Most of the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race have been gay men, and all of them fall outside the cisgendered definition of male "normalcy." Needless to say, that's made growing up difficult for many of them, and often, the difficulties started at home. Many queens have related stories of parents or step-parents who disapproved of their sexuality or self-expression, and the result was often ostracism, estrangement, and even abuse. Nevertheless, family is family, and most of us would crave some sort of reunion under the right circumstances. That's where Drag Race comes in. The show has facilitated these connections between queens and their families - notably procuring videotaped congratulations from the estranged fathers of Alyssa Edwards and Ginger Minj, bringing the queens to tears. These are some of the most magical moments from a show all about love.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
