There is a new phenomenon at my house. A new craze has taken over. All the women in my house—my wife, my daughter, and even our dog—began religiously watching a television show every Thursday night at 8 o’clock. It’s not a show like Game of Thrones with dragons, violence, and half-naked women, a show I can get behind. Nope, this show, which has taken the house by storm, doesn’t have violence. Instead, this show has lip-synching. The show is called Ru Paul’s Drag Race. When I first heard the name, I thought this show could be a really good thing. I like cars. I would probably like a show about drag racing. Nope. This show doesn’t have cars, or violence, or dragons, and it certainly doesn’t have half-naked women. Well, that’s not true. There are actually plenty of half-naked women, only they are men, dressed as women, lip-synching to songs by Lady Gaga.
Initially, I chose not to watch the show. Seeing cross-dressing men just wasn’t on my to-do list. However, I will admit that as I walked by the television to get a beer from the refrigerator, I caught a few moments of the show. Then I found myself standing behind the couch watching a few minutes. Eventually, a few minutes turned into a half an hour. Ru Paul’s Drag Race is actually quite compelling. Occasionally, I would ask my wife and daughter questions about some of the contestants on the show. My wife’s response to any of my questions was always the same, “Just sit down and watch it with us. You know you like it.”
Inevitably, I stopped casually walking by and just gave in and started watching the show. I was totally enthralled. These men, girls, ladies, whatever you want to refer to them as, are incredibly talented. They sew their own costumes, they do their own makeup, they sing, dance, act, and they are funny. They transform themselves from hairy men into breathtaking women and dance around in 10-inch heels. I could never do that.
After watching a few seasons of the show, rooting for my favorite drag queens to win different competitions and enjoying the entertainment, I became a true fan of the show. Now, this wasn’t something I shared with the boys at work. They just wouldn’t understand. In fact, some men would actually judge me differently if they knew I can name the winners of at least three seasons of Drag Race—Jinkx Monsoon, season five; Bianca Del Rio, season six; and Violet Chachki, season seven. I’ll admit I am still in the closet in regards to my Drag Race fandom. My friends don’t know this about me.
That recently changed when my wife and daughter wanted to attend Drag Con in Los Angeles. Yes, Drag Con, and it is exactly what you think it is, a Star Trek convention for cross-dressing men. Drag Con is hosted by Ru Paul, and highlights all things Ru Paul’s Drag Race. If I counted my lucky stars, I could even get the chance to meet drag queen Bianca Del Rio— whose real name is Roy—live in the flesh.
I enjoy the television show, but initially the convention was a bit of shock to my senses. It was certainly a live and in-your-face drag queen extravaganza. I know that men dress as women, I just didn’t expect all of those men to be so much taller than me. And add those 10-inch heels, and they absolutely towered over me. I was feeling a bit inadequate as a man, while being surrounded by other men, who dressed as women.
In the end, I survived it. I enjoyed the convention and nothing happened to me, other than my wife, whom I love, posting a picture of me with four drag queens on Facebook. I guess I’m out of the closet now. The boys at work are going to be pretty surprised to know where I was last weekend. They thought I was at some sort of auto racing convention.
Rob hasn’t tried on women’s pantyhose in years. You can read more from Rob Krider at robkrider.com.
This article appears in May 24-31, 2018.