ReadMy Drag Race S10E9 Ruview (SPOILERS)

Ninth episode, and I still have opinions! If you haven't already, read my review for episode one, episode two, episode three, episode four, episode five, episode six, episode seven, and episode eight.

As before I've already given you a spoiler warning in the title and the cover photo and here's a third. Consider yourself warned.

I'm just gonna jump right into it.

1. Meme face of the day: Aquaria.

I'll take your captions at my business email: kohrscolinbusiness@gmail.com

2. "The boys are gorgeous. There’s something for every taste in the room, and you know I like a buffet" -Eureka O'Hara.

So let me explain why this line really rubbed me the wrong way.

Looking at the above photo, I think it's pretty clear that every model is muscular and fit. There is casting variation in race, height, and exactly how muscular they are, but they're all muscular.

This isn't new or anything, the pit crew has always been like this, but it highlights an odd disparity the show exhibits between the beauty of people in drag and the beauty of people out of drag.

If the rumors are true, Eureka is going to win this season, and it's a very popular opinion that it's more or less forced by the editing/production. Eureka's value aside, the winners of drag race have been predominantly thin queens.

Flashback to Season 7 when Ginger Minj was final four and requested to make her case for the crown, and one of her points was "I'm a big queen; we haven't had a big queen win in seven seasons yet; #representation."

Flashforward to season ten, we've had 9 thin to mid-sized normal season winners, two thin all stars winners, and one skinny legend all stars winner.

While the competitive nature of the show seems to push classical standards of beauty (please Google "RPDR white queens" to find 101 blog posts about drag race racism), the dialogue of the show and the editing of the show tries hard to stay body positive. 

Yes, bigger queens are given a different standard of beauty than thin queens, but the show has set up a narrative of 'big queens can be beautiful and here's how'. The show has even devoted a significant amount of testimonial air time to bigger queens explaining this problem. Hell, Kim Chi even got a whole song of "fat fem and asian."

 But then we get the pit crew.

The pit crew in this photo predominantly white, with a little melanin thrown in there because trying. And I think that's the diversity that Eureka was trying to get with her line:

"The boys are gorgeous. There’s something for every taste in the room, and you know I like a buffet."

But then we have that line delivered by Eureka. A big queen.

For a show that has recognized its fatphobia in the past, so much that it is rumored to be forcing the crown on Eureka as an apology, it's a little absurd to me that the pit crew remains so homogenous in body type.

That's my hot take for the day.

3. I don't watch Westworld.

But my roommate has. But also props to the writers for keeping the sketch accessible. Excepting any references that may have gone over my head, all you really needed to know was 'there are robots and they look like people and robots going AWOL is sort of a problem maybe?' 

The whole sketch wasn't lol funny to me, but I did have a good time. I smiled all the way through.

4. I like this look on Ru.

It's shiny, it's drapey, it has a fun texture, and the broach is classic Ru. 

I also think there's subtle humor in Ru not putting on a campy old look. She definitely hasn't participated in every runway this season, but she's always had a hint of the theme here and there. I like to think that this look being so classic is a subtle nod to "I look this way, and I will look this way forever. I am immortal. Maybe this is another Westworld joke too."

5. Asia O'Hara winning was chill but edited poorly?

It took her ultimate explanation of her runway before the judges finally got behind it, and it was the negative critiques that stuck in my head. Her Breastworld performance was on par with everyone else's, so based on the judges critiques I was not expecting her to win.

Like, they didn't even go for a fake out edit? Like, she just got the 'you are safe' edit, and then she won.

Not mad tho. Just confused about the editing.

6. Kameron Michaels is an icon.

Something about this hair, that tank, and the tattoos all mix together to remind me of someone I can't pinpoint right now. Maybe Helen Mirren in some movie. IDK.

7. Double Shantay's always seem to be a production decision.

Whether it's 'we want to keep this queen because drama' or 'we can't eliminate her because of her bus monologue' or 'we want to keep this queen because BAM WILLAM IS EVICTED FROM THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE' the double shantay's always feel a little artificial.

Most recently, in all stars three, the Shangela DeLa double win felt like an excuse to not overstack wins on one queen.

The only real deserving double win imo was Alyssa v. Tatianna. 

Like, the threshold for a double shantay doesn't seem to exist. If Eureka v. Kameron was a double shantay, then you could go back through every other season, and even this season, and find a dozen other queens that shouldn't have been eliminated. 

Eureka's splits thing was sort of cool I guess?

Idk. See y'all next week.

OH! and I thought Aquaria's look looked less like old hangy skin and more like Tempest DuJour's body suit from S7E1 nude illusion runway. But nobody read her for it.