Singapore is quite western-washed in term of fashion as we can always see many guys around age 20-30 on the street dressing like Ang Moh (polo shirt + tight shorts + comb back hairstyle) but I bet they don’t realise they look totally different from the Ang Moh they picture themselves to look like.
Ang Moh have sharper facial features + narrower head shape + broader frame in general so they can look good in their style.
But for copycat sinkies especially Chinese have wide/round head + thick hair + no facial hair so they look like a total clown when they try to replicate the Ang Moh look.
The same also goes for girls, want to look more westernised by not wearing any makeups like Ang Moh girls. But I bet they don’t realise Ang Moh girls have very thick eyebrow + long eyelashes in natural so they are still presentable while SG girls especially Chinese looks like literally young aunties.
I bet this is one of the reasons why SG has the least attractive people in Asia bc so many people here look yellow but tried the hardest to paint themselves white instead of putting effort to make their yellow look more eye-pleasing.
SGreans should see more how people from other East Asia countries dress like instead of blindly following how western people dress.

After a chat which lasted 20 minutes, one coworker that is more of a close friend started talking about life in general and I said something about how anxious folks often black out in their mind when they speak which may doesn't make sense to others as our mind is blank but body overactive.
I said "You don't look like someone who's overly anxious" but he said he's diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety which resulted later in life.
I told him about how I was always prone to anxiousness in my early childhood and started showing symptoms seriously when I was 12 with DPDR, depression when I was 13. I told him that I was also diagnosed with depression, insomnia and GAD when I was 16 but also with BPD 4 years ago.
He was confused and said that it's impossible, I had no fall outs, it seems like I have boundaries and principles, I seem sure of myself, I seem very calm and rational.
I find that this is my mask, this is also confirmed by my family. I'd rather die than let someone know how much I'm struggling. I'm the kind of person who's so lost but is grasping onto what they know to elevate anxiety.
Symptoms I share with BPD is impulsiveness but not the strong one, it's like when I'm stressed I start being social, binge drinking, not eat, take psychoactive substances, be more active, pick fights a bit more easily but also prone to uncontrollable SH which did lead to diagnosis. My mood swings aren't bad, it's just that I repress my emotions, just fluctuating confidence and as said by others, one day I laugh at their jokes and be extra social and then the next I could disapprove everything said with judgmental expression even if the joke was the same or like having only one day in a week where I'm extra happy and other days I'm left with no energy and snappy. I have rejection sensitivity and last summer I was exposed as having feelings for someone, I was freaking out but this guy came, heard and left in fury. In the same moment, I felt nothing and just said "Let's play beer pong 1v1" as a way to black out and usually this is how I deal with emotions. However, 2 weeks later we were at the party and I went to the toilet and some guy that likes me also went and this guy said "You must be popular among guys" or something like enjoying the spotlight and I attacked him badly, I said something about how I'm not even that kind of girl, what he even think he's accomplishing with that and that it's disgusting. I don't remember what I say under bout of anger but I also split a lot when I'm close to someone, only then you can see my split. I deal with chronic dissociation, DPDR and some kind of amnesia where I don't remember my life when I was younger than 6 and later from 7-12, it lead to people telling me a lot of stuff which I don't know and it left me confused such as me thinking I spent my childhood in a room with computer playing games just for my dad to say I was very social and wouldn't come home from playing with my friends until dark or also not remembering people who used to visit us constantly which is embarrassing, I've lived here since I was born yet I know no one. Lastly, while I seem to have unshakable identity, it mostly comes from my observations of others and thinking through their motives so I stop everything before it even happens, critical thinking and reacting from fear. I've always had better than average critical thinking skills as said by my first grade teacher in elementary school but I was not aware of that. I have no idea who I am, what I stand for, who I want to be or if I'm even able to be "someone", who I was, am I chill or am I temperamental (people are also confused) and simply my identity is badly separated from my consciousness.
In reality, I'm confused because life seems very... easy going? Yet, I never felt worse, it's like my mental health started seriously degrading last year when I was faced with myself. I had a chaotic childhood which I heard from others. Mom and dad who used to fight and yell while I was sitting in a room next to it with my sister and she said I was dissociated. The reason was my dad's absence due to drinking in a pub and it lasted for few months. I was dragged by my mom to the pub in the middle of the night and when he was absent, she used to wash my hair but I've always had massive fear of water going into my ears, nose and eyes but she was so angry that she would just shove shower head into my face and I'd have meltdowns and couldn't calm myself down. I used to slam the doors and objects when angry because I learned it from my mom. I used to fight a lot, had problem in kindergarten. I was badly teased with abandonment from my dad like leaving me outside of the car and saying he'll leave me in the woods in the middle of nowhere and laughing about it with my friends while I was having a meltdown. One memory of my mom being red in the face, crying and yelling straight to my face "No one in this house freaking helps me" while vacuuming and something about how she's going to leave this house and go back to her parents which was a given in any hard situation. I was a child so I wanted to help so the next day I clean everything on my knees and chair just to be asked "What did you do?!" and her checking everything just to correct me. I was "separated" from my sister by my grandmother as for the privilege because I was younger and undeserving of better stuff. Chaotic bullying, neglect and "I have to have better stuff than you and you don't get to say a word" by my sister but the worst of all, manipulation and blackmail. I was a servant because I didn't know better, I was afraid she'll yet again blackmail me if I don't do something she asked me to do. My feelings were denied because "She's your sister, don't fight" and I was shushed from expressing my anger and hurt but the issue was never addressed by my parents, they always said it's who she is. They all played cards with abandonment and I became VERY afraid of it unconsciously. The ones that I remember is only when I was 6 and 2-3 memories from when I was 9, who knows what was happening in between.
I still don't know a lot of stuff but one that baffled me was 5 years ago, I was told I was sucidal due to my sister and her minimizing her feelings because she was feeling worse and one day she came unannounced to my apartment when I was near breakdown and she told me I just snapped, told her some stuff and kicked her out of apartment. I have no memory of it but considering me from that period, it checks out, she has no reason to lie. I was sick of being treated like a diary without it's own feelings, thoughts, wishes so more of a supportive robot who had to listen and help or otherwise I was the worst person ever.
Life now? They're all supportive. Is it because they realized how bad my mental health was and they felt guilt, I don't know. They're still emotionally unavailable and in some way inconsiderate but not nearly as before. My mom doesn't have anger issues as much as before but she seems very repressed, my dad is still avoidant but gets overly immersed in a role of a caretaker when I have dip in my mental health like uncontrollable crying, my sister says she cares and gives me stuff but I can't see it in an altruistic way. I'm full of paranoia, I still split on them badly because I'm used to their old selves, I can't comprehend the change. That's why I have same patterns as I had in my childhood so I repress everything and dissociate and I can seldom realize it's not appropriate to have them as the situation is extremely different now yet I will go back to the old self the moment it gets heated. However, when I'm not BADLY dissociating, I still find myself being very jumpy when I hear the loud noise which gets me into fight or flight mode, it also happened yesterday. I always fight when there's someone yelling or banging objects, it's something uncontrollable. Other times, I'm in the freeze mode.
I still have disorganized attachment style, I still reject people all the time before I get rejected or made fun of, I doubt people and I can't have feelings for anyone or I'd feel overly vulnerable.
I still don't know about my diagnosis but what if I just have CPTSD instead of BPD? I hate that I still have these patterns even tho the situation is different. If I was not hurt by the past, why do I still carry it into the present? I could have a fulfilling life but the fear is always stopping me.
So, anyone with CPTSD like this?

