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Blame it on the Edit: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 Fanlink
with Dr. Caleb Luna & Juztine Tuazon-Martin
February 24th through March 24th
Mondays 5:30-6:30PM PST / 8:30-9:30PM EST
1 hour sessions for 5 weeks (Zoom)
Adults 18+ and teens 16-17 with an enrolled adult
RuPaul’s Drag Race has changed the world, and the world of drag. After 17 seasons, 29 Emmys, and multiple global franchises, the impact of the show is hard to overstate. The show has been running so long, it no longer only reflects queer culture writ large, but it produces it. On top of the fabulous costumes, wigs, and make-up, the show attempts to portray a progressive queer narrative through its casting and competition processes. But how do ‘real world’ social structures such as race, gender, class, citizenship status, ability, and more show up in the stories presented on Drag Race?
Join us in the Interior Illusions lounge (Zoom Room) as we kiki not just about the episodes, but about what stories and narratives are presented on the show. We will gather the Mondays after episodes air to discuss our favorite looks, who we love, was that accent really okay and can you believe she said that?! We’ll discuss not just the show but how the fandom is responding, particularly through Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok discourses.
Sessions will include short lectures and activities on drag, tailored to the issues presented on the episodes each week, as well as the season's arc. We will draw from media studies, queer and feminist theory, critical race studies, fat and disability studies, and more to make sense of the narratives presented to ask ourselves: what does it really take to be crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar?
Dr. Caleb Luna
Caleb Luna (they/them) is a writer, performer, award-winning educator and scholar. They are the bestselling author of REVENGE BODY (Nomadic Press, 2022), and co-host of the podcast Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back. Publishing, performing, and curating across genre and medium, Caleb's cultural work reads, responds to and challenges tropes and discourses regarding race, size, sexuality, and disability in media and culture. Currently, they are an Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They have been a fan of Drag Race since season 1, and have been writing critically about the show since 2017, most recently presenting their work to the Trans Research in Linguistics Lab (TRILL) at UC Santa Barbara. They’re excited to discuss not just the artistry of drag, but the multiple stories and issues presented on the show through the contestants and competition.
Juztine Tuazon-Martin
Juztine Tuazon-Martin (ze/zir/zirs) has been involved in performing, directing, and working at theaters across California since 1989. Juztine has contributed to productions at La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, The Disneyland Resort, and more on and off stage. Juztine’s directorial projects at OB Playhouse, Green Day’s American Idiot and Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, won the 2019 BroadwayWorld San Diego Awards for Best Musical and Best Play. Most recently, ze directed Hedwig & the Angry Inch at Orange County's Maverick Theater. Ze earned two BAs from the University of California, Berkeley: one in Theater & Performance Studies and one in Gender & Women's Studies. Additionally, ze has a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University.