I. Opening

In this chapter, I will be engaging with a performance on season four of RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) featuring drag artist Milan (pictured in figure 1) (Delaberry 2018). RPDR is a reality television drag competition series featuring a select group of drag queens (Upadhyay 2019). In the series, participants compete for a cash prize and the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” (Upadhyay 2019). RPDR is mainstream, providing a platform to both popularize and normalize drag (Upadhyay 2019). Despite this, RPDR has demonstrated a tendency to subordinate racialized and gender-diverse performers while exclusively showcasing cisgender, gay, male drag queens (Upadhyay 2019). In doing so, the show reinforces binary notions of what drag is and what drag is not (Heim 2012; Upadhyay 2019). To exemplify this theory, I will discuss one particular performance on RPDR by Milan, a Black, gender-diverse drag artist. Milan’s performance was inspired by singer-songwriter Janelle Monae (picture in figure 2) who, like Milan, is a Black, gender-diverse performer (Heim 2012; StyleLikeU 2023). Disappointingly, the judge panel critiqued Milan’s performance and drag look as ‘manish’ and drag-king-adjacent (Heim 2012; Delaberry 2018). These comments both reflected and reinforced the reductive notions about drag and gender that are so pervasive in mainstream drag culture (Upadhyay 2019). Many of the show’s viewers, such as myself, were disheartened by this feedback as well. The audience expressed anger towards the judges and their close-minded critiques (Heim 2012). Milan’s performance therefore demonstrates the exclusionary nature of mainstream drag spheres like RPDR, exposing the show’s disproportionate scrutiny of gender-diverse and racialized drag performers (Upadhyay 2019). In doing so, the show does not subvert stereotypes rather, it serves to reinforce the White, heteronormative, and binary notions of drag (Heim 2012). Moreover, Milan’s performance took place in 2012 and at the time, Janelle Monae (pictured below) identified as female, however, they have since self-identified as non-binary (StyleLikeU 2023). Thus, I will be drawing attention to both racialized femininity and gender-diversity being disproportionately scrutinised in Western culture and the mainstream drag sphere by discussing Milan’s performance on RPDR.

II. Introduction

This essay analyzes Milan’s Monae-inspired performance on RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) through the lens of Black queer theory and performance studies, highlighting drag as both an artistic mode, and as a form of political activism. I will draw on Richard Schechner’s (2020) framework of performance studies, which provides a valuable framework for analyzing drag performance by highlighting how identity, gender, and culture are constructed, performed, and challenged. This perspective allows us to view drag beyond entertainment, understanding it as a subversive act that disrupts stereotypes and challenges power imbalances (Schechner 2020). Moreover, I will engage with Judith Butler’s (1999) Gender Trouble, which critiques fixed or binary notions of gender, arguing that gender is a cultural construct that involves performance. Milan’s performance illustrates Butler’s (1999) theory of gender performativity by challenging the show’s reliance on binary norms and expectations of drag. While Butler’s work has been seminal in queer theory, it largely overlooks the intersections of race and nationality with gender performativity. To address this gap, I will expand Butler’s theory by incorporating scholarship on drag and gender in non-Western and non-White contexts (Han 2023; Sastry 2025). Through this approach, I will explore how Milan’s performance challenges both RPDR’s adherence to binary drag norms and broader cultural expectations of gender and race (Heim 2012).

IV. Gendered & Racial Performativities

Schechner’s chapter “Performance Studies: An Introduction” conceptualizes performance as an ongoing, ritualized, and socially meaningful practice that manifests in various forms (2020). Drag artists similarly embody and enact their personas across diverse settings, styles, and social contexts. For instance, Milan adopts their birth name, Dwayne Cooper, when out of drag (Schechner 2020). This illustrates the fluid, yet ritualised nature of Milan’s identity as a performer (Schechner 2020). In his chapter, Schechner (2020) outlines nine types of performance, among them is art-based performance. Schechner (2020) defines art-based performance as a creative, intentional act designed to engage both performer and spectator (2020). Milan’s performance aligns with this style, because it is an engaging performance which serves as a creative intervention to dominant cultural norms regarding race, gender, and drag. Schechner (2020) further describes performance as a rehearsed, repeatable, and socially meaningful act. In the same sense, drag involves the deliberate performance and repetition of culturally recognized gendered symbols and behaviors that both reflect and challenge social norms around identity, sexuality, and power. Thus, Milan’s use of drag to actively subvert and disrupt normative expectations around race, gender, and sexuality exemplifies Schechner’s insights into performance as a socially meaningful, ritualized act. This framework not only highlights the subversive potential of Milan’s performance but also reveals how their drag operates as a mode of resistance to the binary norms or expectations imposed in mainstream drag culture (Schechner 2020).