I just wanted to share my basic prompt design and ask for any ideas/advice from others :)
I think the things I always find more interesting than my own generations are abstract, anthropomorphic (humanoid objects), food art, pixel art, none of which I've really generated myself.
((character)), ((hair colohairstyle)), skin colorace, ((clothing+extras)), (gaze), (action), ((cluttered interesting background:1.2, weathetime location:1.2)), ((full body:1.2)), ((lighting)), alone/crowds
eg;((beautiful young woman)), ((pale pastel styled hair)), tan skin, ((hoodie)), (looking away), (leaning against a wall), ((cluttered interesting background:1.2, raining city street:1.2)), ((full body:1.2)), ((soft light, glow)), alone
And then adding my negative prompt and negative models, mostly "bad-hands-5"
​
Scenes:
Bedroom

Studying Lying in bed Wrapped Towel Painting 

River

Washing Fishing 

Park

Picnic 

Hunting
Aquarium

Watching fish 

Forest

Running Lying down Living in Camping Pond Swimming Bathing 

Island

Camping Survival 

City Street

Bike-riding Race Walking Raining 

Mall

Shopping Changing Clothes 

Space

Floating Needing Rescue Spaceship Corridors Cockpit Spacestation Floating Working 

Desert

Walking Lying down Cave 

Anchient Ruins

Exploring 

DND Dungeon

Exploring Fighting Traps 

Castle

Sitting Walking Magic Princess Queen 

Summoning Room(Round stone room with ritual circle)

Sitting Shocked 

House Party

Drinking Swimming 

Sky

Flying Falling 

Restaurant

Waitress Cook 

Kitchen

Cook 

Stage

Guitar Singing Cosplay Fashion Bodypaint 

Beach

Swimming Surfing Suntan Boardwalk 

Ocean

Diving Boat Ship Luxury Liner 

Science Lab

Experimented On Traumatized Scientist Creatures 

Apocalypse

Walking Survive Scavanging Weapons 

Disaster

Flood Storm Burning Town Earthquake Metorite 

​
Character Type
Girl
Woman
Fairy
Dryad
Elf
Jedi
Slime
Dragon
Catgirl
Beastgirl
Foxgirl
Superhero
Xmen Mutant
Cleopatra
VTuber, Streamer
Android
Dragon Newt
**Cute Monster Creature
Ultra Realistic Pokemon

