Latest news with #DragRace
WIRED
5 hours ago
- General
- WIRED
Trump's Administration Wants to Erase Queer History. An Unconventional Book Club Is Fighting Back
May 30, 2025 6:00 AM Drag Race star Miss Peppermint is coleading Queer History 101, a virtual book club merging stories of queer resistance with community. Photo-illustration: Jacqui VanLiew; Getty Images Hugh Ryan has two things to say. The first will be alarming, but the second might offer some comfort: 'The future is so much stupider than I expected, but the past is so much smarter.' Ryan would know. As a queer historian and author, he's used to talking about state of queer affairs, past and present, especially with actress, activist, and season 9 Ru Paul's Drag Race contestant, Miss Peppermint. Together, the two are currently running Queer History 101, a monthly book club that's taking a more expansive approach to history than simply reciting dates or names, at a time when their mission couldn't be more important. The queer community, especially transgender Americans, are under attack. The current administration is systematically wiping away trans people's health information, gender autonomy, history, and employment opportunities, even in the case of national monuments like Stonewall, which is considered the birthplace of the modern movement for LGBT rights. 'It's shameful because we're seeing the cover up in front of our eyes,' Peppermint says. Many companies are also backing off their initiatives that once celebrated queer pride as part of greater crackdown on DEI. But all is not lost, as long as queer communities are still able to preserve their own history. The answers might just not be directly in front of us, but behind. 'They were smart,' Peppermint says of queer communities in the past. 'Not because they had access to the tools or the science or the technology that we have access to. They're smart because they figured out how to navigate systems of oppression that are still here. 'We need those folks to teach us—and the only way we can do it now is to read their stories.' Queer History 101 is a fully virtual, monthly book club. The pair releases one video episode a month, as well as the occasional live chat; in April, the two hosted an interview with Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert author Bob the Drag Queen, also of Drag Race and Traitors fame. It's a read at your own pace club, though it also includes a discord, called Kiki, where readers can talk to each other or propose questions for authors. June's bookclub selection is Caro de Roberts' So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color. Queer History 101 is a revival of sorts, the reincarnation of a book club that began with an online indie store started by Eric Cervini and Adam Powell, built with the goal to pay and promote queer authors. In 2024, Cervini and Powell launched AllStora alongside Drag Race host and queer icon, RuPaul. The book club has been revamped to fit the new hosts' vision for queer history. '[Allstora] wanted to just really stick with scholarly non-fiction,' Ryan says. 'We knew that was not going to work for us.' The pair wanted to reach readers who weren't already interested, weren't already huge history buffs, so they expanded their selections to include young adult novels, memoirs, poetry, and many other genres. 'I don't care if you come to queer history through a comic book or through TV or any of the books in our book club,' Ryan says. 'Queer history, it's always a history of resistance, because that's what queerness is,' he adds. Whether it's sexual or gender identity, being queer is non-normative. 'Institutions, even well-meaning ones, even schools that try really hard, even great public schools, they're invested in a version of history that's from the top down. And queer history is never that way.' Ryan says that to 'meet this moment,' it was important to not just discuss histories of what it means to be queer and Black, or trans in the 19th century—they had to get people connecting to one another. 'We're bringing a history of revolution, but we're also trying to make community,' he says. The way people connect and build community has changed, thanks to social media and smart phones. Michael Bronski, a Harvard professor of the practice in media and activism, has been involved in LGBT politics and activism since 1969. He's authored several books on queer history and politics. His students today, he says, are often astounded at the work that was done without social media. 'All those new technologies are incredibly useful and efficient, but they often lack interpersonal relationships,' he says. Civil rights of all kinds began as community actions. 'It's really important to prioritize the reality of community,' Bronski says. 'We actually don't form communities by tweeting. That may be useful for contacting people for something, but that's not a community. Community means being together—physically, often, but virtually as well. 'Now people get together on Zoom, which is good too,' he says. Written histories do exist and are being added to every day. Our phones make it easier than ever to preserve the record; everyone's able to take photos, video, and record audio. But websites can be changed, media can be removed. 'What good is it gonna be if Amazon can just flick a switch everybody's watching a commercial at the same time,' says Peppermint. 'We are in this era of technology, but we clearly have to go back to an analog way of recording history as well.' She points to Marion Stokes, an civil rights activist and archivist who recorded 24-hour television broadcasts for over 30 years, and in doing so created an indispensable record between 1979 and 2012. 'We're gonna need that, and we're gonna need people to do things like that,' Peppermint says. Despite the changes being made now, the Trump administration will not be in power forever. It's possible that every step backwards for the queer community will be ground regained in the future. At the very least, says Bronski, Trump cannot truly erase trans or queer Americans. 'There's an interesting contradiction that every act of erasure admits that something was there before,' he says. 'The active erasure is actually an affirmation that it was existing to begin with.' At 76, Bronksi has a long memory of events like Pride before corporations swooped in, when they were protest marches, not parades. He says it's important for queer communities, however they're formed, 'to keep this knowledge alive within themselves'—whether that's publishing their own books and magazines, telling oral histories, or preserving other aspects of their culture. 'What the administration is doing is horrible and destructive, for the moment,' he says. 'We have to think of ways around that. The government has a lot of power, but it's just the government—it's not a community.'
