Okay now, are you people watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season Four” on Logo? It’s on Monday’s at 9PM, followed immediately by “Untucked,” one sweet hour of the girls talking trash, throwing shade, and having emotional breakthroughs or breakdowns.
I LOVE this show. Although the producers focus almost entirely on the emotional aspects of the competition between the queens, I live for the footage of the ladies “painting” (making up their faces and transforming themselves for the various challenges and the runway). They are serious artists who have learned their craft from mentors they refer to as “drag mothers.” You will often hear the girls reference drag mothers and drag families, and I think every pastor should watch it as a reminder that families come in all different configurations, and community happens in all sorts of wonderful ways.
My favorite this season is a beautiful lady named Latrice Royale. ( As always, click on the photos to enlarge them)
Latrice is serving up fierce! I adore her runway fabulosity, her terrific comedy chops, and her willingness to put it all out there in body, mind, heart and soul. Onstage, she is a breathtaking diva. Backstage, she is warm, supportive, motherly, affectionate with the other girls, honest, and strong. She can dish it out and she can take it, always with a huge infectious guffaw. She has the best laugh EVER. I love a girl who can laugh at herself with that much brio.
Latrice is the creation of this 40-year old man named Timothy Wilcots of Compton, California. I don’t ever want to hear any of you say that you don’t have a glamorous or elegant bone in your body. Because if he do, you do:
It’s all in your inner vision. This is a man who has done 18 months of prison time, okay? His mama died while he was in the joint. This is not someone who grew up with the benefit of lots of people affirming his inherent worth and dignity and propping up his self-esteem. Today, she is Latrice, she is bold, proud, gorgeous and a fantastic entertainer. Latrice is an Easter sermon all in herself, am I right?
From this:
To this:
It’s all in what you bring, and what you bring starts inside you, not at a cosmetics counter. Love you, Latrice!!
Resurrection, indeed! What transformation! This is just the inspiration I needed as I sit here at Starbucks staring dumbly at my meandering sermon notes.
I am humbled by this.. Thank you so much for “SEEING” ME!!.. I just strive to be the best I can be while being the BEST Person I can be. I love you, and Thank You so much for this, I must share!!! Muah!!
Love the show. Love Latrice-as-Easter-sermon. (Not that into the untucked eps.) I’ve been hooked since the first season and watched DragU for a while. I love RuPaul’s affirmations of each person’s beauty as much as I love the intentional constructions of gender.
I love Latrice Royale’s joyous, boisterous, life affirming spirit. She is her completely true and authentic self. A living reminder that we are not our past! Viva the Diva, Latrice Royale!!!!
I wouldn’t have put it any other way. LATRICE ROYALE good luck with everything you do.
I find that my favorite is whichever one is on the screen at the moment. Love them all–I am inspired by persons/communities who create a space for themselves in an often-hostile world. To borrow from Moltmann, God’s “YES!” to every “no.”
Knew Latrice as Tim back in the day when he taught us high school guard and dance – what a great mentor!
I’ve enjoyed all the RuPaul series, but I have to admit I’m bothered by referring to everyone,especially in their female personna, as “bitch.” I find that such a demeaning term for female humans it just really bugs me.
Well, as Latrice put it last episode, “BITCH” means “Being In Total Control of Herself.” Really, it’s cultural. Everyone in the drag culture uses it every other word. Just a thing. [I love the word and use it a lot, both to describe myself and as a term of endearment for close friends, usually gay men. It is contextual. Theatre people use it constantly. It’s campy, it’s vampy, it’s… bitchy! Yay! – PB]
Latrice,
Stumbled across this blog trail through mutual admirer in FB. “LARGE and IN CHARGE” You bring so much grounding to the show. I appreciate the love that comes from you when others are being rather hateful [could just be for ratings] but not required to be a human being. ConDRAGulations! You have my vote.