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Dragrace9/28/2023 The real impact of this moment isn't necessarily the problem that it exposes, but instead, the fact that Kornbread offers a kind of alternative solution to the ways in which Drag Race approaches the lives of its contestants. Trauma that Kerri's conversation – something normally so innocuous in an episode of Drag Race – seems to have brought back to the forefront. None of this is revealed to the other queens when she returns to the Werk Room, she simply talks about the extent to which she "pushed back" a lot of the trauma that comes from talking about family. Kornbread talks about the struggles of finding acceptance saying "I felt like a mistake," and going so far as to acknowledge the presence of suicidal thoughts (a continuing tragedy in the trans community). In talking openly and honestly about them, she doesn't just challenge the extent to which the Werk Room – which, shade aside, tries to be the safest of safe spaces for its contestants – is always the best forum for these things, but in acknowledging the weight that these things can carry. In the – relative, compared to a room full of other queens – privacy of the confessional, Kornbread is able to talk about why it is she finds it difficult, and what it means to still have these feelings lingering in the back of her mind. Drag Race UK just taught TV an important lessonīut Kornbread's confessional moment does more than just that, shining a light not only on the difficulty of exploring the pain of the past but in showing the importance of growing and overcoming it at the right pace.In many ways, what Kornbread does is expose a fatal flaw in the Drag Race formula: the tension that exists between talking openly about trauma, and the extent to which those involved in – or overhearing – the conversations, are able to feel comfortable doing so. Kornbread describes herself as "triggered," and while it might be easy to sidestep this because of the ways in which the term has been misused in so much discourse, there's something vital about the ways in which she approaches talking about this topic, and the language that she uses is an important part of that. This moment with Kornbread runs counter to this idea, and reveals the problem of often throwing the queens into a sudden, and potentially very difficult conversation. This moment is striking in what it reveals about the formula of Drag Race, and the problems that are inherent in it – especially for a show that's spent more and more time over the past few seasons trying to protect and inoculate its contestants from the toxicity that they can face online after appearing on the show. Later, in a confessional, she talks about being "triggered" by what was happening, and feeling like she hadn't worked through the things in her past that she first thought she had. And while every now and then, the hinges of production creak with some heavy-handed transitions, these moments are often the things that allow the queens to get closer to one another, and for the audience to be let in on the lives of the people who bring their all to the stage week after week. The structure of each episode often includes a deep meaningful chat (DMC) between contestants as they get ready to bring it to the runway in a maxi challenge. But for those who don't get that far into the competition, they talk through their issues in The Werk Room. This tends to culminate in the pageantry of finalists talking to images of their younger selves about the things they wish they knew, and the journeys they'll go on. Specifically, because of her Fame Games crowning, no other queen in any of the franchises has this combination of accolades, and that makes LaLa Ri a force all her own.It's what makes a contestant like Jan something of an outlier she was always optimistic, at home in herself, and never really had to deal with the issue of an Inner Saboteur (a Ru-ism for the voice in a queen's head telling them that they aren't good enough). She won both the golden boot, an award given to queens for having the worst outfit on their season, the title of Miss Congeniality on season 13, an award where queens vote for which of their fellow contestants is the most “congenial,” and now the title of Queen of the Fame Games, given to her by the fans. LaLa Ri just might be the most decorated queen in all of Drag Race’s many franchises and spin-offs when it comes to awards. Drag Race All Stars is often seen as a chance for redemption for many queens by fans, and, considering that LaLa Ri was originally awarded for having the worst dress in her original season where she wore a black leotard with pink and lavender party favor bags hot glued to it (a moment that was both confusing and iconic), it’s very fitting that she would be the queen to win a competition for who was the best dressed according to fans.
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