Slay The House Of Ru Down

Your hormones are missing, you’re sweating through black clothes, and the pharmacy is looking at you like you asked for contraband, so naturally we end up talking about RuPaul. That’s the energy today: messy midlife reality, sharp Gen X humor, and a surprisingly moving look at reinvention when your body and your life refuse to stay the same.

We start with the menopause patch shortage and what it does to sleep, mood, and that unforgettable “itchy ear” sensation that feels like a tiny gremlin pulling your strings. From there we jump into a true fight-or-flight story from the retail trenches, plus side quests through disaster documentaries, sports dopamine, and the special kind of rage that comes with assembling furniture right before a move during a divorce.

Then we go deep on RuPaul Andre Charles, from San Diego to Atlanta’s underground scene to New York City clubs, and into the mainstream explosion of “Supermodel (You Better Work),” the MAC Viva Glam era, and the long game that becomes RuPaul’s Drag Race. We talk about branding, criticism, inclusivity, and why the show’s mentorship moments hit so hard. The big takeaway we keep circling is simple and searchable for a reason: self-love, queer visibility, drag culture, and the power of self-creation. If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend who needs a boost, and leave us a review. What’s your favorite RuPaul quote or your all-time favorite Drag Race queen?

Transcript

Welcome And Patch Shortage Panic

SPEAKER_06 0:04

Two best friends fucking fast We're missing two arcades We're having a blast Seeing these dreams It was all bad like you know forever Never never never laughing carrying our going forever We'll take you back like whatever Welcome to Like Whatever a podcast for by and about Gen X I'm Nicole and this is my BFFF Heather Hello Heather just finished a rant so I can't promise everyone that it's not gonna continue.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

She's I am battling for my life over here. Menopause strikes again. And I can't get my patch. No one has the patch anywhere. Anywhere.

SPEAKER_04 1:00

And I wonder if other people, like how many other people are.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

I don't know, but there's every doubt everybody has said there's a shortage, and I'm like, why? I don't know if it's just because of so many people are on it now. Because you know, when our parents, our moms were going through it, it was like you did not do hormone. It was dangerous to do exactly and now it's not. So all of us, all the Gen Xers are on it because we're like, fuck it. I won't I won't. We're already angry enough. And that's what I said. I'm already angry enough. I don't need to add this. So now I'm like a uh a drug addict.

SPEAKER_04 1:32

Yeah, we're looking for some black market estrogen. If anyone knows of any, please call us.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

And I'm like, hey, you got any patches? And so I feel like I'm like drug, and the way they made me feel in the pharmacy, I felt like a junkie because I was like, I'm just standing there staring at them, like blinking. Like, was is there well, you told me on the thing, it said it will be in three weeks ago, and then if it's not, and you needed immediately call the phone number that takes you directly to this pharmacy. So instead, I decided to come to this pharmacy to speak to you in person. I cut the phone call out. So what would you have told me on the phone? I'll go out to the car and call you if it's gonna be something different than what you're telling me right now. And the pharmacist is like looking around, like I don't know, looking under things, like I I are you that irresponsible? Well, maybe we have some under here. Let me check. Make this woman go away. And I wasn't being nasty, I was just like, look, I was being fr I was I was like a drug addict. I was like, I will do anything right now. It wouldn't do anything for just a hit of estrogen. That's awful. And then um my coworker and I were discussing the um the itchy ear. And I was she's coming into she's starting menopause. And so I was explaining to her what the itchy ear is, and I was like, it's I was like, imagine there being a bug behind your eardrum hanging off the hair in your ear, swinging back and forth, and you can't get to it. And she was like, Oh, that sounds awful. And I was like, Yeah, and she was like, maybe the bug is what's telling you to do all the horrible things, and I was like, You're ready. So now that's what I'm gonna call my menopause, the little bug in my ear who keeps telling me.

SPEAKER_04 3:37

Yeah, she she nearly murdered a tasty cake before I got here. I mean, I did end up murdering it because I ate it, but I mean she couldn't get it open. I it's just she scared her mom.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

I was I could just it's just unbelievable. I I don't know how she lived like this. Yeah, that's why all our moms were bitches. You know what? Yeah. I I'm so I apologize to her all the time. And she's like, mm-hmm, I told you, and I told my sister, you better start apologizing to mom now because you get another three or four years from now, and you're gonna be.

SPEAKER_04 4:17

Oh dear God. Just probably awful. She will kill somebody. Yes. They better replenish them patches before Stacey gets there.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

I I said to the doctor, I was like, can we like get me like lower dosage and I'll just like wear four of them? Or like, what could we do? I no, I said that to the to the pharmacist. I was like, can we have like a lower one and I'll wear like a whole bunch of them? Or I'll wear a coat with them, or I'll line my whole self, take a bath in estrogen. What do you want? How can you give it to me? So yeah. I've been to market for some black uh dime bag of estrogen, an eight ball of estrogen.

SPEAKER_04 5:03

Money is no option.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

No, I don't care. I'll sell my soul if I had one. Jesus. And it's been so freaking hot here. Oh yeah, it has. And the one thing about menopause that I was hoping would happen, which I was just telling Nicole, is that your hair is supposed to fall out. And I have an inordinately large amount of hair on my head. Yes. And it's making things so hot. Is it going anywhere? No, I I think I've gotten more hair. I think that it is growing more. I think if you cut a piece of my scalp out, it grows like so close together that you wouldn't even know that there was scalp there. Like, no, it's just hair. So much hair, guys.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

Oh Lord. Yeah. So last week you asked me if I had any fight

Itchy Ear And Menopause Rage

SPEAKER_04 6:00

or flight. Oh, yeah. I did. And I've been thinking about it. And I actually have an example that I'm a fighter. Oh, good. Okay. Okay. Um, so I'm sure you remember this when I worked for Wilson's Leather in the Concord Mall. I was like three months pregnant with my son. I was open in the store. I was the manager or whatever. And I had a girl working in the back with me, but she was like back there doing inventory. And as soon as we open, this young couple comes in, and one of the sure signs of shoplifting is they just kind of grab stuff and throw it on the counter. They're not trying stuff on, checking sizes, things like that. So, you know, that was an indicator. Um, so they go around doing that, pile all this stuff up. I ring it up, I get the credit card. I know that this is a stolen credit card. Like I and let me also say, I haven't been at that mall in a lot of years, and but I've heard it's the same. But it is a bad mall for crime. Yeah. Because you can jump on the interstate right off of it and be out of the state in no time. So a lot of crime went down there. Um, so anyway, back in those days, you had to call in large credit card purchases because we just had the slidey uh carbon copy thing. So I call it in, I tell them I have to call it in. I call it in. I tell them, whisper on the phone, I think this is a stolen credit card. And they're like, All right, no matter what, don't try to keep the card. Like, if they want it, give it back, you know, don't put yourself in harm's way. So I'm turning to them, like, oh, just a minute, like they're checking. And the girl leaves the store, and the guy is getting anything. Just give me back the card. Just give me back the card. Well, I was not giving him back the card. He came over the counter and he slammed me to the floor, and he broke my bracelet, and I was really mad. And he was trying to he pry my fingers off of this credit card. I had it balled up in my hand, and he broke my fingernails, son of a bitch, and everything. And finally, me screaming, the girl in the back hears me and comes running out, and he leaves. And he did not get that fucking credit card. So apparently, fight is all there because they told me not to fight for it, and I'm pregnant with my first child. Well, that probably and I wasn't even thinking of that. It was just this guy is not getting this credit card back. I became a superhero and I was fighting crime. So you are also a fighter. I am.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Yep. Yep. So have you watched Maternal Instinct yet? I haven't. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 8:53