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Pride celebrations
This year's Pride Winnipeg theme is 'Rise in Pride, Stand in Strength.' The organization's annual festival kicks off at The Forks from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The festivities include three stages of live entertainment, family-friendly activities, an artisan market and an LGBTTQ+ community zone. Food trucks, beer gardens and a substance-free area will be on site. Main stage performers include Ami Cheon, Bannock Babes, Sebastian Gaskin, Bicycle Face, Hera and Bobby Dove. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Pride Winnipeg's annual festival, rally and parade take place this weekend. Gather in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building at 10 a.m. on Sunday for a rally, followed by the Pride Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Memorial Boulevard with marchers and floats travelling eastbound on Portage Avenue to The Forks. The parade will be livestreamed on CTV Winnipeg with accessible indoor and outdoor viewing areas inside and in front of Canada Life Centre at 300 Portage Ave. ASL interpreters will be on hand during the rally. — Eva Wasney Iiiiit's Saturday Night Pride! With Jaylene Tyme! INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. INSTAGRAM Drag queen Jaylene Tyme hosts Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party. The veteran Vancouver drag artist — who was crowned Miss Congeniality in Season 5 of Canada's Drag Race — is headlining Rainbow Resource Centre's Pride Weekend party at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Tyme, a Two-Spirit Indigenous trans woman and advocate, uses her platform to empower her community and raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women, the '60s Scoop (of which she is a survivor) and truth and reconciliation. Canada's Drag Race fans will no doubt remember her show-stopping finale dress inspired by the Every Child Matters movement. Joining Tyme on Saturday is Cake, Rainbow Resource Centre's drag-artist-in-residence, and local performers Kymera and Jamie Allwood. DJ Princess Die will keep the dance floor packed all night. The event is 18+. — Jen Zoratti DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. DAN DANIELSON PHOTO Club Happenings is hosting a Rainbow Rave. Dig out your dancing shoes for the ultimate Friday night Pride party; there's no better place to be. Dance your heart out to sets by an all-queer DJ lineup and feast your senses on electric drag performances. The night of queer joy, fierce beats and dazzling self-expression features headliner DJ Sydney from Toronto with local powerhouses NotMyAuthority, KvLTBABY, Dov and Inflo. Promising genre-defying sets that move from house and techno to bass, bounce and beyond, make sure you're prepped for the long-haul during this seven-hour rave extravaganza. — AV Kitching MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Meet at Upper Fort Garry tonight for a queer history walking tour. For the next month, nearly every corporation, police service and level of government in Canada will be flying the rainbow flag, but less than 40 years ago, when Winnipeg had its first pride parade in 1987, participants still felt compelled to mask their faces with paper bags to protect their identities. It's a reminder that Winnipeg's queer history is one of persecution as well as celebration, a legacy represented in the city's queer walking tours. Join local cultural historian Britt Bauer tonight for the Winnipeg Queer History Walk, a free tour from Upper Fort Garry through downtown and the Exchange District. No registration needed — just show up with comfortable walking shoes. The Winnipeg Architecture Foundation also has a self-guided Winnipeg Queer History Tour, which covers resource and health centres, clandestine cruising spots, early gay bars and social clubs (did you know that Gio's was originally called the Winnipeg Gay Community Centre?). Visit for more information. —Conrad Sweatman LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. LAUREN SIDDALL PHOTO Good Neighbour Brewing Co.'s patio turns into Queer Gardens this weekend. Vintage threads, comedy, a queer-themed beer garden and drag queen karaoke: Sherbrook Street businesses have come together to throw a host of events as part of this year's Pride festivities. The West Broadway Pride block party kicks off tonight with a drag party at Good Neighbour Brewing Co. starting at 6 p.m. and a free Fruit Roll-Up Comedy Showcase at 8 p.m. at The Handsome Daughter. The crew at Chips Vintage are promising a special guest performer at 8 p.m., as well as 20 per cent off all in-store goods plus some limited-edition merchandise, with all proceeds going to Sunshine House. End the night back at The Handsome Daughter with live band karaoke and local drag queens. Tickets are $10 plus fees at Brightly coloured beers will be flowing today through Saturday at the Good Neighbour/Next Door patio, dubbed the Queer Gardens in honour of Pride. Beat the heat with the new quartet of Good Neighbour's Gaytorade sour brews featuring Slay Queen Orange, Electric Bear-y, Fruity Punch and Fierce Grape flavours. The Queer Gardens also hosts an acoustic set by Snackie on Friday and a sold-out Saturday brunch in collaboration with the Winnipeg Humane Society. — Ben Sigurdson
