Denim, who has made history as the first trans male to compete on Canada's Drag Race is not here for fans comparing her to Gottmik, who is the first trans man in Drag Race herstory to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race.
via: Out
Many RuPaul’s Drag Race queens have spoken out about how hurtful it feels when they’re compared to each other, and things get even worse when fans compare two drag entertainers simply because of their gender identities.
In 2021, Gottmik became the first-ever trans man to compete on Drag Race. Gottmik was cast in season 13 of the flagship series and went on to the grand finale. Two years later, Denim was cast on Canada’s Drag Race season 4 and became the second trans man to compete in the Drag Race franchise.
It’s quite annoying to see fans regularly comparing Denim and Gottmik on social media when the only main similarity between them is that they’re both trans men who were cast on Drag Race. As a result, Denim has now taken the time to address these frustrating comparisons. The Canada’s Drag Race star shared a picture via Instagram story and wrote:
“I get this comment every single day and I always have to laugh because it’s like… if you see all trans men as the same, just say that! Our aesthetics are wildly different and our only common denominator is that we’re trans men (and our trans characteristics). God forbid a second trans man gets on Drag Race amongst the 93848484 cis gay men (excluding other trans women/nb people obvi).”
“Saying I’m a ‘cheap Gottmik’ is funny because I’ve never even had close to a fraction of that level of wealth and resources and never claimed to,” she added. “I made an extremely memorable and iconic package with the support of my drag family and friends, I spent all the money I had to my name on Drag Race (and it wasn’t a lot) and I still DID. THAT. So eat it.”
Denim concluded, “So many trans men do drag, there’s just not a lot of mainstream representation, and comments like this just show that you’re an entitled gay that knows nothing about queer culture and it’s embarrassing honestly!”
It is indeed quite annoying and unnecessary for fans to be drawing these conclusions between Denim and Gottmik, and it doesn’t help the franchise to push for more inclusion and diversity if this is how viewers will keep reacting to these artists who aren’t cis gay men.
Overall, the Drag Race franchise is a fabulous platform to celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and turn these up-and-coming entertainers into global superstars. While it’s understandable that fans want to have points of reference (former contestants) when getting to know new Drag Race queens, it is important to keep in mind that these are all different people who deserve to stand on their own.
The only thing Denim and Gottmik have in common is that they are transmen who have competed on one of the biggest drag competition shows in the world. That's where the comparisons end.
Gottmik was fashion forward in regards to their looks, but wen I look at Demin, their drag aesthetic in my opinion is "a choice."
I also find Denim annoying who has become the Roxxxy Andrews of Canada's Drag Race due to her performance on the show being mid, but gets saved by her fellow queens that she's sligned herself with (or maybe it's production telling the queens to not get rid of them because they're scared to chop someone because they're trans).
Not only because of the irritating exagerated vocal fry accent they're doing on the show (Alaska did it first and better - probably because Alaska is likable), but because of a episode earlier in the season when she went on a tangeant about AFAB queens and being called one.
This is where re-education comes in. If you are a trans male who doesn't identify as an AFAB queen, this is where you educate people on your preferred pronouns or how you identify as a drag performer. An AFAB queen is someone who is a cishet woman who identifies as the gender they were born with. When she came in with that hyperqueen narrative, I rolled my eyes so hard I almost went blind.
I think my gripe from this came from the fact that people like Denim go on and on with this Gen Z wannabe social just warrior crap, while so many of my trans POC sisters are constantly arguing with black cis women online over the word cisgender being a slur.
Meanwhile this argument is happening while so many white trans queens (except a few like Trace Lissette) remain silent.
留言