It's one of those I've looked at and I'm like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

But this was after my nephew was born, but it was one of my sister's greatest fear, and she swore someone that's I mean, it's you know what it is. My sister was honest to God, thought someone was gonna come and steal her baby and take it out of her. And because that was what's happening a lot.

SPEAKER_04 9:17

That happened near when I was like 10, 11, 12, and I lived in Lincoln. That happened. I think my mom like delivered mail to the house that it happened at. Somebody actually did that.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Well, the number one uh cause of death for pregnant women is murder. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:36

I guess that does happen a lot in the true crime. Yeah. Especially if they don't want it.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

If they get pregnant by a married man, a lot of times they end up or he wants a divorce and then the wife gets pregnant and Lacey Peterson and the number one cause of death of w pregnant women is murder. Nice. Then I did also watch uh I think it's called The Twister about the Joplin tornadoes that happened in I think it was 2022 or 2021. Man. That was sad. That was something. That's a good one to watch too. The one the one couple kids, she had started, she uh started recording on her phone when they were in the car, and she had just tossed it up on the dash, and then when they got out to get inside somewhere, she brought it with it and was recording the whole time. Ooh. And these poor people when they're interviewing them. Man, that's even the trauma's just written all over. Like, it's it's good documentary though.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

Crazy. Yeah, I haven't been watching much of anything specific. World Cup. Friday was a perfect World Cup day. The USA played and they won. Then Morocco played, and I have a really good friend that's Moroccan, so I was rooting for them and they won. Then Brazil won in Philly. I was super excited about that. And then that night, Turkey lost, which made the US win their group. Oh. So it's like a perfect day. There you go. I have just been loving this World Cup. Messi broke the record. He has the most goals in a World Cup ever. He's amazing to watch. I don't follow it. Yeah. I'm not a soccer fan. Oh my gosh. I am moving this weekend. Uh, I mentioned before I'm going through a divorce. I've been staying with a friend for a year, and my place is finally ready.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yay!

SPEAKER_04 11:37

Yay! But I bought myself this really pretty nightstand, and it came in the box, and I haven't

Fight Response In A Mall Robbery

SPEAKER_04 11:45

built furniture in like a really long time. And I re-like open the box, it's thin and tall and heavy, and I open it, and I go to grab what I think is like the first big piece, and it's like a little six by four piece, and I was like, oh fuck. Oh no. There must have been a hundred pieces. Oh no. And just as much different hardware. Oh no. I've worked on it three times now, it's still not done. It's so annoying. I still have to build the drawers. I've built the cabinet and the stand. And I need to get it done before this weekend because I want it done before I move in there. It's an absolute nightmare. Absolute nightmare. Just horrible. So bad. And they send you this little tiny tool that's shaped like an L, and on one end is the little hexagon, and the other end is a Phillips head screwdriver. Yeah. So I did finally, I got out my own screwdrivers, and I have my drill. I haven't had to use the drill yet, but I will if I have to. But it is just drill that shit. God awful. I will never it this isn't what it used to be like to build furniture back in my day. There were like 10 pieces and a couple screws. Yeah. This is absurd. And especially for what I paid for it.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

She just seriously rolled her eyes. That was the best eye rolling I've seen in a while.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

I just hope I did it all right so far and it works.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

As soon as you put one thing on it, it doesn't fall and collapse into it.

SPEAKER_04 13:28

I will just cry. I will drive it to the manufacturer's doorstep and drop it. You take it. It's gonna implode like a submarine. Oh, it's brutal. Yeah, so that's it for me. All right. Yeah. Do your little spiel. Um, like, share, rate, review. Yeah. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. Right. Find us on all the socials. All of them. At Like Whatever Pod. Uh, we have a website, likewhateverpod.com, and we have an email. Uh likewhateverpod at gmail.com. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

I'm gonna try and get through this without yawning because of course I didn't sleep last night.

SPEAKER_04 14:14

Because you don't have any estrogen.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

No, I was up at 12, 23, 4,

Where To Find Like Whatever

SPEAKER_00 14:20

545.

SPEAKER_04 14:21

And that is so not like you. No. You crash out and sleep so much. But I told my mom You don't even move in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

When I was talking to my mom, I was like, okay, you know how I am about sleep. I literally put my head on the pillow and I'm asleep. And then I sleep the sleep of the dead through the night. Yeah. That's not happening.

SPEAKER_04 14:44

She's like scratching herself like a crack.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

I'm telling you, I have an issue. That's what I said. I told the lady in the case next to me. I was like, I'm telling you, no, I feel like a drug addict because I'm itchy and so I'm like picking at my just give me some estrogen, man. Just eat it. Anyway, anyway.

Pride Week Pick: RuPaul

SPEAKER_00 15:10

For the last week of Pride, we are gonna uh fuck around and find out about RuPaul. I was right.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

RuPaul, I so I was trying to guess, she said last week that she knew what she was doing this week. And for somewhere along the way, it was a purse. I knew it was a person. Because I said it would be who I would want to eat. Oh, yeah, yeah. Have lunch with. RuPaul was my first thought, but then this week, um Queen Latifa. So I was like, but I was pretty sure it was RuPaul. Yeah. But it was a toss-up between those two. That's why I wanted to be surprised.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Queen Latifah would be my second. Yeah. Of course. Obviously.

SPEAKER_04 15:51

I would want. Yes. RuPaul. Yay, RuPaul. I'm excited. Yeah.

unknown 15:58

All right.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

All right. Okay.

