Teaching the Children: RuPaul’s Drag Race as a Pedagogical Act

• In Event: The Library Is Open: Reading RuPaul’s Drag Race in a Time of Drag Bans

Abstract

This paper uses content analysis methods to interrogate five episodes of the American franchise of RuPaul’s Drag Race as pedagogical tools for teaching about drag and the LGBTQ community. These episodes, which span different seasons in the show’s 15-season run, explicitly aim to teach both the contestants and the viewing audience about histories, beliefs, and practices that comprise a multicultural and liberal vision of drag community in the United States.

Author

• Christian A. Bracho, California State University - Long Beach