Along with her drag performances, Bob is a comedian, actor, activist, musician, songwriter and co-hosts the podcast “Sibling Rivalry” with her drag sister Monét X Change. Photo courtesy of Bust Magazine.
To wrap up Black History Month, the famous Bob the Drag Queen appeared on campus for a Q&A session co-hosted by Student Activities, the Black & Latinx Student Union, the Gender & Sexuality Union and the Days Massolo Center. Bob is best known for winning season eight of the television show,
RuPaul’s Drag Race
, where she won three challenges, including the recurring “Snatch Game,” where each contestant impersonates a celebrity in a game show setting. Along with her drag performances, Bob is a comedian, actor, activist, musician, songwriter and co-hosts the podcast “Sibling Rivalry” with her drag sister Monét X Change.
The event began with a short performance, featuring lots of scatting and some dramatic high notes that had the audience laughing and cheering for more. After the music faded out and a plush chair was brought onstage, Bob sat down and began to answer questions. The topics varied from her support of transgender women as drag queens, crazy stories about bar fights, and possibly returning for another season of
RuPaul’s Drag Race
.
When asked a question regarding activism, Bob responded with an excellent metaphor that compared the United States to a house. She prompted the audience to imagine a group of people living in a house. If the roof of this house suddenly sprang a leak, the obvious response would be to set up a bucket to catch the water and patch the hole. In this metaphor, the people who jump into action to fix the leak are the activists in the U.S. who fight for change to make their country the best it can be. On the other hand, those who stand aside and offer no help, or shout “well, if you hate this country, you can leave!” actually have less love for the house than those who are putting their time and energy into fixing it. Later on, she referenced this metaphor again to argue that ‘Twitter activism’ is just as valid as all other activism, because just as some people cannot physically patch a leak in a roof, some activists may not have the means to go to protests, donate money or spread awareness in person.
In the audience was Anna Arzeno
’
24, who has watched every season of
RuPaul’s Drag Race
and had waited weeks for this event. When asked what her favorite part was, she replied, “my favorite question asked in the Q&A section was about the best advice she had for us; she said that we should always take into consideration the source from where we are getting advice. Like, why are we taking dating advice from our single friends? Her blunt and hilarious attitude made the answer 1000x better.” Anna also explained that “it was one of my favorite events I have gone to on campus. There were so many hits: the interviewers were funny and friendly; Bob looked beautiful and answered everything while enjoying herself; the crowd was excited, respectful, and engaged; everyone looked really cute and happy. Bob seemed so relaxed that I almost forgot that she is literally a celebrity.”
Towards the end of the event, Bob spoke about her gender identity and explained that even though she prefers dressing feminine, she is still nonbinary and that someone’s gender identity does not have to match their pronouns or how they express themselves through fashion. She brought up Prince and how he often wore dresses and stereotypically feminine clothing even though he identified fully as a man.