RuPaul’s Early Life And Atlanta

SPEAKER_00 16:00

So before the lights, before the Whigs, before the Global franchise and the Emmys, there was a child in San Diego who fell out of place in every room he entered. A child who would one day become the most recognizable drag queen on earth, but who began life in a world that offered him no blueprint for what the world for what he would become. RuPaul Andre Charles did not simply rise to fame. He constructed himself piece by piece, wig by wig, reinvention by reinvention, until the world had no choice but to take notice. He was born on November 17th, 1960, in San Diego, California. To Ernestine Tony Charles and Irving Charles. His mother was a strong, charismatic woman, his father a mechanic with a complicated relationship to the family. Their marriage was turbulent, and when RuPaul was seven, the couple divorced. The split left a mark. RuPaul has described his father as a man who loved me but didn't know how to show it, and his mother as a woman who taught him both resilience and theatricality. The household was lively, chaotic, and often unpredictable, a place where RuPaul learned early how to read a room, how to adapt, and how to perform. He was the youngest of four children, and his sisters played a crucial role in shaping his identity. They introduced him to fashion, makeup, and the transformative power of femininity. RuPaul has often said that his earliest drag inspirations came not from celebrities, but from watching his sisters get ready for school, parties, or dates. That's awesome. By the time RuPaul reached adolescence, it was clear that he did not fit into the expectations placed. In a world that didn't have didn't yet have language for gender fluidity or queer

Documentaries And World Cup Highs

SPEAKER_00 17:45

identity, RuPaul found his first sense of self in the mirror, trying on his sister's clothes, experimenting with makeup and imagining a future where he could be fully himself. But San Diego was not that place. He was tall, thin, flamboyant, and uninterested in the rigid masculinity that defined American boyhood. He gravitated towards art, music, and performance and away from anything that felt confining. School was not a refuge. RuPaul had described himself as an outsider, someone who felt alien in classrooms and hallways, but he was always observant, absorbing the world around him with the eye of a performer. He watched people closely, learning how they moved, how they spoke, and how they hid their insecurities. That observational skill would later become one of his greatest strengths as a performer and host. At age in 1975, at age 15, RuPaul moved to Atlanta with his sister Renetta. Atlanta in the 70s was a city in transition, a place where black culture, queer culture, and counterculture collided in ways that would shape RuPaul's future. Oh wow. Oh it offered a thriving black art scene, a growing queer underground, punk clubs, performance art spaces, a sense of possibility. He enrolled at the Northside School of Performing Arts, but formal education wasn't where he thrived. Instead, he found his home in the city's creative underground. RuPaul's earliest performances were not glamorous. They were raw, chaotic, and definitely anti-establishment. He shows his prom pictures a lot, and it's just everything you'd want them to be. He performed in punk bands like RuPaul and the U-Haul's. We We Pole was the other one. These groups were less about music or precision and more about spectacle. RuPaul would appear on stage in thrift store outfits, wigs made from mops, and makeup applied with the enthusiasm of a teenager discovering their power. He wasn't yet the polished glamous on the world would come to know. He was a queer punk kid experimenting with identity. See, that's why I love him so much. I know he was punk. He was everything. He's everything. RuPaul's first real exposure. I also love that he kept RuPaul. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

I know. And it's so perfect.

unknown 20:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

Uh RuPaul's first exposure came through The American Music Show, a local public ass access program that featured Atlanta's underground artists. RuPaul sent in a photo asking to appear, and the producers recognizing his charisma invited him on. It was the first time he had a first taste of being on camera. In Atlanta, RuPaul began to refine the elements that would later define his drag persona. Height as an advantage because he's very tall, glamour mixed with humor. He's a campy queen. Gender fluidity, theatricality, a deep understanding of pop culture. He experimented with androgyny, wearing platform boots, mini skirts, and outrageous wigs. He wasn't trying to pass as a woman, he was trying to become a star. His drag was not pageant drag, it was not ballroom drag. It was not female impersonation. It was RuPaul drag. A category of one. Yeah, for sure. By the mid-80s, RuPaul had outgrown Atlanta. He

New York Clubs And Finding A Persona

SPEAKER_00 21:15

made a he needed a bigger stage, a bigger audience, and a bigger challenge. In 1987, he moved to New York City, the epicenter of American drag, queer nightlife, and avant-garde performance. New York in the late 80s was a cru crucible of creativity. Can you even imagine?

SPEAKER_04 21:33

Oh my god. I can't. Oh my god. Like so many amazing memories were made back then.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

I mean, just New York in the late 80s.

SPEAKER_04 21:44

Like us in like you and me in like 18 years old. Yeah. In the late 80s in New York City. That would have been fun. So fun.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

That would have been we'd have been dead. Probably. Yeah. Yeah. You'd have had me killed.

SPEAKER_04 22:02

Maybe. Or you would have died trying to protect me.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

Yeah, I probably wouldn't have made it out. Uh the East Village Art Scene. Oh, New York offered the East Village Art Scene, Wig Stock, Pyramid Club, Club Kids, Queer Performance Art, Drag Queens who were redefining gender. RuPaul arrived with no money, no connections, and no plans, just ambition. RuPaul became a fixture in the East Village, performing at clubs like Pyramid Club, Limelight, Tunnel, uh the Palladium. He danced, lip-synced, hosted, and performed in drag shows that blurred the lines between art and nightlife. Wigstock,

Divorce Move And Furniture From Hell

SPEAKER_00 22:46

the outdoor drag festival founded by Lady Bunny, becoming one of RuPaul's most important platforms. She he performed. See, this is where I'm gonna get into have an issue because I never know when to call him he and when to call him she because so I'll go. She performed there regularly, developing a reputation as a charismatic, unpredictable, and unforgettable queen. In 1989, RuPaul was crowned Queen of Manhattan, a title that signaled her arrival as a major figure in New York drag. Awesome. By the early 90s, RuPaul had transformed herself from a punk drag performer. And see, that's where I wanted, like, is it because technically it would be him, right? Because he transformed himself from a punk drag performer. Yeah, I mean that's where I was struggling with this because it's going back and forth because it's like RuPaul the RuPaul and then RuPaul the drag queen. Right.

SPEAKER_04 23:53

So forgive me if you and he does change his pronouns. He does too. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Gotcha. Yeah, he changes them.

SPEAKER_04 24:00

Well, you've acknowledged that.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

He changes his whole like Yeah. I mean, he wears suits as RuPaul, and he is bald and very tall, and his husband is even taller. Get out. I won't get out. But he embraced blonde wigs, high heels, supermodel aesthetics, pop star charisma. Uh the transformation was not accidental, it was strategic. RuPaul understood that to break into mainstream culture, he needed a look that was both glamorous and accessible, something that could appear on MTV, in magazines, and on billboards. He was preparing for his breakthrough and it was coming. And that is what I find about him, her. I feel like you could just walk up to her and be like, I fucking love you. Because that's how I would act. And she'd probably say, I love you too. In either way, I if if if he was RuPaul or RuPaul, I would, I would, I love, I just love I love her so much. Mm-hmm. I read that.

unknown 25:09

No.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

By the early 90s, RuPaul had spent more than a decade grinding through underground clubs, punk bars, public access TV, and the East Village drag scene. He had charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. And when we get to the drag race part, I want to I love that. Because my favorite joke that she says on drag race is you better go sit on your charisma uniqueness, nerve, and talent. I love that. I honestly, drag race, I don't know. Not so much now, but in the first, like maybe five, six years, I don't know how they got away with what they got away with. I don't know if it's because nobody was paying attention. Yeah. Sometimes go back and watch those old drag races, and you'd be like, what? I mean, some of the innuendo aren't just innuendo. They're like not even trying. Oh, he had a charisma and uniqueness nerve and talent long before those words became a catchphrase. But he didn't yet have a platform big enough to contain him.