Judith Butler’s (1999) chapter “Subversive Bodily Acts” in her novel Gender Trouble describes gender as a performance, contesting that gendered constructs are culturally imposed (Butler 1999). Butler (1999) argues that the notion of an “innate” gender is illusionary, and represents an idea centralized in society to reinforce notions of heterosexual and patriarchal dominance. Thus, Butler (1999) rejects the idea that gender is who we are rather, describing gender as something we do. This means that gender is performed or enacted through ritualized behaviours and modes of expression like clothing or language (Butler 1999). In queer theory, Butler’s (1999) work has been described as groundbreaking. Butler’s work has contributed significantly to the representation of gender diversity and drag in academia. However, Butler’s novel has also been critiqued for putting forward a limitative discussion of gender performativity. This critique stems from Butler’s (1999) generalization of drag in Western and non-Western contexts. Further, the novel disregards intersections of race with gender and sexuality, putting forth a somewhat narrow description of gender performativity. Thus, in the following sections, I will engage with discussions of drag, race, and gender in non-White and non-Western spheres to demonstrate the relevancy of race and geography in discussions of drag and gender performativity (Han 2023; Sastry 2025).

V. Performing Vs Perceiving Gender in Western Contexts

Monáe is well-known for her signature style which has ranged from tuxedos to formal gowns, deliberately blending and subverting traditional gendered fashion norms. Milan’s performance therefore paid homage to Monáe’s subversive use of traditionally “male” apparel, as a form of gender nonconformity and self-expression (Heim 2012). However, when the judge’s shared their feedback, Milan was met with remarks like, “you had so much reverence for Janelle Monáe, but I see you as a man,” and “bottom line, it’s still a drag queen competition, and you’re giving us drag king” (Heim 2012). There are several problems with this feedback. Firstly, these comments reflect the pervasiveness of gender biases and restrictive expectations in mainstream drag culture (Heim 2012; Upadhyay 2019). Notions like these reinforce fixed, binary assumptions of what drag should look like and who is permitted to perform it (Heim 2012; Upadhyay 2019). Some mainstream series have, however, demonstrated their capacity to subvert these biases and expectations, such as The Boulet Brothers Dragula (pictured in figure 3) (Prins 2021). The series has contributed to increasing the visibility of alternative or diverse bodies in the mainstream by engaging with “monstrous” themes and steering clear of polishedness (Prins 2021). Moreover, given that Monae publicly identified as female at the time, the judge’s feedback reflected and reinforced harmful perceptions of Black femininity (hooks 2015). Within the context of colonization, Black women have historically been denied their womanhood, subjecting them to both gendered and racialized forms of oppression (hooks 2015). Thus, the judge panel’s perceptions of Milan’s homage to a Black woman as “manish” and drag king-adjacent were incredibly harmful, and disheartening to witness as a fan of the franchise.

Black feminist scholar, bell hooks (2015), examines the intersection of sexism and racism through the lens of Black women’s suffrage in her book Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism. In her book, hooks compares the historic experience of both racialized men and racialized women (2015). hooks argues that gender adversely impacts the experience of racialized women (2015). This is exemplified in a quote by Linda Brent (pictured in figure 4), a female survivor of slavery in the US, which reads: “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women. Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and suffering, and mortifications peculiarly their own” (hooks 2015, pp. 24). This quote reveals the intersectional nature of oppression, demonstrating how gender and race act together to uniquely shape the experiences of racialized women and gender-diverse people. This is demonstrated in the panel’s judgment of Milan’s performance; when their homage to a celebrated black, female is described as ‘manish’(hooks 2015). Despite their dually marginalized social positioning, Black women in colonial North America have historically been assigned similar roles to their Black male counterparts (e.g., Field labour) (hooks 2015). During enslavement, the roles which enslaved Black men and women occupied were read as “masculine” in dominant Western society (hooks 2015). Consequently, many anti-Black, sexist stereotypes emerged during the era of slavery which positioned Black women as “masculinized sub-human creatures” (hooks 2015, pp. 86). These enduring stereotypes continue to shape contemporary perceptions of Black gender expression, as reflected in the RPDR judges’ perceptions of Milan’s performance, revealing how colonial, racist, and sexist logics persist in mainstream queer spaces (hooks 2015).

