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| Photo by Mika Orolfo |
Hello Dalaygon!
Even with our burgeoning adulthood in college, it always seems like we’re just barely scratching the surface when it comes to figuring out who we are, and how to truly make our mark in the world. Finding out our identity comes as naturally as it is difficult, leading us to explore and expose ourselves to different things in the world to help us learn who we are, while also enjoying the process as we go along. Our identity shouldn’t have to be a chore to figure out, it should be as equally fun for us as it is important.
One essential way that we expose ourselves to the world, aside from real-life experiences and interactions, is to see things through a different lens provided to us by art and media. Recently, one such series ended. Aside from the
laughs and high fashion it brought, it also taught us valuable lessons, pivotal
not only for us young adults, but especially for the younger queer
generation who are just figuring things out for themselves. Of course,
I’m talking about the recently concluded Drag Race Philippines Season 1—how its impact made waves to our country’s youth, and how the show also affects the exposure of queer media for the next generations.
Drag Race Philippines, commonly abbreviated to DRPH, is one of the many franchises under RuPaul’s Drag Race, a drag-centric reality competition show that not only showcases the contestants’ prowess in fashion, acting, and other skills, but also helps give a deeper look into both the art and history of drag. As the years continued, what has once been considered a niche in its art form, and even a taboo subject, had steadily grown to be more inclusive of its contestants, with the stars formerly being predominantly male, but have now grown to include trans contestants and other genders that don’t fit into the regular binary; DRPH had also become a staple in the media industry, with Drag Race becoming a household name and also giving way to other drag-centric shows, such as Dragula.
Being one of the earliest
consistent shows catered to members of the LBGTQ+ community, to say that it was
an uphill battle is an understatement. Despite the resounding applause from
its target audience, there was inevitable pushback from conservative groups that
claimed the show was brainwashing the everyday people as they demanded its cancellation. However, aside from their local success in America,
they also found support from other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Thailand,
and most relevant to the article, the Philippines. Our own nation had been
struggling with the acceptance of queer representation, and those at the time
didn’t want to let go of the beautiful art form that was drag, which had long been making its mark in our country.
In recent years, the inclusion of
queer representation in popular media, such as television and film, has been
gradually increasing. As topics concerning sexuality and gender become more
acceptable in today’s modern society, so do the people who live those lifestyles. This inclusivity in media can profoundly impact young, marginalized members of society.
Such is the case for queer people, who are finally seeing themselves in
mainstream pop culture in a manner that is respectful and accurate. It is also
important to remember that these individuals are more than their sexual
orientation and gender identity and that those are simply smaller parts that make up a multi-dimensional person with unique goals and aspirations. They have characteristics aside from their sexual and romantic preferences that people often box their identity in. Additionally, queer
characters in media help shape people’s perceptions and change how one would
see the world through new perspectives and viewpoints, and this may apply to all minorities.
From the queer icons of the show, we also
learn lessons that we can apply to any and all walks of life—no matter the
background, orientation, and any other aspect that makes a person who they are. Amidst the fashion and humor that the DRPH brought us, the
queens also showed us a more vulnerable side as they open up and impart life lessons, both to
each other and to the audience. The queens talk about deeper issues such as the
hardships of being an overseas Filipino worker and being far away from their family; as well as discussions on how queer representation in the country had
for so long been tokenized and met with a mixture of only comedic relief and
disdain, and how only in recent years had drag been finally accepted into the limelight
as a proper art and fashion form.
What Drag Race Philippines has brought to the table was not only the beautiful looks and fierce quips (and a killer pop girl group song!), but also a deeper understanding of the strength that the LGBTQ+ community has, and how in the Philippines alone, there’s an entire world of representation to explore. As mentioned before, even as young adults, we’re still in the process of figuring things out for ourselves—and that’s okay! There’s no deadline to finding out who you are, and the process of figuring out your own identity is just as important as the goal itself.
You don’t need a label or a box to put yourself in, nor do you
have to force yourself to be one thing or another. What’s most important is,
just like the queens from Drag Race Philippines, you’ll be able to find the
confidence and truth of who you truly are, and you should never feel enclosed
or trapped, or stifle yourself in a particular way just to appease
others. Drag Race Philippines’ queens showed that while you are exploring
yourself, never stop being yourself, as that’s the most beautiful thing that
one could carry: confidence.
In the wise words of Eva Le Queen, “Find your purpose in your heart, and nothing can stop you!”