Supermodel Breakthrough And Pop Stardom

SPEAKER_00 26:22

That all changed in 92. He signed with the independent label Tommy Boy Records and began working on an album that would fuse dance music, queer culture, and high fashion fantasy. The result was Supermodel of the World, released in 1993. You better work.

SPEAKER_04 26:41

Do your thing.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

You know what, actually, I don't, it's not, I'll tell you. My favorite, my favorite RuPaul song. Technically, I think it's a Miley Cyrus song. Okay. It's catatude. Okay. Fucking amazing. Also, peanut butter with Big Frida. Sissy that wall.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

While you're talking about dance music, you just remind me of a story. So I was in Goodwill last week, and I'm looking at shirts, and there's this petite little old lady looking at shirts next to me. And I don't know why, but the Goodwill had on house music. So it was some Latin group or singer. And it got to the rave part where it just keeps building, building, building, building, and it's getting louder and louder. And this lady looks at me in total disgust. And I was like, it's a party up in here. And she turned around and walked away so fast. I know she wanted me to be a grumpy old lady with her, but I was really, really working to not dance in the middle of the goodwill.

unknown 27:54

Shit.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

I don't remember what they were saying. I was saying it in the grocery store. I was in the Mill of Safe Way, having them know me.

SPEAKER_04 28:04

Well, I told you the week before I was in Wawa and the train came. Come on, ride. The train came on. And man, try standing waiting for your food and not doing that dance. Oh my God. That was hard.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

I wish I could remember what song was playing, but I was just killing it.

SPEAKER_04 28:18

I even yesterday I was driving home, and you know how sometimes there's songs in our past that when you hear it come on, you're just like, meh, you fast forward through it because you heard it a million times. Well, Vogue came on on my playlist. It just randomly popped up and I heard, what are you looking at? And I was like, oh shit. And I turned the radio up, and I have not rocked out that hard to a song in so long. It was just so enjoyable. I was on the back roads heading home. It was awesome. So that one struck just right the other day. And it's perfect for our topic.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

The lead single, Supermodel, You Better Work, was a revelation. It wasn't just a song, it was a manifesto. A black drag queen commanding the world to work, to strut, to shine, to own one's power was something mainstream America had never seen. The track blended house beats, runway attitude, and RuPaul's signature mix of glamour and humor. The music video directed by Randy Barbado and Fenton Bailey was equally groundbreaking. RuPaul appeared as a towering blonde supermodel strutting through New York City in heels, gowns, and a smile that radiated confidence.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

Imagine that, just walking down the street. And there he is.

SPEAKER_00 29:33

She's six foot five without heels.

unknown 29:37

Damn.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:38

So she's seven feet and still letters.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. MTV put the video in heavy rotation. Radio stations picked up the single. Fashion magazine's notice. RuPaul had crashed crossed over. He wasn't just a drag queen anymore. He was a pop star. And that's like just to think about it. Um I mean I'll get into it more with drag queen uh race too, but first of all, he was black. Second of all, he was drag queen. And I mean, the 90s were not a friendly time for and he couldn't hide. He was too a hundred feet tall.

SPEAKER_04 30:27

Right. And just larger than life personality-wise, too. Like he had to own it and make it work. I just it's funny, like, I I had almost forgotten about his music career. I I just think of him as the celebrity he is today. Like when you start bringing that up, I was like, oh shit, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

I mean, so his I I don't how many of you watch Drag Race? I don't know. I watch it religiously, but um he put all of his songs are in it. I mean he's he puts them nice all the the queens. There's usually one competition, one part of the competition where they he has a new song that's coming out and they all have parts in it and they write their own parts of it. And yeah, his his he still puts out a lot of music. Oh she still puts out I don't know. Anyway.

MAC Viva Glam And Mainstream Doors

SPEAKER_00 31:10

In 1994, RuPaul became the first drag queen to land a major cosmetics campaign when Mac Cosmetics chose him as the face of their Viva Glam line. The partnership was revolutionary for several reasons. It placed a drag queen at the center of a global beauty campaign. It raised money for the uh MAC AIDS fund supporting people living with HIV and AIDS. It positioned RuPaul as a main street beauty icon. The campaign's tagline, I am the Mac Girl, was both cheeky and submersive. Uh it challenged the beauty industry's rigid standards and expanded the definition of glamour. RuPaul's involvement helped raise millions for HIV AIDS organizations at a time when stigma was rampant. Her visibility mattered. She just wasn't selling lipstick, she was swelling hope, pride, and representation. Which again, like you see what happens now when you probably don't because you don't have TikTok, but there's a bunch of um TikTok influencers that are I don't know that they're gender fluid or if I don't remember I don't remember what that one anyway they get a uh one of them has a um a line at Ulta? It's either Ulta. I can't remember if it's anyway, Ulta or Sephora. And like everybody lost their shit about it. Like, how could you, you know, blah blah blah. And it's like I love men in makeup.

SPEAKER_04 32:40

I think cis men should wear makeup.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

God, a man in eyeliner. I know shut your fucking I know exactly who you're thinking about. Johnny Depp. Yes. My god, when Johnny Depp. Robert Smith, shut up. Dave G uh. RuPaul's newfound fame opened doors across the entertainment industry. He appeared in films such as Crooklin in '94, the Brady Bunch movie in '95, and Too Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar in '95, which we referenced last week. We did. See how we did that? See. In each role, RuPaul brought a blend of humor, glamour, and authenticity that made her stand out. She wasn't playing wasn't playing drag queens, she was playing RuPaul, a person persona that transcended gender and genre. She also became a fixture on talk shows, award shows, and red carpets. Her presence was magnetic. She was tall, elegant, articulate, and funny, a combination that made her irresistible to producers and audiences alike. She was a brand. Mm-hmm. Let us put okay, yeah. Boop boop. Now we're gonna put your your thingy on here. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 34:02

Because I repeat your life, we're lucky, survival sex and breeze your soul.

