Our Lady J defends ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ over ‘she-mail’ axe

Transgender performer and artist Our Lady J has spoken out against the censorship of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The hit US reality series sees 14 drag queens compete for the title of ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’.

The show has recently come under fire after a challenge entitled ‘Female or She-male’ asked the contestants to guess whether a photo showed a cisgender (non-trans) woman or a former Drag Race contestant.

LOGO TV, the US network behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, has since announced plans to remove the term ‘she mail’ from the show.

In an article for The Huffington Post, Our Lady J complained about LOGO TV’s decision, writing: “As an artist, I love language, and I cherish free speech. RuPaul has been the number-one defender of these, and at the same time he continues to support every shade of queerness within our community, no matter the class.”

She added: “Drag is punk and should never be subjected to politically correct ideals.”

Our Lady J went on to discuss her own difficulties within the transgender community.

“I proudly identified as a ‘tranny’ until people within the trans community told me the word was offensive to them. I complied but quickly realized that while striving to be accepted by the hetero-dominated world, the upper echelons of the trans community were trying to sweep the fringe under the rug,” she wrote.

“They insisted that the users of these words were the oppressors, making themselves the victims – a well-worn tool of manipulation and control.”

Read Our Lady J’s full article for The Huffington Post here.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is currently midway through its sixth season on LOGO TV.

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