Pikachu Bulbasaur Charmander Vulpix Rapidash Eevee 

Bone Monster
Bone Collector
Skin Walker
Xenomorph
Software Developer
Veterinarian
Physical Therapist
Graphic Designer
Waitress
Nurse
Doctor

Hair Dresser Towel
Hairdresser towels are an essential tool in the beauty industry. They are used to dry, clean, and style hair, and play a vital role in ensuring a professional and hygienic service. In this article, we will explore the importance of hairdresser towels and their role in the beauty industry.
Hairdresser towels come in a variety of sizes and materials. The most common types of hairdresser towels are made from cotton, microfiber, or a blend of the two. Cotton towels are soft and absorbent, making them a popular choice for hairdressers. Microfiber towels are also highly absorbent and lightweight, making them a popular choice for salons that require frequent washing and drying.
One of the most important aspects of hairdresser towels is their hygiene. Hairdressers must ensure that their towels are clean and free from bacteria to prevent the spread of infection. Towels should be washed after each use and dried thoroughly before reuse. Many salons use a color-coding system to differentiate between clean and used towels, ensuring that each towel is used only once before being washed.
Hairdresser towels also play a crucial role in the styling process. Towels are used to dry hair before cutting, coloring, or styling. They are also used to protect the client's clothing from hair and product. In addition, hairdresser towels are often used to create different hairstyles, such as curling or straightening.
In recent years, hairdresser towels have become more eco-friendly. Many salons now use towels made from recycled materials, reducing waste and supporting sustainable practices. In addition, some salons use washable, reusable towels to reduce their environmental impact.

They cause so many problems in fandoms but solo stans are so funny sometimes in their quest to make their fave the most victimized person in the group and maybe the entire planet. You’ll see them making up problems and straight up ignoring information from the idol themselves (ex. BTS Jungkook solos ignoring the fact that he just wants to chill in his house and acting like Bang PD locked him in there and banned him from his studio so he can’t make music 😔). I’ve seen them email the company over issues like hair length and say their fave is being forced into this hair style and it’s causing them distress! none of the other members are oppressed this way!
I recently saw a TXT HueningKai solo stan claim he was bullied by the other TXT members since debut, which is probably the funniest TXT bullying rumor you could make up given that all the members are varying levels of obsessed with him 😭 i’m kind of obsessed with how these solos can make up stuff with no basis in reality lol. Although they’re annoying, once you take a step back whatever they’re saying is usually hilarious (as long as it’s not vicious hatred directed at the members of course!)

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 20%. (I'm a bot)

A high school in western Japan refused to allow a student to formally attend his graduation ceremony for wearing his hair in cornrows, a popular African American hairstyle, local educational authorities said Tuesday.
The public high school in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, instead made the 18-year-old boy sit alone in a balcony at the back of the venue and told him not to respond even if his name was called at the Feb. 27 ceremony, according to the prefectural board of education.
The school told the board of education that the student had not explained "His ethnic background and the reason for wearing cornrows."
The school had earlier told the student to cut his hair as it was too long and in violation of school rules that called for "Tidy and student-like" hairstyles.
"The response could have been different had there been prior consultation," an education board official said, adding the decision to exclude the student "Lacked a supportive attitude and educational consideration."
Japan gov't considering mask-free school graduation ceremonies.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: school^#1 student^#2 education^#3 board^#4 told^#5
Post found in /japannews and /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 20%. (I'm a bot)

A high school in western Japan refused to allow a student to formally attend his graduation ceremony for wearing his hair in cornrows, a popular African American hairstyle, local educational authorities said Tuesday.
The public high school in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, instead made the 18-year-old boy sit alone in a balcony at the back of the venue and told him not to respond even if his name was called at the Feb. 27 ceremony, according to the prefectural board of education.
The school told the board of education that the student had not explained "His ethnic background and the reason for wearing cornrows."
The school had earlier told the student to cut his hair as it was too long and in violation of school rules that called for "Tidy and student-like" hairstyles.
"The response could have been different had there been prior consultation," an education board official said, adding the decision to exclude the student "Lacked a supportive attitude and educational consideration."
Japan gov't considering mask-free school graduation ceremonies.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: school^#1 student^#2 education^#3 board^#4 told^#5
Post found in /worldnews and /japannews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