SPEAKER_04 34:11

All right, so this week in Nicole's diary, it is July 1st, 1985, which was a Monday, if anyone's interested. I was this almost lines up, it'll be July 1st next week. Yeah, I can't believe it. Yeah, so 41 years ago. Yikes. Um, dear diary. Today just started, and I just felt like writing in you instead of writing Sammy a letter. Oh boy. Yeah, yeah. I I'm I was going through it. I've already beat my stepsister up in the eye. Oh. And Aunt Gladys is pregnant again. Oh, geez. Fuck Aunt Gladys. Saturday I went shopping with Daddy and Janet and got this new pen and some stickers. Sunday I went shopping with them again. It's a purple pen, by the way, guys. It is. And got stickers and bookmarkers. We know how much she likes stickers. Yeah, went shopping Saturday and got stickers, and then Sunday went and got more stickers from my dad. You can't have enough stickers. No, you can't. Yeah. So that was it. I stayed, I stay stay pretty um consistent here. Yeah. I uh yeah, stickers.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

They're my thing. She sent me a thing the other day about sticker club or something.

SPEAKER_04 35:33

Oh my god, I know. And I sent that to you before I really looked at it. Now I'm getting like nonstop emails from them. But it is outrageous the price they want for those things. I was like, hell no. Stickers are expensive, yo. They really are. But I I have some around the house here and I use them to decorate like plain white gift bags or plain white wrapping paper cards.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

If you need to know who we are, I'm gonna tell you right now. She is fancy with her Martha Stewart nonsense and her gifts with bows and frilly shit. And you know what you get from me? It's still in the Walmart bag that I bought it in. Don't even bother. Don't wrap it, nothing. I just hand it to you in the bag that it came in.

SPEAKER_04 36:17

I love wrapping gifts. Love, love.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

She's nuts with it. And I'm always like, here you go.

SPEAKER_04 36:23

Here's the Walmart bag. I just bought it. Like, under the tree needs to look pretty. I don't have a bunch of gift bags. Like, I I'm not knocking you fuse gift bags. I understand why people do that. I want a bunch of pretty wrapped boxes with bows and tags on them. It's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

It's beautiful. It's a waste of time and money. No way.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

It is. No.

SPEAKER_00 36:45

Because you're just gonna rip it open. So? You don't care about the shit that's wrapped up.

SPEAKER_04 36:51

They're from Santa. I have to make them look good.

SPEAKER_00 36:54

Santa's not real.

SPEAKER_04 36:55

Yes, he is. My kids still think he is.

SPEAKER_00 37:01

That's how good I am at it. In 96, VH1 gave Root Paul her own talk show, The Root

Talk Show Era And Spiritual Reset

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Ball Show. It was the first national talk show hosted by a drag queen, and it was unlike anything else on television. The show featured celebrity interviews, musical performances, comedy sketches, drag culture, discussions about identity, beauty, and self-love. Guests included. I know this is gonna come. It's a really big shock to everyone listening. Cher. No. Yeah. Diana Ross, Cindy Loffer, Olivia Newton John, and Nirvana. Yeah. That I threw that one in last because I was like, okay. It's one of these things that's not like the others. RuPaul's interviewing style was warm, witty, and disarming. She treated guests with respect while maintaining the playful irreverence that defined her persona. The show ran for two seasons and became a cult classic. It proved that RuPaul could carry a mainstream television program, a skill that would become crucial in the next phase of her career. During the same time period, RuPaul co-hosted a radio show show on WKTU with Michelle Bassage. I can tell you right now that I would give I would give up having a patch ever again if I could hang out with Michelle Bassage and RuPaul. And I don't I don't like to do half the shit that I'm sure they did. I'm sure I would hate every fucking second of it.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

A partnership that would later become central to RuPaul's drag race. Their chemistry was immediate, sharp, funny, and deeply affectionate. RuPaul also continued releasing music, blending dance, pop, and house influences. Her albums from this era include Foxy Lady, showcased the versatility as a performer and songwriter. And then I decided I wasn't going to tell you anymore. By the late 90s, the cultural landscape was shifting. Drag was no longer the novelty it had become in it had been in the 90s, in 99. The media's attention moved elsewhere. RuPaul's visibility began to fade, and RuPaul herself was changing. After years of nonstop work, RuPaul stepped back from the spotlight. He moved away from New York City, spent time in Los Angeles, and focused on his personal life. This period was marked by spiritual exploration, self-reflection, and a shift towards minimal minimalism. Very cool. A desire for authenticity, RuPaul had described this area as a time of deprogramming, a conscious effort to strip away the expectations of fame and reconnect with his core identity. Smart. He studied metaphysics, meditation, and self-help philosophies. He wrote books, including Lettin It All Hang Out and Working It. He developed what he called supermodel spirituality, a blend of self-love, humor, and radical acceptance. RuPaul was preparing for a comeback, but not just any comeback. He was about to create a cultural phenomena. Something like a phenomenon. By the late 2000s, RuPaul had already lived several artistic lives: punk performer, drag queen, club icon, pop star, talk show host, author, actor, and spiritual guide. But the entertain I would join whatever cult she wanted me to. But the entertainment and her and Miss No, no, her and Michelle Braslage, no. I'm done. I'll whatever. Where do we meet? But the entertainment industry is fickle. And by 2008, RuPaul was no longer a fixture in mainstream media. What he did have was experience, vision, and a deep understanding of drag as an

Drag Race Begins And Defines Drag

SPEAKER_00 41:06

art form. He also had a long-standing partnership with World of Wonder founders, Randy Barbado and Fenton Bailey. The same duo had documented his early career and directed the supermodel video. Together they conceived a show that would blend drag pageantry, reality TV competition, queer history, performance art, RuPaul's personal philosophy, and the result was drag race. RuPaul's drag race, excuse me. Which premiered on Logo TV on February 2nd, 2009. Which I understand is why in the early years they did. And I was gonna say that, but I wasn't sure at what point. I couldn't remember when it went to when it was on logo, but that is exactly why they got away with a lot. Oh because logo was a gay channel. That's where Queer as Folk was. Man, that was a good show. Oh god. Oh my god. I missed that fucking show so bad. Oh man. The L word was on that. Logo was a great logo, was a great channel.