VI. Performing & Perceiving Gender Outside of Western Contexts

As I explored subversive drag performances in Western contexts, I grew curious about drag aesthetics and gender performativity outside of Western contexts. During my research, I became familiarised with Patruni Sastry (pictured in figure 5), an Indian expressionist dancer, folk singer, and tranimal drag artist. Like Milan, Sastry is a BIPOC, gender-diverse drag queen who has dedicated much of their career to resisting Western-imposed norms regarding gender and sexuality. Sastry’s (2025) work demonstrates that such norms are less often enforced in non-Western contexts, allowing performers to express themselves more freely. In a recent blog post, Sastry (2025) discussed their introduction to the construct of gender at the age of 13 and the subsequent confusion which followed (Sastry 2025). Upon this revelation, Sastry (2025) became immersed in the culture of drag, describing it as a form of resistance to gendered constructs and norms. Sastry (2025) also describes drag as gender-critical, meaning, it is intended to subvert fixed or binary notions of gender and performativity. Thus, by performing drag, Sastry (2025) is able to take part in larger discourses surrounding gender, drag, and authenticity. I feel this reflection is relevant to the feedback Milan received because it highlights the way that gendered constructs disrupt an individual’s ability to express themselves authentically. In their post, Sastry (2025) implores people to embrace their “gender anarchy” and to transgress the norms imposed on people’s gender, sexuality, and drag performances. In doing so, they demonstrate that drag can be a site of political activism, personal development, and identity expression (Sastry 2025).

Winter Han’s (2023) chapter “The Fierce World of Gay Asian Drag” examines male femininities and drag performances outside of Western contexts. The chapter explores drag as a form of resistance against Whiteness, masculinity, and the mainstream (Han 2023). These insights are valuable, given that drag has been sensationalized in recent decades due to mainstream Western portrayals like American Drag Race (Upadhyay 2019). While RPDR has a significant influence on global perceptions of drag, the program continues to solely represent cisgendered gay male drag queens (Upadhyay 2019). (Han 2023) explains that gay Asian men are frequently feminized and marginalized due to racial stereotypes and disproportionate representations of Whiteness and Western ideas of masculinity in the mainstream. This conceptualization is similar to that of Butler’s (1999) as it relates to the historical masculinization of Black women by colonial culture and discourse. Instead of resisting these stereotypes, many gay Asian drag queens embrace and redefine their perceived femininity, challenging Western-imposed norms (Han 2023). By adopting and exaggerating femininity, gay Asian drag queens subvert traditional beauty standards and racialized gender expectations (Han 2023). Like Sastry (2025), Han (2023) describes drag and cross-dressing culture in Asia. Unlike their Western counterparts, Han (2023) contends that Asian drag and cross-dressing are used to dissociate from gender and race-based stereotypes. Further, both Sastry (2025) and Han (2023) criticize the centralization of masculinity in gay male culture, and its vilification in drag queen culture. Both authors assert that this idea of “masculinity” is Western-imposed and that it disproportionately excludes and marginalizes racialized queer men (Han 2023; Sastry 2025).

VII. Conclusion

To conclude, Milan’s performance on RPDR highlights the complexities of gender and racial performativity within mainstream drag culture. The judge’s feedback undermined Milan’s tribute to Janelle Monáe by deeming it as “manish” and “drag-king-adjacent,” (Upadhyay 2019). This reflects a broader pattern in Western mainstream drag culture of marginalizing gender-diverse and racialized drag performers (Upadhyay 2019). By imposing rigid, binary notions of gender and drag, RPDR not only reinforces normative ideals of what drag should look like, but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Black femininity and gender diversity (Heim 2012; hooks 2015). By employing performative and Black queer theoretical frameworks in this chapter, I have exemplified Milan’s performance as a subversive act that challenged pervasive norms around gender, race, and drag (Schechner 2020; Butler 1999; hooks 2015). Additionally, by comparing cultural attitudes toward non-White and non-Western drag performances, such as by Sastry, with the judges’ perceptions of Milan’s drag, I have underscored the ways in which drag can either subvert or adhere to notions of heteronormativity and White-supremacy (Sastry 2025; Upadhyay 2019). Thus, this chapter serves as both a critique and call to decolonize mainstream drag culture, highlighting and embracing its potential to represent a broad spectrum of gender and racial identities (Upadhyay 2019; hooks 2015).

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