“Have you ever worn a wig, or done drag?†RuPaul Charles, the host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,†asked me recently as he shopped for wigs on Hollywood Boulevard.
It struck me as more than a question - almost an invitation … or maybe a threat. The knot tightening in the pit of my stomach at the prospect of appearing in drag suggested that what RuPaul had been telling me about his 35-year career was true: appearing publicly in drag was somewhat like “treason†in our hyper-masculine, gender-obsessed society.
Not all of our interview was so deep, but a lot of it was. Perhaps most surprising was that while many Americans see the country marching inexorably toward greater equality for gays and lesbians, RuPaul does not. He said he had been around a long time, and while he might marry his partner of 19 years, “just for business reasons,†he could easily see the pendulum of acceptance swinging in the opposite direction. He said that had happened after Sept. 11, as fear took hold in American society and culture.
And, he said, he was certain the pendulum would swing again.
The finale of the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race is to be broadcast tonight on Logo.
