Why I Can't Stand RuPaul

As a recent EBONY.com article noted, it was twenty years ago that RuPaul's 'Supermodel of the World CD was released and propelled him to stardom, an MTV television show during the height of the gangsta rap era, and now a five year run on the LOGO TV show RuPaul's Drag Race.

I own that 'Supermodel' CD and used to once upon a time like RuPaul, but excuse me if I and other transpeople aren't jumping with joy over the coronation of Ru in that Tracey Ross article as some sort of 21st century gender warrior or trans expert.

It really pisses us Black trans women off that you give RuPaul Andre Charles (and Tyler Perry dressed as Madea) more love and respect than you do the average Black transwoman struggling to live their lives and interact with the Black cis and SGL communities without major drama.

RuPaul is a Black gay man, not a transperson, and the trans community is beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of him being elevated by cis and gay people to some nebulous 'trans expert' level.. 

As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I became a trans activist in 1998 was because of a Transgender Tapestry magazine article in the 90's that ignorantly considered RuPaul and Dennis Rodman as Black transwomen juxtaposed against other accomplished white trans people despite both Ru and Dennis Rodman emphatically saying they weren't trans and didn't want to transition.

It was the epiphany that made me realize just how invisible Black transwomen were in the trans human rights movement at the time and gave me the impetus to get involved and change that dynamic.

Since 2002 Ru has pissed so many of us trans people off on multiple levels that we (myself included) have a contempt for him bordering on the level of dislike we have for the trans exterminationalist radfems and their sellout TS separatist allies. 

He's earned it after his rabid and consistent defense of Shirley Q. Liquor's racist blackface drag show, his slamming of activists calling his behind out about defending Chuck Knipp's racism, his repeated use of the 'tranny' and 'shemale' words after being repeatedly told both are considered offensive slurs to the trans community, and elements of the white gay community rushing to RuPaul's defense and trying to use him as their 'gayplaining' excuse to justify the continued use of the 'tr***y' epithet in gay and lesbian community circles

It also didn't help that one of RuPaul Drag Race contestants Sharon Needles infuriated the African American SGL community after getting caught saying the n-word at an ATL gay club appearance, and then tried to 'gaysplain' his way out of it.  

Ru also added to the still white hot contempt many of us have for him by making a bad joke during an October 29 episode of Drag Race (that I refuse to support) making light of the still somewhat contentious subject in trans world about the differences between transsexuals and drag queens.

Comedienne Vicki Lawrence asked, “Hey Ru, what’s the difference between a drag queen and a transsexual?”
RuPaul laughingly replies, “About twenty-five thousand dollars and a good surgeon.”

He then doubled down on his ignorance and dismissive attitude about the trans community's feelings about the t-word slur during a January 14, 2012  HufPo Gay Voices interview with Michaelangelo Signorile  

And no one has ever said the word "tranny" in a derogatory sense. In fact, you have to go to the intent of the person saying it. Of course Lance Bass, his intent would never be to be derogatory. Never. So, you know, that's really ridiculous. And I hate the fact that he's apologized. I wish he would have said, "F-you, you tranny jerk!"

That level of clueless transphobic ignorance is dangerous, especially when it comes from somebody with a 2009 GLAAD Best Reality Show award winning media platform as big as RuPaul's that is watched by millions of people in cisgender America. 

And it's why I can't stand RuPaul.