A Peculiarly Vivid but Disturbing Dream
​
I seem to be in a small rural town/city by a lakeside; feels like it is happening some years ahead from now. It was sometime in the afternoon, weather was cloudy. People are wondering about a sudden appearance of a plasma-like gray cloud that looked like a gigantic storm cloud gathering. It seemed alive because it was behaving like a cluster of tiny particles that don't react to the wind but moved on its own.
​
It stayed there for maybe an hour and suddenly a gigantic ship that looked like a sinewy and crude formation of an aircraft made of metallic ribbons. It didn't make any sense. But the overall design, was similar to a humanoid with outstretched arms at the sides as if they are wings or vice versa, but hands were tapered all the way to the tip, not showing any signs of fingers. The tailfin looked like loosely rolled flat coils.
​
As the giant shipped emerged from the gigantic cloud (or perhaps the cloud morphed into this gigantic ship), it crashed straight onto the lake. Everyone was running frantically trying to escape the impending mini tidal wave that would ravage the town. I barely escaped the rush of the first wave by meandering through the streets with arching walkways.
​
Then it rained, to be more specific, it rained lake droplets that splashed out of the crash. Interestingly, there was a tinge of red in the liquid, as if it was blood. I happened to accidentally taste it as it rained on everything. Everyone rushed to find shelter. After a while of cleaning up in an adhoc shelter from an empty apartment room, we heard someone call out to us. There was some rattling and tinkering noises and the hysterical woman was madly pointing on the floor.
​
On the floor were what seemed like a small pile/clump of plastic items and random junk. But what is supposed to be inanimate objects, they were wiggling and moving like insects. They had black tendrils embedded in them but slightly exposed. The tendrils formed what seem to look like antennae and spinal cord and crude legs. It was truly a strange sight: a crawling razor beside wiggling hair curlers. There were dozens of them. And it was interesting at best, and disturbing at worst.
​
A sudden loud banging and crashing could be heard a little later. Upon checking, one neighbor was wrestling with his car, which seemed to be, like the random trinkets earlier, alive! One pickup was intent on bumping onto random people outside.
​
It was all confusing, and a mob was soon seen rushing as if trying to escape from something. As the crowd drew nearer, above them were a dozen flying humanoid that looked like the ship earlier. They were flying above everyone and attacked some people.
​
They had a strange way of engaging. One was seen slashing a person from behind, and they seem like they meant to attack only from behind people. It seemed to slash in a specific way as if it's doing some ritualistic sign. The person who was hit immediately grew the same lack tendrils on their spine and sometimes some tendrils extend through the skin. That person would then hunt for another person and do the same thing as was done on it.
​
A bit later they were after me. There was a bit of a struggle and they managed to hit me but for some reason, they were not done with the same 'steps'. I took a pause, expecting the inevitability of some rabid instinct to inflict the same on others. But I was just kneeling on the floor, pausing and waiting for the worst. Nothing happened while the infected around me were distracted with other screaming people.
​
This is were the dream ended and it felt real. As to what this might mean I haven't the slightest idea. If anyone has any interesting interpretation, I'd love to hear them.
https://preview.redd.it/bmrr7oxo7mqa1.jpg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e892d04fddbb18ce05e1acd87bf92f00f8a00ba4

Race: White futa
Height: 4’ 11”
Weight: 145 lbs
Build: Thick athletic
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Long straight brown hair down to mid I’m
Her weight is mostly concentrated on her thighs, butt, and breasts but she has bit of a tummy. Perky DD cups but they’ve still been steadily growing. My ass is huge for my size. Her cock is a footlong, smooth and a bit thinner, like a paper towel roll when shes hard. Although the level of her arousal seems to make her grow even more. Big clementine sized balls that cause her to be leaking precum most of the time. So much so that she has to wrap her head in tissue paper when she knows she’s going to be out for a while, so it doesn’t leak through her pants.

I have long, straight hair, and a lot of it. I've been working on improving my hair care routine and I'm interested in wrapping it for bed, but I don't even know where to start?
Do I go silk or satin? One article will say that silk can strip the oils from your hair, and that satin is better. Another will say that silk is the gold standard and satin is a cheap substitute.
Do I use a bonnet, a scarf or a turban? In pictures, bonnets look like their best suited for very curly hair with lots of volume. They also look like they might leave marks on the forehead like a shower cap. But they're also maybe the easiest? How do you keep them on at night? How do I wrap the scarf?
Do I wrap my hair wet or dry? If wet, how wet?
I... I just need some help here. This feels like a totally new realm.