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘RuPaul's Drag Race' Doesn't Need A Rainbow Logo To Celebrate Pride
There's a running joke on social media when pride month rolls around. When the clocks strikes 12 on June 1st, companies across the planet will change their logos to reflect the pride flag. Whether it's a joke or not, most consumers understand that queer representation is important and while Pride month may only be 30 days long, and while many people appreciate the highlighted shows and films that show up under the 'inspiring stories' tabs on our favorite streaming platforms, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' doesn't need to change it's logo or release special merchandise when June rolls around. More than just a reality tv show or a franchise, RuPaul's Drag Race consistently remains an unapologetically and authentically queer show that has become a global phenomenon. RuPaul takes the stage during the taping of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2 in Culver City JULY 31, ... More 2009. The television show's host, drag queen RuPaul mentors then judges a set of young drag queens during several competitions in their quest to become the ultimate drag queen (Photo by Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Since its debut in 2009 on Logo TV, Drag Race has been unapologetic in its showcase of the LGBT+ community and drag culture as a whole where other shows might struggle with consistency. With the show starting as a small with a low budget and a filter that OG fans are still trying to wrap their heads around, Drag Race shared with viewers a multitude of queens that had powerful stories that tugged at the hearts of viewers, we've been introduced to moments of authenticity that didn't shy away from being heartwarming and even heartbreaking at times. With multiple contestants over the years coming forward with their positive HIV status to help decrease the stigma on people living with a positive diagnosis and encouraging people to know their status, Drag Race has helped save the lives of viewers who were previously too afraid to get tested or too afraid to talk about their status; Drag Race has been a megaphone where silence was expected. Several contestants, both during, after, and even when returning to the show, have talked about how drag has helped them explore their own gender identity, with multiple queens coming out as trans and gender non-conforming in the show's 17-season tenure. Even contestants that have returned to the show multiple to times to compete have come out and talked about how they've been able to transition due to drag allowing them to explore their identity without judgment. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 15: RuPaul (C) with cast and crew accept the Outstanding Reality ... More Competition Program award for "RuPaul's Drag Race" onstage during the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on January 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by) Even with the everchanging public opinion on queer artistry and the LGBT+ community in general, Drag Race has never compromised or toned down it's queer authenticity and that, arguably, is the reason why it is the most decorated reality tv show with the most Emmys, including awards for outstanding host for RuPaul himself. What started off as a fun project that RuPaul felt would never be mainstream has become a global phenomenon that encompasses all of the ideals of Pride Month year round. Drag Race, like many of its contestants, has managed to turn a stage built on authenticity into a currency that's profitable, a formula that has managed to create multiple spin-offs, both domestically and internationally. 'Throughout our culture, there are little windows and pockets of time when people are open,' RuPaul said in a recently resurfaced clip of 'In Bed With Joan' when talking about the success of Drag Race. '… And I think the success of our show is a part of that openness.'
