RuPaul Says the First Transmasculine Contestant on Drag Race Changed His Mind About Drag

The long-running reality competition broke barriers in its recently aired season 13 premiere, which features among the cast its first-ever transmasculine contestant, Gottmik, a drag performer and influential makeup artist. When asked by Colbert to reflect on the biggest lesson he had learned in over a decade of hosting the show, Charles nodded to that groundbreaking milestone by saying it “to keep an open mind.”

“I walked into this thing with an idea of what drag is and the kids have a different idea,” he said. “They keep changing it.” …

“You can identify as a woman and say you’re transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body,” he said at the time. “It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we’re doing.” …

n addition to welcoming the show’s first trans masculine competitor, the show’s current iteration also boasts the rollout of a new gender-inclusive tagline. Its iconic catchphrase, “Gentlemen, start your engines, and may the best woman win,” has been replaced with a slightly amended version recognizing that not all the contestants identify with those gender categories: “Racers, start your engines, and may the best drag queen win.”

By Serena Sonoma, THEM. & Conde Nast