To even the most casual of observers, it was immediately clear that Leo was not just an ordinary earthworm. While few would notice the light tells like the oddly aware way he inspected his surroundings and unusually graceful movement, none could overlook the spiffy top hat resting on top of his... well, front end. Even if someone were to assume that someone merely decided to put a tiny hat on a worm for fun, those conceptions would be dashed aside the moment he wriggled his body to open an interdimensional portal in front of him and wriggled into it in search of adventure.
The calmness of the meadow was disturbed ever so slightly when a small blue portal appeared near the ground, accompanied by the sound similar to cloth being torn, and a worm plopped out of it. Leo looked around his surrounding to see where he had ended up this time. Seeing the tall grass, the cool dirt, the clear sky... everything about it felt familiar; like a home he never knew. He could feel that this place was perfect for many other earthworms; he also realised that this made it the perfect hunting ground for animals that would feast upon them.
Such as the bird that had locked onto him just seconds after he arrived. It flew into action with staggering speed intent on consuming Leo whole, top hat or not. Its wings made barely any sound. Most would not hear it at all, but it did not get past Leo's honed senses. He turned towards the hastily approaching predator and with the lightest of movements opened up another portal right between him and the feathered attacker. The bird had no time to react, no time to adjust course, and flew straight in, disappearing. Leo took one last look around the meadow and squirmed into the other side of the portal.
Seconds later, another portal opened up a few meters away and out of it flew a very confused bird that decided it'd be best to ignore the entire affair.
As soon as Leo exited his new portal, he knew something was amiss, different. He felt... weightless, and noticed his top hat started to float away. He coiled his body around it, securing it, and looked around, finding a window with the grandest of views he had ever seen.
It was a void of blackness in the centre of which was a planet of green and blue, clouds covering massive portions of it. He could see how the wind moved these clouds around, how they shifted, merged, split, a ballet of movement that gave a whole new meaning to the weather he was used to. It was a most enjoyable sight - one that was again cut short when he realized he was being watched. He turned his body towards the observer - a man floating in the air, his hair standing above his hand as if he was floating in water. From his open mouth and wide-eyed look, it was more than obvious the man did not expect to see an earthworm. Deciding not to cause any trouble, Leo quietly opened another portal, but having no control over the speed of his movement, the two awkwardly stared at one another as Leo slowly floated towards the small blue circle and finally disappeared.
Following the bird's line of thinking, the man rubbed his eyes and looked again, seeing nothing - certainly not an earthworm. Perhaps he was too tired and mistook a shadow for something else. After all, how could an earthworm be on the ISS? Preposterous.
Leo's latest portal took him to a comfortable apartment in a highrise. Finding himself right next to a window, he looked out and saw something he had never seen before. A city - but not one made out of mushrooms and roots, but metal and glass. The building he found himself in must have been among the tallest as he could see far and wide and admire the different rooftops and streets, the busy traffic and pedestrians making it seem like a gigantic beehive. Though it was not as familiar as the meadow and not as grand as the strange floaty place, it was oddly enchanting to Leo. He spent the most time here, though that was partially because no one interrupted his observations. When he finally had his fill, he decided to open one final portal and squirmed into it.
The destination on the other end was familiar. The top of a hill with an exquisite view of the bioluminescent fungal city he knew so well. Not too from where he landed sat a girl that turned around and noticed his arrival.
"Leo!" she said with a smile. "There you are. Exploring again?"
Leo merely inched towards her without responding - with the two knowing each other so well, the question was clearly rhetorical. She smiled and picked him up, putting him on her shoulder. He coiled up and rested. It was a good day. He saw new places, met new creatures, but in the end...
There's no place like home.
​
​
​
​
This story is about Leo the Earthworm, a recurring character in commissions I do.

Collection
For me, it is still too early. I went to bed at daybreak. I can’t define the man through the peephole of the door. I’m dizzy, and can’t make out the person there, inside a suit and a tie, his face bloated by the lens. It must be something important, because I heard the bell ringing a few times. Once when I was coming to the door and at least three times in my dream. I try focusing my eye, and start to think that I know that face from a confused and distant time. Or maybe I got to the peephole still sleeping and know the face from when it still belonged to the dream. There’s the beard. It may be possible that I had already seen this face without the beard. But the beard is so solid and rigorous that it looks previous to the face. The suit and the tie also bother me. I do not know a lot of people who dress in a suit and tie, let alone with such straight hair down to his shoulder. People in suits and ties who I know, sit behind a desk or a counter. They are not people who come knocking at my door. I try to imagine the man clean shaven and wearing a T-shirt. I try to discount the warping of the peephole, and it is always somebody familiar but very difficult to recognize. And his face like that, frontal and static blurs my judgment even more. It’s not even the face, it is more the identity of the face which differs from the true face the more you know the person. That immobility is his best disguise. At least for me.
I back off cautiously, walking through the apartment as if under water. I will slip back to bed certain that the man will end up capitulating, convinced that there is nobody home. But I don’t even cross the imaginary division between living and bedroom and the bell rings again. Now I can’t sleep with the image of the man fixed at my door. I’m back to the peephole. I must spot a mistake, an impatient gesture, which will denounce him, permitting me to connect the gesture to the person. But for as long as I am there he does not touch the bell, does not look at his phone, does not light a cigarette, does not take his eyes off the peephole. Now it becomes clear to me that he’s been seeing me this whole time. Through the peephole, in reverse. He sees me as a concave man. That’s how he saw me arriving, gluing my eye to the peephole and trying to decipher him. He saw me flee in slow motion, in large movements, he saw me coming back with my face contorted. And see that he sees me. He knows me better than I know him. Because I know only that he is not what he appears to be, a salesman, a solicitor, a secret service agent. But he knows me enough to understand that I would be willing to open my door to a complete stranger, but I would never open the door to somebody who wants to come in.
At this point he is very much aware that it is worthless. That he can’t fool me anymore. That I will not open the door. That I’m capable of dying here in silence. Capable of rotting right here in front of his standing skeleton. So he shakes his head and leaves my field of vision. And it is in this last glimpse that I identify him with full evidence, just to forget him immediately. The only thing I know is that he was somebody who was with me long ago, but who I should never have seen, because he was somebody who one day shook his head and left my field of vision, a long time ago.
My sleepiness is lost. From the window of my fifth floor, I can peek at the sidewalk of my building. The man suddenly appears, stops at the curb, and doesn’t raise his eyes to look at my window, as I would do if I were him. The person who spent so much time in my hallway, he should have taken a peek even if he knew it would be for nothing. He should have looked to see if any light was on, an undefined form behind the glass looking down at him. He should have looked automatically, out of a twitch of hope.
The only reason he would not look, is if he knew he was being watched. He knows that I see him calling an Uber, hop into the front seat, and tell the driver to turn at the first right. I dress myself in a hurry calculating that at this moment he has stopped at the red light of the opposite corner. Calculating that I would be dressing in a hurry he tells the driver to go turn right again, and again and again. He would complete the round around the block predicting that I would be at the elevator with my shirt still unbuttoned. But I button my shirt at the window, watching the Uber take the last turn at the corner.
He should be getting out of the car while I slam my apartment door decisively, the Uber driver telling him to go screw himself because of the stupid ride. He’ll be frustrated for not catching me in the lobby. He’d ask the security guard about me, but now I’m between the third and the fourth floor going downstairs slowly, because of a burnt light bulb. The security guard, listening to the radio, will answer that it is not his business to know the affairs of the residents. I get to the second floor while he takes the elevator after pushing the “open door” bottom more than forty times. Close to the lobby, I cross over the light coming from the street, climbing the stairs through the crack of the fire exit door. At the end of the stairs, I lose my step. I step on the light and cross the lobby stumbling. He is in my hallway. He would not ring the bell this time but destroy my doorknob. I am on the opposite driveway.
I do not need to look back to the fifth floor to know that he stares at me from my window. He would see me picking up the pace and disappear turning on the first left. He will call the elevator, the Uber but will not be able to convince the new driver to chase me down the wrong way. He will try a parallel route, but I will take a tunnel, surface in another neighborhood, and breathe new airs. He will get stuck in traffic while I climb a mountain, the shelves of forests and high invisible mansions from where I can see the whole city.

