this is a psa to watch drag race philippines. why, you may ask, and it's because it has all the essence and genuinity i feel rupaul's drag race has been lacking recently!!!
like idgaf anymore, rpdr is so watered down because its audiences grew outside of queer spaces and they want to commercialize drag race and make it "presentable" to everyone. they water drag (and queer ppl basically) down into unhelpful labels and it just feels so!!! capitalistic!!! and whatever rupaul doesn't get any joke dating 2010 onwards and no critique feels genuine anymore yadda yadda
BUT I DIGRESS. THE MAIN THING I WANNA SAY IS WATCH DRAG RACE PHILIPPINES. imma tell you that i was actually surprised they even produced one here. queer culture is very widespread here but its treatment in media is often reduced to comedy. even if people say they appreciate lgbtqia+ rights people tend to reduce it to sob stories or comedy. as a queer person here i feel like i'm more tolerated than accepted, WHICH IS WHY DRAG RACE PH IS SUCH A BIG MOMENT OF PROGRESS!!!!
drph highlights a lot of queer culture that does NOT stem from western queer culture. we hear of drag scenes in the philippines, queer movements in the philippines. and even if most political discussions are censored due to our oppressive government, a lot of these queens are activists outside of drag race!! not just for queer rights (since same sex marriage isn't approved and the sogie bill is just a recent development) but they're activists for sustainability and freedom of speech and the general development of the ph!!!! the show has been so informative and we're just 4 episodes in, and i'm actually learning more stuff about gay culture that i haven't learned before
++ OH THE GENUINITY FROM THE QUEENS IS SOOOO DELICIOUS. filipino culture tends to be incredibly blunt. we are very assertive, even if you're introverted, and we aren't afraid of saying what we want to say. THAT'S WHY I LOVE THE QUEENS SO MUCH. they stand firm in what they believe in and when someone chimes in they don't shake easily. AND THIS IS ALSO WHY THE JUDGING'S MUCH BETTER. obviously it's not perfect, i don't like the judging in ep 4 and i do think they go overboard sometimes, BUT IT ISN'T WASHED ANYMORE. these judges say shit from the heart. even in ep 4, which i won't spoil, they cried and cried and cried, even after the amen part, because they LOVE the queens!!
and you know what else comes from this genuinity??? DRAMAAAAAA. GIRL UNTUCKED IS LITERALLY ON FIRE. EACH EPISODE SO FAR HAS HAD A FIGHT OR INTENSE MOMENT AND IT REMINDS ME OF THE OLD UNTUCKED DAYS. actually no, drph is MUCH more intense because like. WHO FIGHTS IMMEDIATELY AT THE 2ND DAY?????? THESE BITCHES DIDN'T COME TO PLAY. they argue and insult but make amends at the end bc it's Very filipino culture to fight over small things and blow it out of proportion. we love tsismis (gossip) and filipinos tend to be REALLY reactive so PLEASEEE if you wanna watch drag race for drama watch drph.
and you know what makes the drama better??? THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THESE QUEENS KNOW EACH OTHER BEFOREHAND. a lot of the drama here actually stems from previous drama OUTSIDE of drag race. they know each other and have fought with each other and oh my god i can make a powerpoint presentation about xilhouette, marina, and minty istg. their dynamic is so unique and interesting and i am Watching Intently
but drama aside the cast are so sweet to each other :(((( there's so much heartfelt moments because under all the bluntness and the arguing, filipinos tend to have BIG hearts. we put community first more than anything and it warms my heart to see all of them just enjoy each other's presences. even in mini challenges where they act all silly and yell and bark, those silly moments show what pinoy pride and love and community is. idk how to describe it, but when you're in a crowd of pinoys watching or rooting for the same thing, you always seamlessly join into the fun. it's just the way we work, and Ough this is my love letter to filipinos bc i love us so much
AND OKAY IK THIS IS GETTING LONG BUT ALSO U GOTTA WATCH FOR THE DRAG. watch these bitches put their asian kuripot resourcefulness into use. in the last few episodes, i can't even say the bottom 2's are even bad— all of them were pretty talented in the challenge. it rlly shows how talented and creative pinoys are!!! AND YOU GET TO SEE FILIPINO CULTURE INTEGRATED INTO IT. REMEMBER THIS IS AN ALL POC CAST!!!! they are so unapologetically pinoy with the runways, from superstitions to pearls to flowers to indigenous references to historical references etc etc LIKE PLS WATCH IT. IT IS A LOVE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPINSS
dededos
areudirty
vaporwave
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
jacobvanloon
