Good luck with that, I thought.
Even so, I knew what Ru was up against.
LGBTQ life back in those benighted days bore scant resemblance to what it does now.
Credit: Tommy Boy
This was decades before gay marriage.
Or the “It Gets Better” campaign.
Or trans rights of any kind.
Porter Gifford/Liaison/Getty Images.Porter Gifford/Liaison/Getty Images
Hardly any gay characters appeared on TV or in movies.
A more progressive movie likeBrokeback Mountainwas still 21 years away.
It cut across several key subcultures, forcing them closer to the mainstream by sheer will and charm.
That last factor would prove crucial to RuPaul’s wider ascension and impact.
“I thought,I have a freaking Winnebago.
Bailey once told me that part of Ru’s charm was his friendly approach.
“RuPaul is basically Big Bird fromSesame Street,” he said.
“He’s non-threatening and family friendly.”
But you’d be gravely mistaken to confuse “non-threatening” with wimpy or ineffective.
He killed them with sweetness.
The fetching beats, witty lyrics, and winning melodies in his music didn’t hurt either.
All could be found in abundance onSupermodel.
each repeated with intensifying attitude.
Madonna spread word of that subculture further with “Vogue,” and its accompanying music video.
And then there was Ru’s singing.
He wasn’t just a figurehead for the song.
He got inside it, in a voice graced with its own kind of soul.
The hit was hardly the album’s only highlight.
“Back To My Roots,” which hit No.
Ru did this years before Beyonce would start making such declarations a hallmark of her character and presentation.
Ru credits his appearance onThe Arsenio Hall Showthat year with fanning his fame with wildfire swiftness.
the super-popular Eurovision Song Contest.