I have another update to something I have been posting about for a while, so I am going to combine everything into one post now with date stamps. Tldr: My house feels haunted by something that seems to be focusing on my infant daughter.
August, 2022
I am up with my daughter in the nursery in the middle of the night, and I hear the distinct sound of someone coming from downstairs, opening drawers in the kitchen, and then what sounded like they were cutting veggies or something? My parents are staying with us for a few weeks to help with the new baby, and the guest room is downstairs so I figure it's my Mom getting snacks? But all of a sudden my hair stands on end, because something doesn't feel right. Now there's this overwhelming sense that someone is in my house. I got up to walk to the kitchen (it is just out of sight from where I was sitting in the nursery,) and as soon as my foot crosses the threshold of the nursery doorway, the noise abruptly stops. I go to the kitchen and there is nobody. Then I get this weird feeling that whatever was making that sound may have been trying to lure me away from my little girl. I walked straight back into her room and checked on her, and she is fine but i am freaking out by this point. I went to check our cameras to see if anyone had gotten up, and both upstairs cameras had been turned off. Guys. I know that I 100% heard someone in the kitchen. I'm still sitting here with my daughter, and not sure what to make of all this, but I'm freaked out.
January, 2023
Well, things had really died down and I haven't noticed anything for a while. But recently some new things have started happening. Namely, items in her room have been falling off shelves. I would notice things were strangely on the floor like a stuffed animal or her white noise machine. I know this seems rather innocuous, and it seemed that way to me too. Until I saw it actually happen. I was standing in the nursery holding my daughter when the baby monitor fell to the floor. It would actually be more accurate to say it looked like it was pushed off the ledge it sits on, and it hit the ground a few feet away, rather than directly underneath where it sits as you would expect something falling on its own to do. And just now I heard a loud noise on the baby monitor, and on the corner of the video feed you can see a large package of formula in her closet fall to the floor. The package is of tins of formula, not something that tips over easily. I'm getting concerned that whatever was happening before is back in some way. And it scares me that my baby seems to be at the center of this.
March, 2023
Today, while I was feeding my daughter, she choked on her food (like full on, my wife ran to get the de-choker and I ripped her out of her high chair and gave back thrusts until she got it out.) I held her and calmed her down, and just as it gets quiet, my wife and I and I both distinctly hear a child laughing from somewhere in the house. When i heard it i looked up at her and she was giving me the same look and we both whispered in unison, "what the FUCK was that?" I havent told my wife about the other things i have been noticing. I still don't know what is going on. Whatever it is, I don't think it caused my daughter to choke on her food. But I think it enjoyed it.

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The further we get from S14, the more I realize I love it. It is far and away my favorite post-S6 season. What's more, I even enjoyed it as it aired (!), and didn't have to learn to love it after the fact (as many of us did with S7 and S11). Why was S14 so great? Let's dive in.
(Also- I'm going to compare S14 to S15 a lot, b/c S15 is in my recent memory. This is not a S15 diss post!!! I have *moderately* enjoyed S15. It is better than S13 at least).
Possible reasons:

• Very strong cast that was edited well. I'd like to break down the idea of a "strong cast" a bit further. A "strong cast" doesn't just mean queens that are good drag queens or good at drag race. It means queens that are compelling characters to watch on drag race as a TV show. What are the characteristics that contribute to that?

