The
problem is when the joke backfires or causes controversy it attracts the kind
of attention that can have unreasonable consequences. Here amongst all the fun
and glamour of Season 6 we have the perfect example of one bad taste segment affecting
the whole show profile.

In
a recent episode they had a mini challenge, a game called Female or Shemale, pitting the contestants against each other in a
quest to determine whether they were being shown a picture of — as RuPaul
phrased it — ‘a biological woman or a psychological woman.’
The
contestants laughed as they guessed whether or not the body part they're being
shown belonged to a cisgender (nontrans) woman. The problem was it stepped out
of its remit of showcasing drag queens and brought transgender women into the
mix as a source of ridicule – it was in bad taste and totally unnecessary.


The
following morning, a number of trans individuals who had long criticized the
show's use of transphobic language voiced their concerns on Twitter. They were
supported by the US organisation GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation) who argued that Shemale is defamatory and only serves to dehumanize
transgender people.
Whilst
I find myself in a stage of life where names don’t dint my surface – I have
never experienced the term shemale from a place of respect or understanding,
and it’s disappointing when used by my sister tribes.

Each
week on Drag Race the weekly challenges are announced by RuPaul via a TV
monitor as the contestants receiving She-mail a play on email – not a play on
Shemale. For five and half seasons it’s been witty, amusing and not offensive: but
in preforming one short tactless segment this aspect has got caught in the net
– crazy!
The
outcome is that Logo, the TV network, has announced it has decided to remove
the term ‘she-mail’ from future episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“Logo
wants to thank the community for sharing their concerns around a recent segment
and the use of the term ‘she-mail’ on Drag Race,” said a network spokesperson.
“The episode has been pulled from all of our platforms and that challenge will
not appear again. Furthermore, we are removing the ‘You’ve Got She-Mail’ intro
from new episodes of the series. We did not intend to cause any offense, but in
retrospect we realize that it was insensitive. We at the network sincerely
apologize”.
Yes
the Female or Shemale segment was a moment of poor judgement, and I
can understand some being offended, but surely we can see the joke in she-mail
in the context used. The problem is the two terms became entwined and seemingly
impossible to then separate.
The
executive producers (including RuPaul Charles) released a statement saying “We
delight in celebrating every colour in the LGBT rainbow. When it comes to the
movement of our trans sisters and trans brothers, we are newly sensitized and
more committed than ever to help spread love, acceptance and understanding”. I
believe them. Let’s give them the opportunity to dust themselves down and
continue to deliver what is after all the only high profile drag show reaching
the masses.
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