I could not contain my excitement when I heard RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under had decided (for Covid-related reasons) to film in Aotearoa, New Zealand, rather than Australia.

I was excited, as ever, to get one up on the Aussies, but also excited about the promising opportunity Drag Race Down Under represents for NZ entertainment, drag, and LGBT+ communities. To have RuPaul’s spotlight shine upon us means so much to so many.

The RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise is a reality TV behemoth.

It has aired for thirteen seasons in the US and won nineteen Emmys, making it the most lauded show in the award’s history. Drag Race Down Under is just one of many RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff shows, with filming currently underway. RuPaul, with co-judge and longtime BFF Michelle Visage, as well as a group of fourteen others (cast and crew), were granted exemptions by Immigration New Zealand to enter the country and go through due managed isolation processes. It is rumoured that Drag Race Down Under will be a competition between ten Australian queens and two Kiwi queens. No contestants have been officially verified.

The drag community hopes that Drag Race Down Under will broadcast the distinct Kiwi flavour of drag to the wider public. Queens (traditionally, men performing as women) are the focus of RuPaul’s franchise, but there are other ways to perform not touched upon by the mainstream preconception of drag. Drag kings (women performing as men), hyper kings (men in king drag) and hyper queens (women in queen drag) are all staples of Kiwi drag, which is an incredibly vibrant, close-knit network.

It’s important that Drag Race has come to Aotearoa.

Despite goals and markers for bringing about gender equality, our country is still besieged by homophobia, transphobia, and an entrenched stereotype of staunch, gumboot-wearing masculinity. We still hear misinformed narratives that drag is depraved, or not family-friendly, or a bad influence. Representation through LGBT+, queer, and diverse film, TV, and media helps to normalise drag as an art form, as societal commentary, and as highly-addictive entertainment for all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Drag is political, escapist, frivolous, and daring. It is one of the most salient examples we have for empowering the LGBT+ community, especially in cities like Auckland and Wellington where communities transcend into something more like families. Before RuPaul, this empowerment might have happened backstage or in dark-lit nightclubs. I hope after RuPaul, this empowerment takes place in living rooms and school classrooms.

Visibility affords power to those who possess it. Bestowed upon the seen — the faces on articles, the people who are interviewed, the recipients of screentime — is a form of power that can make all the difference for the queer youth of Aotearoa. Being seen means being acknowledged and legitimised. Being seen can translate into letting others know that people like them do exist, and they do thrive, and they do it together. Representation matters, folks.

We have a long way to go until gender equality is achieved.

Recently, Jacinda Ardern’s administration has been urged to finally push through a ban on conversion therapy. As it stands, conversion therapy is legal and harming our LGBT+ communities. The most popular form is emotional manipulation, ascribing morality to heretosexuality and cissexuality. Guilt, emotional blackmail, and stigmatisation is what awaits anyone who “deviates” from this norm. In a country where conversion therapy remains, queer identities will never be wholly validated.

But things are looking up.

Ardern, in accordance with several other politicians, has repeated her intention to put legislation before the house within the year. A petition to ban conversion therapy has (at the time of writing) garnered over 150,000 signatures. At the annual Big Gay Out festival, over 10,000 people attended, despite new community Covid cases yipping at our heels. Cumulatively, it appears that attitudes are turning towards inclusivity and embracing what makes us all different — and therefore stronger.

Drag Race Down Under is not going to make a dent in Kiwi queer culture, which has long been established and glamourous and colourful. But it might be the thing to introduce it, via the TV screen, into those households that have previously shied away from tough conversations, rejected diverse walks of life, and held misconceptions about LGBT+ communities.

The fact is: diverse communities are always and forever in. Aotearoa is only going to get more rainbow-coloured.

Shantay, you stay.

Aimee Lew, China-born and New Zealand-raised, is a student at the University of Auckland studying Physics, Politics and Chinese. You can find more of her writing here at Villanesse: https://www.villainesse.com/writers/aimee-lew.

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under