1. Strong personality in werkroom/on stage, or being a good narratogiving good confessional (ex. Katya, Gia Gunn, Bianca Del Rio)
2. Edited to have coherent narrative that involves conflict and/or growth- either internal, with the show, or with another contestant (ex. Adore, Laganja, Gottmik)
3. Provide unique and/or emotionally compelling drag in segments of the show that allow queens to have individual creative authority (ex. Anetra's lip syncs, BendelaCreme's Snatch Games, Symone's runway package, Willow's talent show performance)
4. Provide stellar but standard performances in run of the mill challenges on the show (ex. Courtney's Rusical performance, Loosey's Joan Rivers Snatch Game, Bianca's roast set)
5. Deliver "so bad it's good" challenge performances, (ex. LalaRi's Bag Ball look, Kahmora Hall's acting challenge performance, Sugar and Spice's Snatch Games)

Let's compare a few season to see how queens stack up according to these characteristics. If a queen only somewhat fulfilled a characteristic, I put it in parentheses ().
​

Season 14	Season 6	Season 15
June Jumbalaya (1), 2	Magnolia 1	Irene (1)
Alyssa Hunter (3)	Kelly 5	Poppy
Kornbread 1, 2, 3	Vivacious 1, 3	Sugar 2, (3), 5
Orion (2)	April 3	Amethyst 3
Maddy (1), 2, 3	Gia 1, 2	Robin
Kerri 1, 3	Milk 1, 2, 3, (4)	Aura (1)
Jasmine 2, 3	Laganja 1, 2, (4)	Jax 3
Jorgeous (1), 3	Trinity 2, 3, (4)	Spice (1), 2, (3), 5
Deja, 1, 4	Joslyn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Malaysia (2)
Daya 1, 2, 3, 4	Bendela 1, 2, 3, (4)	Marcia 2, 3, (4)
Bosco 1, 2, 3, 4	Darienne 1, 2, 4	Salina 1, (2), (5)
Angeria 1, (3), 4	Courtney 1, 2, (3), 4	Loosey (1), 2, 4, (5)
Lady Camden 1, 2, 3, 4	Adore 1,2, 3, 4	Luxx 1, 2, 4
Willow 1, (2), 3, 4	Bianca 1, 2, 3, 4	Mistress 1, 2, 4
		Anetra 1, 2, 3, 4
		Sasha 1, 3, 4

​
Looking at S14 and S6 as compared to S15, a big difference we can see is that the early outs have multiple characteristics to their names, especially the number 1. characteristic- a big personality. Of course, S15 suffers *a lot* in this regard from its giant cast and shortened run time.
Another thing that S14 and S6 share is that most queens have the 3. characteristic- they showcase drag perspectives or performances that feel unique on Drag Race. Ex. Alyssa and April both have very strong and interesting runway packages. Kornbread delivered a stellar talent show performance. Vivacious, with her background in the NYC club kid scene, was a style of queen we hadn't seen on drag race before. This is another place that S15 really suffers- we just haven't seen most of the queens do anything really uniquely interesting this season. The only exceptions to that have been Anetra, Sasha, and Jax's lipsyncs, Marcia and Anetra's talent show performances, Sasha's first acting challenge, and, dare I say it... Amethyst's snatch game as Tan Mom (that one might be a personal preference lol).
Lastly, with S6 and S15, we can see that almost all of the late-out/finalist girlies have most of the characteristics. On S15, Anetra is the only one that does. I definitely think this a reason why she is so popular in the fandom right now. I also think this shows why Sasha has gotten less popular in the fandom as the season has gone on- she hasn't had any sort of narrative arc (characteristic 2) on the show. Even though Willow didn't have conflict with other girls or with herself on the show, in her confessionals, she presented the meta-narrative of having conflict with the show itself- she had to play the long game and gradually acclimate the judges and the show to the weirder and more interesting parts of her drag. Bianca, though she had a similar competitive arc (dominating the competition) and character archetype (statesman of drag, too big for the show) to Sasha, had a much stronger narrative arc- she had lots of conflict with the younger girls on the season, and gradually had to learn to care for them and not present herself as a stone cold b*tch. Sasha is amazing, and fully realized, and not afraid to be stupid from the get-go, and... not that interesting of a Drag Race character.
​

• This is more cut and dry- S14 had a lot of great lip syncs, from a lot of different queens, to multiple types of songs. (Again, contrast this to S15- we've had good lip syncs, but they've all been similar high energy pop numbers, delivered by the same 3 queens).

