The Ru-volution will be Televised: Unveiling the Commercialization of Drag in RuPaul's Drag Race through Bourdieu's Theory of Practice
| dc.contributor.advisor | Chávez, Christopher | |
| dc.contributor.author | Guzman, John | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-07T22:57:28Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation explores the commodification of drag by exploring the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race. Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, the show draws its data from the first fourteen seasons of the show, as well as the first season seasons of RuPaul’s Drag: All-Stars, and the show’s behind-the-scenes series Untucked, as case studies to examine the impact of the show’s major sponsors. As a third case study, this project also focuses on RuPaul’s Drag Con, the show’s official drag convention. In using these case studies, I argue that although initially the show’s sponsors had a major impact in how drag was performed within the show, these corporate demands of drag became embedded within the program and became self-regulating. Such, the show’s popularity and the sponsor’s impact ultimately changed the field of drag and made it more palatable for a mainstream audience and advertisers. Further, since Drag Race is seen as the apex of what drag is, the show becomes a gatekeeper for those who wish to make a career out of the art form, thereby demanding people conform to the show’s limited interpretation of drag. | en_US |
| dc.description.embargo | 2026-07-23 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29851 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
| dc.subject | Bourdieu | en_US |
| dc.subject | Drag Con | en_US |
| dc.subject | Drag Queens | en_US |
| dc.subject | RuPaul's Drag Race | en_US |
| dc.subject | Sponsorship | en_US |
| dc.title | The Ru-volution will be Televised: Unveiling the Commercialization of Drag in RuPaul's Drag Race through Bourdieu's Theory of Practice | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | School of Journalism and Communication | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |