My physical health has improved significantly over the last handful of months. Being able to eat full meals, exercise, and have no panic attacks really does wonders.
I'm pretty numb to the politics now.
The women's march after the inauguration made me feel a little better. A growing (young) undercurrent bending towards justice. On that note...
The women's march after the inauguration made me feel a little better. A growing (young) undercurrent bending towards justice. On that note...
Let's have a fun post.
A timely post.
A timely post.
A post-verbal post.
 |
| I drew a couple of my favorite looks from UNHhhh's 1st 'season'. |
Last year, with my body being more resilient, I still felt like I was in a dark fog. The future was a black hole. Still is. I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
However, it just so happened that I got around to watching RuPaul's Drag Race again. Lots of seasons to catch up with. I just hadn't managed to get to it after many years.
It's one hell of a show. It's like taking American Idol, X Factor, Project Runway, Face Off, So You Think You Can Dance, a comedy roast, and SNL and putting them in a blender.
Wouldn't recommend it if you're uncomfortable seeing people cross-dressing or gender roles getting scrambled. And if that's the case, what's wrong with you? How's your head? Lel. :P
At any rate, it's glorious.
Season 9 is starting on Friday the 24th on VH1. WATCH IT!
I got through seasons 5, 6, and 7 in rapid succession and watched 8 as it aired.
Season 7 was particularly enchanting due to a certain Russian hooker (season 7 spoilers) with a crippling anxiety disorder, who openly expressed that struggle along with the intense challenge of being a somewhat recently sober drug addict in the sequestered crucible of recording this insane show.
This would be a good time to warn that there's NSFW material ahead.
Drag queens, gay men, and the kinds of things that drag queens and gay men find amusing, especially one who was a sex worker/drug addict. You've been warned.
Time for a cut...
Just a fascinating human person.
From what I've gleaned, grew up in the relatively comfortable white middle-class environment of Boston. Gay, but with a supportive nuclear family. Karate, gymnastics, art school, an obsession with the Russian language... and sometimes suicidal levels of anxiety when having to perform or risk embarrassment/shame. Eventually tried medicating himself with recreational drugs to alleviate it. And it worked. Altered his perspective in a way that helped him be more productive, social, open, etc... but down that road was also meth addiction and a lot of pain. He talks about this stuff now with beautiful nuance and respect for the complexity of addiction, which is enlightening and fascinating to someone (me) who has crippling anxiety, but went the opposite direction by never having any interest in drugs and becoming increasingly isolated from the world and dysfunctional.
Complexity. Especially complexity. Katya is physically super-fit, cigarettes/addiction aside. A lifetime of discipline, gymnastics, yoga, etc. A gleaming, perfectly white, set of teeth. Fucking brilliant smile. Russian and French and a smattering of other languages. Educated. Artsy-fartsy. And a voice with versatility to give life to many hilarious characters. Can spin through dozens of references with the speed of Robin Williams... and maybe that's telling in a way. The off-the-cuff spin. Addiction-wise. Dark sarcasm with heart.
I'm losing focus. Anyway, Katya's experiences through season 7, then All Stars 2, and watching her peripheral work gave me an entirely unexpected personal boost.
Some favorite videos from her channel 'welovekatya' and elsewhere:
To understate it, Brian has been helpful to me. The anxiety discussion... it helps.
The place in my head where it's useful to me is a widening gyre. I can't go there in text.
So, just the easy fun stuff here.
UNHhhh is a youtube series with Katya Zamolodchikova and Trixie Mattel, both queens from season 7, both named Brian (for real), who've become quite good friends since the recording.
The Katya character is a graceful, cartwheeling, Russian seductress with crude black humor. High concept, low brow.
The Trixie character is a hot pink Barbie toy fantasy with dry, snappy wit. Dolly Parton meets Mattel.
Together, they were cops!
Lol, No, seriously though. Together their chemistry is highly volatile in the best way.
UNHhhh is the post-verbal show. I call it PVS. Like PBS, but explicit... and mostly stupid.
After watching PVS for weeks, I realized I was smiling and laughing more than I had in years.
I'll repeat that.
After watching PVS for weeks,
I realized I was smiling and laughing more than I had in years.
I realized I was smiling and laughing more than I had in years.
I watch a lot of fun stuff, but this was on another level. It was a very tangible boost. Not even when I was actively watching it. Just throughout any day of the week, I'd think of something from the PVS and bust out laughing, grin inwardly, whatever I could get away with.
And it made me feel a lot better.
I don't know why exactly. It just did.
In a bizarre circular coincidence, I didn't watch many movies growing up, but the two movies I've watched the most amount of times are To Wong Foo and Contact. By a large margin. A (problematic?) movie about drag queens and my favorite movie ever at the intersection of science, religion, first contact, and lone women on a mission. The latter which Katya obsessively started referencing in UNHhhh. The first time she mentioned it I just about pissed myself. Her 'impression' of S.R.Hadden provides me with endless delight (RIP John Hurt). The low register smoker version of her voice is endlessly delightful in general. So, yeah, drag queens and Jodie Foster.
