RuPaul: Serving Scorpio Realness

Before RuPaul, drag was not considered an art, but rather a farce. Not that elements of the farcical are not present in the queen of all drag queens’ hit show, Drag Race, but still. Drag has been elevated to a level of high prestige that never would have existed without the San Diegoan’s help. Bringing drag queenery to the straight masses, RuPaul taught us long ago that “you’re born naked and the rest is drag.”

RuPaul’s migration from San Diego to Atlanta found him gravitating toward the underground club scene, where he would often do gender bending performances that gained him some notoriety. Ultimately, however, RuPaul picked up and left for New York City where he briefly served some time as a club kid and recorded the hit “Supermodel (You Better Work)”. After his mid-90s Renaissance, RuPaul experienced a brief slump with the release of his 2004 album, Red Hot (an unfortunate title for something received so lukewarmly). But, like any great drag queen worth her weight in sequins, RuPaul picked himself up by the stiletto straps and continued on. By 2008, RuPaul’s Drag Race was about to become a phenomenon.

On November 17th, on what marks RuPaul’s fifty-fourth birthday, it seems safe to say that his Scorpio gumption and fierceness has not only helped himself to rise through the ranks, but also aided an entire legion of drag queens who would be nowhere without his trailblazing.