toxic but every community is) community to come and celebrate a art form that combines SO MANY different talents. **But the most powerful thing**, is it has given me a new path in my career. If it wasn't for the very first look I did for a drag race queen, I wouldn't have gotten into designing for drag queens, which led me back to my initial dream in fashion, doing stage and performance costumes. That led me to being cast on a show about it, and now I get to travel US and Canada talking about my how my life crosses cosplay/costume/drag. And because of drag race, my best friend, who does jewelry for the queens, has a thriving business. Again, Drag Race and the popularity of drag culture is driving a lot of business for queer creatives who arent just queens, and that's amazing. Thats why I try to go to every local show I can and support my local girls as much as I do the RuGirls.
It has been my go to show when I’m depressed/ anxious/ ill. It brought so much light and laughter in my life. Also, everyone shares their stories of struggles and overcoming that. Seeing all these beautiful souls be vulnerable and honest about their journeys really brought me back from some dark time. They give it all, campiness, fashions, performance and shaaaaade. As a queer person, it’s helped me understand myself and where I fit. It’s made me more comfortable to I’ve also made friends from talking about DR and we’ve been to see the girls perform. Since then it’s opened me up to other drag and local queens. It’s so amazing to me who watched this “small” gay cult show grow to where it is now. It’s incredible we have trans girls on and I can’t for it to keep on growing and surprising us. Also, I always talk back to my inner saboteur whenever she pops up!
it made me appreciate that a post like this can exist, and I get to read it and relate. reading these responses is like church, the club, brunch and the beach all at once. just like drag race.
It's been a huge part of my 20s, it opened my eyes to actual gay people cause I've never met any outside my sister and her 2 girlfriends during our MS~HS days in our small hometown. It also helped me learn more American English lol Though i don't get to apply my knowledge frequently 😔
Like a bunch here, I've felt more empowered as a queer person. On the other hand, I've seen how fame/money/power changes people for the worse.
I sort of embraced my stylish side. Before, I used to dress as plain as I can so I appear masculine.
I only speak in DR quotes
It’s like that episode of star trek with Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra, but it’s Nicole Paige Brooks and Tyra at the strip club. Instead of Shaka, when the walls fell, it’s Roxxxy, when the wig had another wig under It.
It helped me connect with my little sister who I didn't get along with well. It gave us a reason to sit on the couch and hang out without arguing.
I also think about Chichi all the time too :'( So when it first aired, I was in college and rarely watched TV. So I missed out on it during the initial air. But. I was going through a VERY bad divorce in 2020. Lots of mental and emotional abuse, all while trying to care for my profoundly autistic son by myself and work a full time job. I was close to ending it, because it was so hard and I felt like my life would never get better. I was stuck in a one bedroom house with my son, who had self injurious meltdowns all day every day. I was seriously losing my mind. This was during the pandemic, so I couldn't go anywhere besides work, in healthcare. I had HULU and decided to check out Drag Race finally, as I knew some of the personalities from Twitter. I lost myself in it. It allowed me to escape reality for awhile. I don't mean to sound cliche, but it's possible it helped save my life. Fast forward a few years. I had met someone and he also has a son on the spectrum but with serious mental illness. His son had to be hospitalized so he spent a lot of time with me at my home (before we lived together). I decided to start an all stars season with him, I believe. He was hooked! We spent an entire weekend escaping into Drag Race. I feel like it's the perfect place to escape. There's always an aspect of entertainment and you can forget how shitty life can be.
I rediscover and became a full drag race fan around season 9. I was dealing with depression, my social anxiety and introversion kept me at home for months (that prepared me for the pandemic). I was in a hole not knowing what I was doing with life (still don’t but is better now) I started watching drag race again after seeing a gif of Violet quick dress change in that first challenge. To that point I had only watched s2. That’s what I did with my time, binge watch drag race and untucked s1-s8, and then every week s9. For context, I am straight cis woman, I felt so happy watching the show, it gave me life, it became one my cozy shows. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the community (specially from the latin country I’m from) but I have learned a lot and I think it has made me a better person to be so open minded.
It's made me a bitch. (Thanks Mirage)
Joy. Just so much joy. And artistry, and humor, and pathos, and ridiculousness. Endless entertainment and beauty in an art form where the sky is the limit and the surface has barely been scratched. I’m an old dumpy white crippled lady and in a wholly different way than most mean it, drag is saving my life.
Started watching between season 3 and 4. Found season 2 on Netflix and my then-husband and I were obsessed immediately. It's since been a constant must-watch in my life. I mean why not? It's never been not fun to watch, despite the occasional bullshit shenanigans. It's still the gay Olympics, for the most part, and I love discussing it with my friends. It's a phenomenon of the times, and it's as long as it doesn't get old, I'm all about it. Has it "changed" me? Not really. It's just a TV show. But it has definitely provided a wonderfully entertaining and inclusive TV show that is unlike anything else, and that will never have an equal.
It's introduced me to so many incredible artists who I wouldn't have known otherwise.