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How Jinkx Monsoon Redefines Broadway On Her Own Terms
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 16: Jinkx Monsoon attends the 2025 Drama League Awards at The Ziegfeld ... More Ballroom on May 16, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Valerie Terranova/FilmMagic) With Pride month only a couple days away, we're reminded of queer visibility across platforms and industries. Broadway is leading the charge with some of the most beloved alumnae of 'RuPaul's Drag Race.' Despite not winning the nomination, Jinkx Monsoon's eligibility for her role in 'Pirates! The Penzance Musical,' as an actress in a featured role in a musical category, was nothing short of historic. While drag queens and even other contestants on Drag Race have been featured on Broadway for years, with Jinkx even having a historic run as Mama Morton in 'Chicago' in 2023, this marked the first time that a drag queen was ever considered in a gendered acting category. Before Jinkx had her Broadway debut on Chicago, Peppermint, who competed and landed in the top four of season 9 of Drag Race, helped set the stage for her eligibility by being a trailblazer as the first openly trans woman to originate a principal Broadway role as Pythio in the Go Go's jukebox musical 'Head Over Heels' in 2018. This was historic, not only for her role being central to the show, but due to Peppermint proving that trans people were talented enough to be leads and not just in the chorus. SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 18: Cast members salute the audience during the curtain call for the ... More pre-Broadway engagement of "Head Over Heels" at the Curran Theatre on April 18, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by) In the past, people have debated on what roles gender non-conforming actors should be nominated for, and for Jinkx, a trans-femme nonbinary person, to considered for a tony nomination in the 'actress in a featured role' category, a category that reflects her identity, is already a huge deal. So often, institutions and voting boards have struggled to accommodate and reflect actors that exist outside of being cisgender or binary. Her seriously being considered alongside cisgender actresses serves as proof that gender expansive and non-conforming actors can and do co-exist in categories that have already been established. There doesn't need to be a complete overhaul of the awards or how they're delved out, gender trans and gender expansive people can exist right inside of those categories and there doesn't have to be any compromise or watering down of who they are to do it. There have been trans, genderfluid, and even gender non-conforming actors that have been nominated and even won Tony nominations, like with Alex Newell for their role in 'Shucked,' and L Morgan Lee for her role in 'A Strange Loop,' Jinkx places herself in a long list of performers that are setting a new standard for what it means to be trans and even a drag queen in the spotlight. Jinkx Monsoon and Peppermint show that trans and gender non-conforming people don't need separate systems or categories to showcase their talent. They serve as a reminder that existing as your authentic self not only serves as its own reward, but it also allows other people to take notice and feel inspired. While neither of them may have Tony nominations at the moment, they show that authenticity and visibility can serve as their reward and legacy. This is only the beginning for trans people on Broadway, and there's sure to be even opportunities for nominations for actresses like Jinkx in the future.
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Drag Race's Plane Jane Joins 'House Of Villains'
Originally a contestant on season 16 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' Plane Jane was recently announced as a cast member of season 3 of Peacock's 'House of Villains.' Gaining notoriety for its premise of bringing back iconic villains and personalities from reality shows of varying backgrounds, House of Villains lets fans watch their favorite TV bad guys compete against one another for the title of America's 'Ultimate Supervillain.' This marks the second time that a contestant from Drag Race has been cast on the show, with Kandy Muse of Drag Race season 13 and 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' season 8 fame competing on the previous House of Villains season. Known for her strong personality, light-hearted shade, and her quick wit, Plane Jane stormed onto season 16 of Drag Race and earned her title as the season's unofficial 'villain' by fans. Her villain arc wasn't built on cruelty or chaos like the stereotypical reality television villain that fans hate to love and love to hate, instead Plane introduced a new type of archetype to the Drag Race franchise, by revealing her in confessionals that she had a foolproof strategy that would inevitably place her into the final four by proving that she, especially through her confessionals, was a person that had watched the show and understood what it required with surgical precision. Whether it was sabotaging the placements of other contestants through a vote to secure a coveted immunity potion, provoking other contestants without ever having to argue or raise her voice, or even through her getting into the heads of other contestants by placing seeds of doubt that would lead to their elimination, Plane Jane has the exact energy that's needed to compete and entertain on House of Villains. Not only does a competitor need to fit the criteria of being villainous, but they also need to be top of mind, and Plane checks every box. Like Plane Jane, Kandy Muse also had a controversial introduction to Drag Race. Kandy's fiery personality, humor, and looks made her into more than just a competitor on Drag Race; she became a brand. While fans may have argued over who they wanted to win in the end, no one could deny that Kandy kept the season interesting, especially with her unforgettable quotes, heated arguments, and refusal to be belittled by her fellow queens. Drag Race as a franchise has propelled queens to stardom outside of the show, with queens starring on Broadway, releasing albums, acquiring movie roles, and more. Drag Race offers an international stage for queens to showcase their talent, but it also serves as a direct pipeline to the world of reality television, especially after they've proved that they can stand out in an already super-saturated market of personalities. As we head into Pride Month, we can see that the growing presence of queer visibility doesn't only have to be happiness, sunshine, and rainbows. Plane Jane and Kandy Muse remind us that queer visibility doesn't have to palatable to be acceptable; It can be loud, it can be quirky, it can be controversial, and it can be powerful.