Life is weird.
In my estimation, UNHhhh is one of the funniest comedy series available online. There's the limitation of the subculture, of course. If you don't watch Drag Race or know anything about drag culture, you'll miss a lot of the references and jokes. But I think it would be super entertaining regardless of your familiarity with the context.
The editors are a powerful force for all things good in the world.
And Trixie and Katya...
((( DEEP SIGH )))
They're wonnnnnnderful.
A few of my favorite PVS episodes:
I don't know why exactly. It just did.
In a bizarre circular coincidence, I didn't watch many movies growing up, but the two movies I've watched the most amount of times are To Wong Foo and Contact. By a large margin. A (problematic?) movie about drag queens and my favorite movie ever at the intersection of science, religion, first contact, and lone women on a mission. The latter which Katya obsessively started referencing in UNHhhh. The first time she mentioned it I just about pissed myself. Her 'impression' of S.R.Hadden provides me with endless delight (RIP John Hurt). The low register smoker version of her voice is endlessly delightful in general. So, yeah, drag queens and Jodie Foster.
Life is weird.
In my estimation, UNHhhh is one of the funniest comedy series available online. There's the limitation of the subculture, of course. If you don't watch Drag Race or know anything about drag culture, you'll miss a lot of the references and jokes. But I think it would be super entertaining regardless of your familiarity with the context.
The editors are a powerful force for all things good in the world.
And Trixie and Katya...
((( DEEP SIGH )))
They're wonnnnnnderful.
A few of my favorite PVS episodes:
They've been on a break since the New Year. I've re-watched all 40 episodes multiple times through. Comedy stuff doesn't usually have much repeatability for me, but the PVS is apparently the exception to every rule.
They both moved to LA. Trixie has continued her fitness journey. Katya got a tan and is more ripped than ever.
It's coming back... along with the next season of Drag Race.
The most recent material with the two of them before this is on Hey Qween. Entertaining as always.
It's coming back... along with the next season of Drag Race.
The most recent material with the two of them before this is on Hey Qween. Entertaining as always.
UNHhhh season 2 is back today! Welcome to the stage... Vernal Equinox!
Clever appearances of Mrs. Kasha Davis and Tempest Dujour.
Completely tickled! Something for which to look forward to Mondays.
Bonus. Some favorite Katya stage performances:
- Perestroika (pre-drag race)
- Jesus rap + Pussy
- Log Lady / Twin Peaks
- Roxie in Russian (from Chicago)
- Bettie
- t.a.t.u / Read U Wrote U / Same Parts
As a straight, practically asexual, woman who otherwise doesn't watch anything like this...
What is it that I find so attractive about gay men performing as hyper-feminine women in a (often) sexually charged context??!!
Fuck all if I know.
Maybe because it's non-threatening. Because it's a performance art that requires a lot of diligent self-education and practice. Because it's transformative. Because it challenges me to process my own perceptions about gender...
It might boil down to behavior modification. Men are culturally pressured to avoid pretty. They're supposed to gain pretty trophies, a pretty woman, pretty property, but their own identity is supposed to flee from being pretty themselves. They're supposed to be brash, rough, clunky, masculine, stoic, etc. Never identify as anything beautiful.
All function. No frills.
All function. No frills.
I'm attracted to men, but for whatever reason, I think I'm not attracted to masculinity... (???)
Huh.
So there's conflict there.
Huh.
So there's conflict there.
But a drag queen is (usually) a man who is running towards pretty. They're strutting, sashaying, split-jumping at full-pelt towards something decorative and beautiful. Most women just do this by default, because our culture pressures us to perform hyper-feminine as 'normal'. So the behavior modification towards beautiful comes early and lasts for life. I suppose that's what makes it so scintillating to watch men participate in the most extreme versions of that. It's so contrary to the typical expectations of them... even if they only do it for their job.
And I appreciate it.
And I appreciate it.
Finally, season 9 of RPDR will be back on Friday. I've tried to avoid the performance material of the new cast of queens, so I can delve into that after the first few episodes have aired. I just like to do it that way. Purely based on first impressions from their Meet the Queens introductions, The order by which I'm most intrigued:
- Sasha Velour
- Peppermint
- Alexis Michelle
- Shea Couleé
- Charlie Hides
- Farrah Moan
- Eureka
- Jaymes Mansfield
- Nina Bo Nina Brown
- Valentina
- Aja
- Kimora Blac
- Trinity Taylor
WOO! Can't wait for the list to get flipped all around! Can't wait for Friday!
Until then, ru-watching the PVS!
Until then, ru-watching the PVS!
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