SPEAKER_04 42:06

It doesn't exist anymore.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

No, it doesn't. I don't think so. I think BH1 bought it. The first season was low budget, and I've recently gone back and watched it, and it was low budget. Famously shot with a soft focus Vaseline lens, but had something no other show had: a drag queen host who understood the art form from the inside out. RuPaul wasn't just a presenter, she was a mentor, judge, mother, and cultural historian. The show's structure was simple but effective. Mini challenges, maxi challenges, runway presentations, category is, lip sync battles, and eliminations. Beneath the format was something deeper, a celebration of queer resilience, creativity, and survival. Drag Race didn't just introduce viewers to drag queens, it introduced them to a whole new language. Yes. Shantae, you stay. Sachet away. Reading is fundamental. The library is open. Charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. They all became part of the cultural vocabulary. Mine anyway. I love reading as fundamental. RuPaul's catchphrases were more than witty lines. They were distilled pieces of queer wisdoms, lessons about confidence, self-love, and authenticity. The show's emotional core came from RuPaul's ability to connect with contestants. She saw their struggles because she had lived them. She understood their dreams because they were her dreams too. As Drag Race gained traction, expanded rapidly. Season two, in 2010, the budget increased, the cast grew more diverse, and the challenges became more ambitious. Season three hit its stride. The show introduced iconic queens like Raja, Manila Lazanne, and Shangela. I was never a big fan of Shangela. The fandom grew exponentially. Um, in 2012, RuPaul launched a spin-off that brought back fan favorites for a second chance at the crown. It was a hit. It was uh RuPaul's All-Stars. In 2017, it moved to VH1. The show's move from logo to VH1 marked its transition from niche queer programming to mainstream television. By this point, Drag Race had become a cultural force, a show that blended entertainment with education, humor with heart, and glamour with grit. In 2016, RuPaul won his first primetime Emmy Award for outstanding host for a reality or for reality or reality competition competition reality competition programs. It was a historic moment. A drag queen, a black drag queen, had won one of television's highest honors. RuPaul would go on to win the award multiple times, becoming the most awarded host in Emmy history. Drag Race itself also won multiple Emmys, cementing its status as one of the most influential reality shows of the 21st century. As the show's popularity grew, so did its reach. RuPaul and World of Wonder launched international versions of Drag Race, including Drag Race UK, Canada, Espana, France, Philippines, Italia, Belgium, Mexico, and Brazil. Wow. Each franchise adopted the format to local cultures while maintaining the core elements of RuPaul's vision. RuPaul herself hosted the UK version, bringing her signature blend of glamour and mentorship to a new audience. The Global Drag Race Empire became a cultural export, a celebration of queer artistry that transcended borders. So like here's my thing about and she does joke about it a lot on Drag Race because like they'll do one of the challenges will be like they have to do uh a commercial for like RuPaul's cologne or RuPaul's, you know, plunger, or they have like, and it's always like it's always blanded.

SPEAKER_04 46:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:23

She does not miss a branding opportunity at all. It's just fucking brilliant. And she has said before, I forget who she was talking to. She's talking to somebody, and they were kind of getting like I don't know, like downplaying the show. And she was like, I mean, I did get a drag competition in front of every American, every person in the world on mainstream TV. I did that.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

And it's like, yeah. Exactly. And it's and you you know, you my fate, I'll say my favorite contestant is Alaska. Alaska Thunderfuck 5000. Ooh. And I don't know if there's still partners because I haven't checked, but her partner is Sharon Needles, and I loved her too. And yeah, so I don't I'd great name. Uh the names on some of the names on there's a new, I do believe the new drag race is dropping within the next like two weeks. Ooh. I know, so it's perfect timing. By the late 2010s, RuPaul had become more than a performer. She was a cultural institution, a symbol of queer visibility, resilience, and creativity. Her influence extended beyond drag race. Uh she hosted the CBS game show Lingo. Actually, he did. I believe he goes as himself. Okay. He released new music albums, he published books, he appeared in films and TV shows, he launched podcasts and digital series. RuPaul's branding was everywhere, like I said. And it was powerful. He had become the most famous drag queen in the world, a title he wore with both pride and responsibility.

Criticism, Inclusivity, And The Brand

SPEAKER_00 48:13

No cultural figure of RuPaul's magnitude escapes criticism, and drag Reese has faced its share of debate. Because you didn't think I was gonna put the not put this in here. Because some of the big I don't remember if it's the first couple seasons. RuPaul's comments about trans contestants sparked controversy and prompted discussions about the evolving nature of drag. The show later expanded its inclusivity featuring trans men, trans women, and non-barbinary performers. Um so in the earlier episodes, it's um You Got She-Mail. And then they have and actually I think they have taken it out of all the older episodes. And I know that then there was a big divide between the gay community and the trans community. I think that they were not so much at odds, but competing. Right.

SPEAKER_04 49:15

Yeah. But then RuPaul learned. Yes. It's like Maya Angelo says, do the best you can with what you know, and when you know better, do better. And and she has.

SPEAKER_00 49:25

There's not the exact freeze, but she has had there is um one contestant that was on one of the most recent seasons, and uh spoiler alert, two ends. She is a trans man who does drag. Wow. Yeah. So she's just teeny tiny too. And she's like full goth. I can't remember her fucking name. Is it Gottmilk? Or Gottmick? Uh I'll have to look it up, but she was it, yeah. I can talk about drag race forever. Uh some contestants have spoken about the pressures of reality TV, the emotional toll of filming, and the ways editing shapes narrative, commercialism of drag. As drag race became mainstream, some critics argued that drag was becoming sanitized or commodified. Others saw the show as a vital platform for queer artists. RuPaul's polished-controlled public image has been both admired and critiqued. He is a private person in an industry that demands transparency. I his husband, they recently got married within the last like five years or so. They've been together a long time. Um is uh I think I know he's a rancher. I want to say they live in Montana.

SPEAKER_04 50:54

I can actually see RuPaul living in Montana.

SPEAKER_00 50:56

Yeah. With a rancher. Yeah. Like the most straight, like not gay suspecting, like the most straight gay man you can find.

SPEAKER_04 51:08

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, ranchers are manly men.

SPEAKER_00 51:13

And he's taller than than RuPaul. It's very handsome. Of course. These I don't know if they're still married. I have not. I don't stalk RuPaul much to my own sadness. These debates reflect the complexity of RuPaul's role in culture, a pioneer navigating the tension between underground art and mainstream success. RuPaul's drag race has transformed drag culture, queer visibility, and reality television. Has launched the careers of hundreds of drag artists, many of whom who have become celebrities in their own right. Uh there's uh Katya has uh um Katya and I was just watching it too the other day. Anyway, there's a lot of them have podcasts, a lot of them have gone on to Broadway. Um after every season of drag show they tour um as like that season's uh thing and winner. Yeah, they they yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

All right, I looked it up, yeah. He is still married. Oh, good. Uh he's an Australian painter and rancher.

SPEAKER_00 52:28

Australian.

SPEAKER_04 52:29

They met on the dance floor in New York City in 1994 and tied the knot in 2017 on their 23rd anniversary.

SPEAKER_00 52:37

I had most of it right.

SPEAKER_04 52:40

And they famously maintain an unconventional relationship and have a legally open marriage. Yes, they do. Um they do not put strict monogamous restrictions on each other, and when they're not working, they split their time between Los Angeles and their ranch. Yep. So they are still married. He is very handsome. Yes. I forgot he was Australian.

