‘All Genders Allowed’
Transgender identity has always existed within society however, in previous years it’s only become more acceptable arguably, through mainstream entertainment exploring and explaining the current zeitgeist. RuPaul’s Drag Race is a huge award-winning pop-cultural prominence that has opened the eyes to people about drag, trans people and the LQBTQ+ community as a whole. It is not only a educative show to watch, but also fun, flamboyant, and it’s an art! It is a personal favourite that I highly recommend.
The show is accepting of all kinds of people, and in past years it has welcomed various transgender drag queens to the stage such as Kylie Sonique Love, Stacy Layne Matthews, Jiggly Caliente, Gia Gunn, Gigi Goode, Gottmik, and many many more! These particular drag queens opened up about what it means to be transgender, and their own personal life experiences, which has helped inspire the lives of others who can relate.
Other forward-thinking recent TV shows include ‘Pose’, a drama set in the 80s and early 90s, exploring the evolution of the underground LGBTQ+ drag balls during the time of the AIDS crisis. You will definitely need your tissues for this show! This show includes a lot of LGBTQ+ actors/actresses and trans actors, including Jiggly Caliente from RuPaul’s Drag Race. One particular actress who has made it in the fashion scene since the show is Dominique Jackson.
Dominique Jackson came from Tobago and from an early age, people could not accept how Jackson felt on the inside compared with how she looked on the outside. She later moved to New York City to pursue her modelling career but overcame many obstacles on the way, such as homelessness and debt; where she had to rely on sex-work to create any sort of income. Jackson says that she had to believe “that these were all tests of her ability to survive,” (Forbes, 2017).
Jackson had to do a lot of modelling for free in the beginning but she knew it would all eventually pay off. In 2009 she was made a resident model in Mercedes Benz fashion week and now she is walking the runways for fashion brand Mugler, her most iconic runway to date.
The fashion industry today is gradually becoming more inclusive to transgender models. It’s more diverse than ever and it represents genders across all of the gender spectrum. Last September US Vogue had their first ever cover with a trans model on – Ariel Nicholson. She was alongside other big names like Bella Hadid. Although, it was seen as a big thing, the model felt like although she is a trans model, it is not all she is. She would want to be known for other things too. Arguably, the fashion industry must be more diverse and inclusive without any glorification, these standards should already be a minimum and regarded as the norm in today’s society.
References
Forbes. 2017. How Trans Fashion Model Dominique Jackson Overcame Homelessness And A $10K Debt. [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/debtfreeguys/2017/11/05/how-trans-fashion-model-dominique-jackson-overcame-homelessness-and-10k-debt/?sh=60d7c94c7a88> [Accessed 4 January 2022].
PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBT+ news. 2021. Dominique Jackson’s gravity-defying runway walk blows fans away. [online] Available at: <https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/04/01/dominique-jackson-mugler-catwalk-runway-video-pose/> [Accessed 4 January 2022].
TheWrap. 2021. RuPaul’s Drag Race: All the Transgender Queens (Photos). [online] Available at: <https://www.thewrap.com/rupauls-drag-race-transgender-contestants-kylie-sonique-love-jiggly-caliente/> [Accessed 4 January 2022].