[ecrea] Call for Papers - RuPaul's Drag Race and the Cultural Politics of Fame - Celebrity Studies (Special Edition)

*_Call for Papers: _**_Special Edition of Celebrity Studies, edited by 
John Mercer_*
*“Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent”: RuPaul’s Drag Race and the 
Cultural Politics of Fame*
RuPaul’s Drag Race, recently completing a tenth season on VH1, has 
become a popular culture phenomenon, broadcasting drag into the homes of 
middle America , spawning spin off shows (Drag Race All Stars and Drag 
Race Thailand) merchandising campaigns and annual Drag Con events. The 
show’s success has made international stars of its host, guest judges 
and contestants alike. This special edition of Celebrity Studies will 
explore the connections between drag stardom and contemporary sexual and 
cultural politics that Drag Race stages and dramatizes.
Alumni of Drag Race have gone on to launch music careers, (Adore Delano 
and Sharon Needles) and model for Vivienne Westwood and Perry Ellis, 
(Milk). Violet Chachki is the first drag model to become the face of 
Bettie Page Lingerie whilst others have achieved success as touring 
performers (Jinkx Monsoon and Bianca Del Rio). In 2017 RuPaul was named 
as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
Above everything else Drag Race is a show about celebrating the glamour, 
artifice and labour of fame. Contestants impersonate celebrities in the 
perennially popular ‘Snatch Game’ challenge and the show’s marketing 
strapline draws audiences into the search for ‘America’s next drag 
superstar’. Whilst Drag Race has already attracted scholarly attention 
(Brennan & Gudelunas eds. 2017) the relationships between gender, 
sexuality, performance, identity and celebrity culture that lie at the 
heart of its dynamic and appeal remain to be explored.
This special ‘Extravaganza Eleganza’ edition of Celebrity Studies, 
edited by John Mercer aims to tackle these issues and we are seeking 
essays of between 7 to 8000 words that address celebrity as part of the 
Drag Race phenomenon.
Topics that the essays may address include:
• RuPaul’s celebrity status
• Analyses of specific drag queens
• Judges, judgement and the judging of fame in Drag Race
• Drag Race Fandom, Drag Con events and the marketing of Drag stardom
• Social media, Instagram and the construction of drag celebrity
• Drag performance, ‘talent’ and celebrity
• ‘Werk’: drag, celebrity and labour
• Drag Race celebrity and the logic of neoliberalism
Please send proposals of 300 words including a title, abstract and 
contact details to (john.mercer /at/ bcu.ac.uk) by 3rd September 2018


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