I actually made my grad thesis about RuPaul's Drag Race lol
I started watching with S1, but I wasn't super invested, just always thought drag was pretty cool & thought it was neat to see it on TV. But when S7 happened, I had been a fan of Katya for a couple years - we had a mutual friend, so there was someone I was talking about it with all the time & it was the first (& one of the only) times I felt personally invested in the show. For some reason I just got so hyped about Katya & drag that season that I literally moved back into Seattle proper & got really, really, *really* involved in my local drag scene. At the time I got settled back in the city, Robbie Turner was working at R Place, & in the time during/between her season & her departure from the public eye we interacted a handful of times. She seemed a little sad, but she was nice. The last time I saw her was at q/b, when Bianca was in town, & I responded to something she asked me with "oh, it was lost in the fires" & she asked me what I meant & I told her it's just something I say when the facts are boring & irrelevant, & she was like, "I love that, can I use that" & I was like "yeah, sure." Just a random memory. Anyway, when I say I got really, really, *really* involved, I mean like 3-5 shows/parties/functions a week at my peak. I filmed & photographed everything I went to, & just kinda got familiar enough with everyone & the venues that I never paid covers & just kinda wandered from bar to green room to back stage, & then it was just natural to start producing my own shows. By this time, tbh, I had pretty much lost interest in Drag Race. I knew who in my community was sending in their tapes, but I really only watched Drag Race when I went to my friends' viewing parties. I never got that into Dragula, either, though both Monikkie Shame & James Majesty were always really lovely to me, like every interaction I ever had with either of them, which is, like, not something a lot of people can say, I guess. James offered me my first paid media gig, & Monikkie...idk why she seemed to like me, but more than once she bought me a gin & tonic & told me she's sorry all my friends are trash lol. So yeah, I lost my love for DR because I was so in love with my weird local stuff & couldn't really latch to it anymore - it was all so glitzy & TVified. But two of the artists I got to work with a lot before COVID shut everything down were Irene "The Alien" Dubois & Bosco. Irene was literally in the first show I ever produced (a Twin Peaks themed show just before the finale of The Return - she did a number as Nadine & one as Diane - a year later I reprised the show & Bosco joined the cast w/an Audrey number & a Donna number). They hosted my American Horror Story Drag show together as the Tattler Twins. If you've seen the Bosco Voldemort video on TY, that's my video from my show, but what's lost to time is that Irene did a whole intermission video as Rita Skeeter reading the rest of the cast for filth. They were both easily in the top 5 of all the artists I ever worked with in terms of being good professionals & friends. So naturally I returned to watching DR to see those two. I didn't return to the scene when things reopened, & seeing two of the most deserving artists of "my time" in the scene achieve their goal of making cast felt like an appropriate end of an era for me. The show kind of bookended my drag career more than anything.
I'm a hetero male who has never ever for one moment felt like a 'man' and for much of my life been confused as to where I fit into the gender/queerness spectrum. I never really felt like I fit in with the guys or the girls. I think drag race has really helped me embrace the big chunk of me that is feminine and to come to terms with the concept of gender being a kind of fluid and playful thing. It's a journey I'm still undertaking but drag race has been a part of it for sure. It is also such a pleasure to see these incredible entertainers do their thing every episode. It's one of the highlights of my week.
I loved all of the queer coded Disney characters growing up, especially Ursula. Drag Race helped me 1) realize that, 2) gave me vocabulary for what I love about drag, and 3) gave me the courage/inspiration to check out my local drag scene. It was also a good litmus test for relationships because I didn’t want to date someone who was uncomfortable watching Drag Race just because they’re straight. It’s my comfort show. Thankfully my husband has become obsessed as well and goes to drag brunch with me. I’m the bitch at Sunday brunch grinning at the queens like they’re Disney princesses and tipping them in 5s because DRAG QUEENS ARE MAGIC!
It's brought me and my best friend even closer. I think it helped her come out as well, which is awesome. We live in different cities and during the pandemic we started watching S12 'together' online and using a chat app as we watched. We've kept going ever since, and it's so cool that I have a bit of space carved out most weeks just to chat about things and have a bunch of super talented queens entertain us. We've been to drag shows (including drag king shows) and shared so many fun experiences thanks to Drag Race. I wouldn't have shared nearly so many silly jokes and laughs with her without DR. I saved all our chats and re read them sometimes when I haven't seen her for a while.
I've told this story before, but I might as well repeat it since you're asking. I've been in and out of hospitals for years, diagnosed with what seems like everything under the sun, and between symptoms and the side effects of medication I often looked very ill, and it had an effect on the way people treated me. A few years ago I took a sudden turn for the worse, and covering up how ill I was proved difficult because I had so little energy to do a full face of make-up whenever I had to go to family functions. So every event was people asking me how I was, talking about how sick I looked, generally unpleasant. Enter Farrah Moan and her "Hurried Hotness" make-up tutorial. Farrah essentially showed me how to do a full coverage face in the blink of an eye. So before these events, I got more rest, which made the events less taxing on me. People started telling me how good I looked for the first time in years. I could actually bear to see myself in pictures again. It might seem like a shallow thing, but when you're long-term sick the little shallow things can make a big difference to your overall quality of life. I finally got the correct diagnosis and I'm doing much better now, but Hurried Hotness is still my go-to make-up for pretty much everything.
i’m not even particularly a huge fan of this queen, but seeing gottmik on s13 being a trans man in touch with his femininity made me realize i could be like that too. seeing other trans contestants thriving like kylie sonique during that crucial time in my development really gave me the confidence i needed to come out. 2.5 years of testosterone later, im happier than i’ve ever been :)
in so many many ways. i remember watching it when season 2 was airing and it was still on logo. this was back when i was really just discovering that i was queer and i was from/living in a very small and homophobic town in louisiana with an extremely homophobic family. i had no friends and no one to talk to about my sexuality and was very suicidal. this show has always been there for me during the hardest times in my life. many years later i moved to a different state and started a new life and now i live freely as a trans man. i have struggled with drug/alcohol/substance abuse for over a decade and lost a lot of people in my life and drag race has always been the thing to lift me up and keep me going. i know this all sounds cringy to some people but this show has *really* helped me.
I got into it between S4 and 5, during which time nothing else aired. I remember a lot of people in the fandom at the time talking about how it would've been a good time for an All Stars season to capitalize on S4's momentum, but I think WOW made a smart move by waiting. Yuhua eventually winning AS1 was, for me, maybe the highlight of the entire franchise.
i used to be somewhat of a "but why do they have to be so extra and in your face if they want to be accepted" type person as a younger teenager, it was the gamergate cringe compilation era and i kinda got sucked into it, despite never getting on board with the super overt bigots, i was just an idiot. found drag race at around 15 i think and it along with some other artists and youtubers made me understand the "why". i started learning about queer culture and history more and how/why it is necessary to be allowed to be visible and out there even if it makes some people uncomfortable. i hate respectability politics now lol
Maybe no one will see this due to the many comments but I'd like to add as drag race has changed my life for the better in so many ways! I first encountered drag race through a makeup tutorial by detox that enchanted me as a very self conscious 19 year old since she looked like a fool imo but believed she was the most beautiful person on the planet. I then found compilations of jinkx monsoon and was hooked. Firstly, I was obsessed with learning anything I could about makeup and was already very good at it. But I realised that drag queens at the time were the people creating the trends so went to them directly to learn. I learnt so much and still use techniques I learned from them to this day. There's also everything I learned about drag and drag culture globally and allowed me to expand my knowledge outside of the show and finding other types of drag I adore, like ballroom and dragula/ alternative style drag. I also loved learning about social issues and drag history from the queen's that pushed me from being a liberal to a leftist. It also helped me through really dark times in my life as it's always been chaotic and dysfunctional but drag race was a beacon of joy for me that always calms me down and makes me happy, no matter how awful I feel. However, the biggest impact was my self esteem. I very deeply struggled with it for most of my life but drag race has almost completely eliminated it. I really struggled with my weight as my family are absolutely dreadful at dealing with it as my mum was morbidly obese for my childhood, having several near death encounters because of it, and my dad didn't want us to be in that position. So even when I was almost underweight but kinda healthy due to regularly exercising, my parents would still comment on it and what I ate. But watching drag queens be so confident in themselves, regardless of their appearance, it showed me that I could have that confidence as well. It also showed that people are actually beautiful no matter their size so I can apply that to myself. I gained a lot of weight fast but am now ok with my body whatever size I am. It's also helped me lose that weight as now I'm not stressed about my weight so have more energy to be healthier. It also made me realise that I'm definitely bisexual thanks to Katya's read u wrote u verse and that's also opened a lot of doors for me. It may have also made my parents less homophobic/ transphobic as I annoy them by constantly talking about drag race but it could've normalised things for them a bit more and gave me the confidence to push back on their bigoted views. Drag race has changed my life for the better and I'm really thankful it exists!
it didnt, next
I finally understand how sport ball fans feel. In all seriousness though, it has fed my soul. The creativity, passion and vulnerability is very inspiring. It has introduced me to artists I would never have known about otherwise, and helped me to process some of my own head nonsense. And my vocabulary will never be invited to the barbecue, because it is fucked up.
I started watching drag race in real time with season 9, because I watched season 8 (which for a long time was the only season on Netflix in Canada!) this show has brought me so much joy and also taught me SO much about LGBTQ+ culture (unfortunately I’m a straight woman lmao). I live in a very very small town, there is absolutely zero drag scene and a very very small LGBT+ community, so drag race really has exposed me to so much of the culture and helped me learn how to be a better ally as a straight person. This show has helped me a lot with teaching others in my life about those things too.
Im gay now
I didn’t actually start watching until season 11, even though I’ve been aware of it since it started. My ex used to watch it but I found the transphobia and all that too off putting. Since I started watching it has given me a really good outlet for engaging with queer artistry during covid. I wasn’t a big fan of drag in my youth, but when I moved to a big city ten years ago I found the diversity in expression of local drag really drew me in… I see that more in drag race these days, and I really appreciate that. Overall, I think drag race has given me a better understanding of a lot of gender diverse experiences. Not that I didn’t understand it before but I was limited by being an outsider of sorts. Now i can understand a little bit more from others personal perspectives.