SPEAKER_00 53:02

Yeah. It has introduced audiences to queer history, activism, and artistry. It has created a global community, a shared language of glamour, humor, and resilience. And at the center of it all is RuPaul, a performer who turned his life into a blueprint for self-creation.

Self Love As Survival Philosophy

SPEAKER_00 53:17

To understand RuPaul's legacy, you have to understand his worldview, a philosophy he has refined over decades, shaped by his childhood adversity, queer resilience, and the relentless pursuit of self-creation. Supermodel his supermodel spirituality is a blend of metaphysics, self-help, queer theory, performance art, radical self-acceptance, humorous survival, glamour as armor, and its core is a simple idea. We're all born naked, and the rest is drag.

SPEAKER_04 53:47

Yeah, it does sound like he just had the perfect storm of everything. Like he's so smart, obviously, and just knew learned how to not make it a barrier for him. He whatever it was, that's what was gonna make him big.

SPEAKER_00 54:08

Okay, the philosophy is woven into every episode of Drag Race. It's why the show feels both entertaining and strangely therapeutic. I mean, I'm like I fucking cry at least two or three times a season. It's and I don't cry at anything. Me neither. It's why contestants often describe the experience as transformative. RuPaul is not just hosting a competition, he's teaching a worldview. One of the most distinctive elements of drag race is RuPaul's role as a mentor. He doesn't simply judge the queens, he guides them. In the workroom walkthroughs, RuPaul asks questions that cut to the emotional core. Who are you doing this for? What are you afraid of? What's the story you're telling? What's the truth behind the drag? These moments are not accidental, they are the heart of the show. Yeah, she's a mother. Yeah. RuPaul understands that drag is not just about wigs and makeup, it's about trauma, resilience, identity, survival, and reinvention. He sees the contestants not just as performers, but as people navigating the complexity of queer life. This mentorship is part of why drag race resonates so deeply with viewers. It's not just a competition, it's a journey of self-discovery. The influence of RuPaul's drag race is vast and multifaceted. RuPaul is not just an artist. He is a business mogul. His empire includes television franchises, music albums, books, podcasts, cosmetic partnerships, live tours, digital content, international licensing. RuPaul understood that drag could be both art and business. He built a brand that is glamorous, polished, and instantly recognizable. This business acumen has been both celebrated and critiqued. Some see RuPaul as a visionary entrepreneur. Others argue that drag has become commercialized under her leadership. Both can be true. RuPaul's legacy is enormous, but not without controversy. Some people have criticized RuPaul's public persona because she is famously private, rarely breaks character, and maintains the polished control image. And some people say that sometimes you have to break that. Some admire the discipline, others wish she was more transparent. But RuPaul has always been a reformer. His persona is part of the art. As RuPaul enters his seventh decade, the question becomes, what comes next? Drag race continues to expand globally, new queens emerge every year. Drag evolves with each generation. RuPaul's role may shift from host to elder statesman, a cultural guardian who shaped the modern drag landscape, but his influence will endure. He has created a global platform for queer artists, reshape the entertainment industry, introduced drag to millions, build a legacy of empowerment, inspire generations to live authentically. RuPaul's story is not just about drag. It's about the power of self-creation. Every episode of Drag Race ends with the same line. If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? It's more than a catchphrase. It's RuPaul's philosophy distilled into a single sentence. Self-love is not indulgence, survival, resistance, and liberation. RuPaul's life from a queer kid in San Diego to a global icon is proof of that. He built himself from scratch. He created a persona that transcended gender, race, and genre. He turned drag into a global phenomenon. He changed the world by unapologetically being himself, herself. And in doing so, he gave millions permission to do this thing, to do the same. His story is He did not just become a star, he built a universe, and the world is still trying to catch up. And my one of my things about she does have like great one-liners that hit you. Like if you how if you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? And you're everybody's born naked, the rest is drag, and you you know, a lot of that you're like, wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:06

Yeah. I mean, I tend to to disagree with a lot of the naysayers. Um, first of all, no celebrity owes us any transparency. No, I mean, they're there to entertain you. You have no rights to their private life. And secondly, it's like we talked about last week with um having queer characters in movies. It's the exposure. Yeah. And then the empathy and the everything that comes along with people, maybe, you know, someone in the household likes it, and others that are closed-minded are watching it with them, and then they see it's very entertaining and and they're very talented and you know, they're very comfortable in their skin and all that good stuff. So I think anything you can do to expose it, especially in the positive manner that RuPaul has done it, like yeah, I I I don't agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 59:04

And every episode is I mean, maybe not every episode, but most of the episodes are empowering, they are uplifting, you know. She does tell you, like, yeah, when they're when they're getting their critiques and stuff, you know, they not so much RuPaul, but Michelle can be a little mean and they're tough love. And they they she knows it and they come after her hard on the roasts, um, and she loves it. But you know, they're they're trying to help these performers become better performers.

SPEAKER_04 59:38

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 59:38

So when they're coming on with their, you know, well, first of all, I do not understand how in this day and age, with this show having been on for 62 forever, how you do not come on that show with the ability to fucking sew. Yeah, you have watched it year after year. Like, I believe now that you were probably a baby when the first one was on. They all require sewing. Yeah, you have to be able to sew, at least get some kind of basic sewing knowledge. Because every time they come in there with like busted up looks, she'll tell them, like, you can't, that's busted, like you can't, you know, or she'll say, like, I don't like the way you do your your contouring, or it's too much this, it's too much that, and she's just trying to make you a better performer. Exactly. And there are some who they will say, you know, they don't like the aesthetic, or um the I'm trying to remember who it was. There's been a couple on there that refuse to change who they like they want more the judges usually try and get more um well-roundedness. Like they want you to be able to do anything. Exactly. And not a one-trick. Yeah. And some of the more avant-garde ones don't want to ch don't want to do like a beauty pageant. Some of the some of them, you know, struggle. And there have been a couple where they just won't do it. Like they are gonna do it their way. And every time she's like, You're gonna do it, you do it then. Then if you're if you're gonna do it the way you do it, then fucking do it. And it's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:26

Yeah, exactly. And it's not just the people on the show. Imagine how many aspiring drag queens that are out there and watch this and how much they learn from it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:36

The last episodes of every season, where there's like three or four of them left, she always has a picture of them of when they were a little kid, and she will say, What would you tell him? And every time it makes you cry because they're always like, It gets better. Like, just hold on. And it's like, yeah. And I think that is one of the most empowering things that she does because she puts and you know, of course, now the younger generation, it's a little easier on them, and it's not as in some ways, yeah. Yeah, but you know what I mean? Like, it's not families, not as many families disown their children anymore over it. And so you're not getting those stories. But there was one that when he was a little kid, his mom left him at a bus stop.

