"In this book - part autobiography, part how-to manual - drag queen RuPaul comes out and reveals the real person behind the paint and powder, the sequins and the wigs. He talks of growing up in a house full of exceptional women; he describes a difficult but warm California childhood with the challenges of being "different"; he relates outrageous experiences in the drag scene and the New York underground; and he drops names that include Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Courtney Love, Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Ross. Sprinkled throughout the book are RuPaul's secrets to achieving fame, riches, success and glamour in the 1990s, as well as his worldly observations on being black, being gay and being a drag queen."
RuPaul stirred multiple controversies regarding his comments and actions towards the transgender community. According to Vox, he has a complicated relationship with transgender people, in part due to differing philosophies: through drag he seeks to mock gender and identity stereotypes, while in his view the trans community takes identity seriously. However, RuPaul's Drag Race featured a number of trans women, some of whom made their identity public while competing on the show, including Sonique, Carmen Carrera, Jiggly Caliente, Monica Beverly Hillz, Kenya Michaels, and Gia Gunn.
In later shows we could see trans contestants who had already disclosed their trans identity prior to their season beginning. In 2017, Peppermint became the first contestant to compete throughout her season as an openly trans woman.
In 2014, trans activists and former contestants Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly Hillz criticized the show's use of words such as tranny and shemale, including the main challenge announcement phrase up to season 6, "You've got she-mail", which they described as transphobic. That year's season also included a "Female or She-male" segment that required contestants to guess whether various photographs featured cisgender "biological women" or "psychological women" (drag queens), causing further criticism. RuPaul and the producers issued a statement promising "to help spread love, acceptance and understanding" and Logo TV removed the controversial phrases. In 2018, RuPaul gave an interview to The Guardian in which he stated that a post-transition trans woman would "probably not" be accepted onto the show, noting that at the time of competition and Peppermint had not yet had breast implants.
After facing criticism on social media and from former contestants for his remarks, RuPaul compared trans drag queens who had transitioned to athletes who had taken performance-enhancing drugs. He subsequently expressed regret for the hurt caused by his remarks, and that the only screening criteria for contestants were "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent." Since he made these statements, multiple transgender contestants have competed on the show.
Available via Amazon
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