That’s right ladies; the library is open! Jokes aside, New York Post reported “a full-semester spring course called ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race and Its Impact’ launched this week at the New School in Manhattan.” This class will be taught by drag historian Joe E. Jeffreys.
Some of you might be scratching your heads right now but Joe explains why he started the course. “I put this class together not only due to my love of drag performance but also to spark serious critical thought and analysis into something many people would poo-poo as not worthy of such deep concern.” The class will cover “audience demographics, historicizing the show’s lineage and scrutinizing such concerns as race, ethnicity, aesthetics, and body image as presented in the broadcasts.” If you’ve watched this series religiously, you’ll understand that it does cover all these topics. On the surface, it can come across merely as a comedic reality show but it so much more than that. For example, the current season features Gia Gunn, a contestant from a previous season who now identifies as a transgender woman. In the show, she talks about her struggles as being a woman in drag.
I would have definitely signed up for this course if I was still in university. Would you?
Photo courtesy of RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s Instagram account
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