unknown 1:02:22

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:23

I mean, it's just heartbreaking some of these stories, and then you know, and so they all get to tell their story and they all get to improve, and she talks with all of them about it, and you know, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else if you can't love yourself? And you know, the I freaking now, I don't remember which of my catchphrase is my fucking favorite, but like mostly everything she says, because I am in a cult, I guess. I I dig her spirituality because it is based on you.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:57

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:58

It's not on some create, it's on you. Yeah, your life will get better if you get better.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:03

If that ain't the true sister, and that is not just for drag queens maybe.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:07

No, that's what that's why it's so such an important show, not just because it's bringing drag to the to the light, and and you know people get to see that that wouldn't normally, but drag bread and I all it's also hard to say because here we have a large gay community. Yes, so there's drag brunches all the time, there's drag shows all the time, like it's a lot of drag. A lot of drag. We used to have the beauty pageants here in Rohit with when we were in the 90s. They had in yeah, so there was a lot of drag

Tattoos, Goth Style, And Being Seen

SPEAKER_00 1:03:41

here. Um, but bringing that message to not just people in drag, but people like me who, you know, for a little while you you you try and figure out how you can fit in and still stand out, or not stand out, but still be yourself and fit in. I mean, I still have trouble wearing short sleeves because I don't want anybody everybody to see my tattoos because I get tired of being stared at and I get you know, I have it's odd.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:15

I know it that I get to blow my mind that that bothers you.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:18

It really does. I know I hate being I hate, it is weird. It's such a juxta juxtaposition that I have because I hate being stared at. I hate the attention, and yet I love having the tattoos, I love having crazy hair, and that's why I do it for that's why I think it's that I'm doing it for me. Yeah. And solely for me, because I hate the attention that it gets me. I hate people touching me and be like, oh, is this real? Oh, you know, like, oh, you'll never get a job with those. Ha ha. I've never not had a job. I literally have had like four at a time. It's never been an issue. Um, so you know, and and the way I dress, like for a while I did probably tone it down. I still tone it down. I'm not wearing what I was wearing when I was a teen. I'm not wearing. I'm not wearing, you know, plaid skirts and long johns and stuff. I'm trying, I was trying to be something. Me too. It's hard to even find them. It's all leggings and stuff. Yeah, or under t-shirts in the winter. Like these pants I got off the TikTok shop, and I bought three pairs of them because I fucking love them. I'll sh I'll get up. I'll get up now.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:32

Are they oh super cute?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:36

They're cargo, they're cargo leggings. I know, I have some cargoes now too. The um uh flare yoga pants. They're cargo yoga pants. And they hide everything. And they're just amazing, and I fucking love them, and they dry fast. And they're the right color, and they're black. You really can't go. I'm wearing all black today. Which you wear black? I know I get that a lot at at while I'm working. They're like, you know, you'd be a little cooler if you didn't have all black on. I'm like, it's hard being a goth. I told my boss that um, you know, you really have to be committed to be a goth in the summer. She's like, you're right. You do. Because it's fucking hot out. The sun is beating down on me.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:24

I know. I'm running through different colors in my head, and I'm like, no, it's gotta be black. There is no other color you could wear.

unknown 1:06:31

No.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:32

I mean, sometimes I wear like a dark purple. I do love bright pink. Oh, I love pink. I mean, my shoes are pink. And that's another thing that's weird about me. I fucking love those shoes are like the brightest pink, not now, because they've been now they're getting faded, but the brightest pink, and I love the color shocking pink, and I wear it a lot. But I hate being looked at, and that's a color that will draw your eye. I mean, those pink shoes with an all-black outfit really pulls the eye. Yes, yes, it does. I don't know. I'm I I don't I don't get it myself, but but I mean it's you.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:08

You'd you'd look ridiculous if you had right like a green shirt on and unless it was equals green.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:16

Or like a and like regular hair.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:19

Yeah, definitely not. Please don't do that. Please don't change your look.

unknown 1:07:25

I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:26

That doesn't matter. You were probably one of the most consistent people I know with your look.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:29

See, I feel like in the like in the 2000 2000s after I feel like I changed my look a little bit after the events of 2000. I feel like I toned it down. I wore a lot. I mean, I guess maybe not. Maybe I I just think I maybe maybe I just wore jeans a lot and was like decided that that was mainstream.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:57

Weirdo.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:59

I really feel like maybe I thought I had changed my look a little bit and I wasn't as golf. I guess not.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:07

I don't like jeans. I have two pairs of jeans. I think they're old navy that I've had for probably 10 years. Okay, I know, I know. And I wear them every like at work, they sell jean coupons so you can wear jeans to work, and they always try to get I'm like, I don't like jeans. I don't want to wear jeans to work. I mean, they're fine. They're okay. I'll wear them like in the fall. Yeah. If I'm going gonna be outside or I don't know. They don't fit me right. They don't fit me right either. That's the problem. I think we have the same problem big butts and a belly, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:39

Big thighs, yeah, and no waist. Right. Yeah. So they're hard to keep, that's hard to find because you have to fit the biggest part, which is my usually my thighs and my hips. But then you can't, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:49

It's yeah, and then a belt, it just isn't comfortable.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:52

I have trouble with jeans also. That's why I got cargo yoga pants.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:57

I have been loving like the elastic waist pants. Almost everything I've in elastic waist pants at this point, buttons summery pants that are like flowy and long and have like a black and white pattern on them. That's like wearing your pajamas to work. Yes, it's exactly the same. It is, except they look pretty. Yeah, yeah. It's it's the best thing in the world. And I get so many compliments. I'm like, thanks, I'm comfy.

unknown 1:09:22

Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:23

Yeah, I don't know. I thought I had changed my look a little. I guess I didn't.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:27

I mean, you've probably gone through different kinds of phases, obviously. Like you don't wear flannels anymore. I don't. Actually, I do. There's one in the van right now. I've been wearing them to work. Actually, I do. All right, so I stand corrected. You've been just the same the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:47

I guess so. I thought I changed. I guess I didn't. I wore sweaters. Black sweaters. Some were brown.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:57

I've never seen you in a brown sweater. I have worn one. You're right.

unknown 1:10:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:02

Anyway.

Closing Thoughts And Goodbyes

SPEAKER_00 1:10:06

Thanks for listening. Thanks. Go watch some drag wreaths. Yay. Go love one from RuPaul. Go check out her music. Yeah. It's great. Yep. Um, it's catchy. Uh, like, share, rate, review. Please. Uh find us where you listen to all the podcasts. Follow us on all the socials at like whatever pod. Please. You can send us an email about what your favorite RuPaul phrase is. Or your favorite RuPaul drag race contestant is. Uh, to likewhateverpod at gmail.com or don't like whatever. Whatever. Bye.