1. Deja in "Fallin'"
2. Jasmine in "Sugar Mama" (this was the only valid use of the floor hump move (Sorry, Anetra))
3. Lady Camden in "One Way or Another"
4. Jasmine and Jorgeous in "Something's Got a Hold on Me"
5. Camden in "Don't Let Go"

​

• Unique challenges, good performances from the cast in standard challenges, and challenges that manage to reference and make fun of the lore of the show without becoming entirely recursive.
• Unique challenges

1. Lip Sync Lalaparuza (since this is the first time we saw it in a non-all-stars season, with actual stakes attached to it)

• Good performances in "standard" challenges

1. "Menzeses" (this was the panel hosting challenge)
2. 60s Girl Groups
3. Moulin Ru: the Rusical
4. The Ross Matthews Roast (I'm not sure we've had such a large group of good roast performances since S5)

• Good "reference but not recursive" challenges

1. "She's a Super Tease"- allowed queens to poke fun at previous character archetypes and drama on the show, gave queens individual creative power to decide how they wanted to do it
2. "Save a Queen"- brought back queens that the audience could already connect with, let current queens interact with them and build commercials that played with and made fun of the moments they were known for on their original seasons.
3. "Daytona Winds"- made fun of the way the show's acting challenges had become somewhat earnest affairs in overracting that had moved away from the show's original premise of acting challenge as parody

Note: "Daytona Winds 2" in S15 is a great example of a Drag Race challenge that is *too* recursive.
​

• The judges, especially RuPaul, like this group of queens. There are a lot of queens this season that are confident onstage and in front of the judges (Willow, Bosco, Camden, Angeria, Deja, Daya, Kerri, Kornbread, Jorgeous), and this enables the judges to be more comfortable and playful with the contestants. For example, contrast S14's "Who murdered Snatch Game" scene to like... *all* of the judging on UK3. Completely different vibes, and S14's is eminently more enjoyable to watch. (For what it's worth, S14 is also relatively devoid of queen archetypes that Ru doesn't like, I'll get into that later though).

​

• S14 definitely *does* have pacing issues, but there are very few individual episodes that I don't care for. I don't care about the first ball, or the opening talent show episodes, but that's about it. As for queens not going home... the twist to bring back the first eliminated queens is redeemed by what a great character Daya makes herself into. The episodes where no one goes home, while stalling the momentum of the season, are individually some of the best episodes in the season, with various redeeming qualities (Daytona Wind, Menzeses, Snatch Game, Moulin Rouge). I think S14's competitive tension, much like S6, suffers the most in the last couple episodes- by the Ross Matthews Roast, the frontrunners (Willow, Camden) and finalists (Angeria, Bosco, Daya) are set. The major character arcs of the season have concluded. We don't lose much by losing Deja and Jorgeous. What remaining competitive tension might be salvaged in "Catwalk"- will Daya become a frontrunner? which of the top 5 will be eliminated?- is completely neutered by throwing another win to Camden and allowing a top 5. Bad job editors. That said, the top queens and their performances still make these episodes fun.

​

• The top 5 queens, for the most part, are strong characters, good performers, do interesting drag, and are edited well on the show, and the top 3 did things that were completely novel to the show.

​
Angeria is the only one who suffers here. Her competitive narrative on the show doesn't really progress beyond the first few episodes. She emerges as an early frontrunner and...that's about it. She's fun in confessionals, but she has a pretty laidback personality, so she doesn't get into fights with other girls and build her narrative that way. Her drag persona (backwoods glamorous pageant queen who has a bit of a silly edge) is fairly well-realized, familiar on the show, and established early on in the season. We don't learn anything new about Angeria after the first few episodes. She's a good enough performer to stay in the top for most of the season, but she's not quite canny enough to channel her own style or personality through the Drag Race challenges in ways that would make her stand out, beyond her initial talent show performance. The dichotomy between pageant glamour and a silly personality *is* interesting, but the show's not really interested in exploring that. On the runway, her aesthetic is top of the line pageant drag. It's good and lands on the side of "expensive and elegant" pageant-wear over "expensive and tacky" pageant-wear... but it is pageant-wear and we've seen it before. I don't know if Angie would be a great pitch for All Stars, and I don't know that her WtW would go outside the pageant-queen high-kick/strut box, but I would love to see her on a DragCon panel or a podcast.
Bosco's greatest virtue to the season is as a narrator- whether in challenges (Menzeses, Roast), confessionals, or on the main stage with the judges. Bosco's also not afraid to narrate her own inner turmoil (it is her brand of comedy), which is fantastic, given that her latter season arc has her ping-ponging between top and bottom placements in an ever more fragile metal state. Does her competitive narrative ever really have legs after the Rusical? Nope. Camden absolutely kneecaps her. And a standout Roast performance can only redeem so many bra and panty sets. But do I care? Nope. Bosco still makes the journey fun for us. What's more, we don't get many burlesque queens on the show that make it far, so while the bra and panty sets were repetitive unto Bosco, they still felt more interesting to me than a lot of Deja's takes that ranged in the "this popular drag designer made this for me and 20 other queens, but the other 19 paid more for it" and "Jiggly might have worn this on S4" styles, or the back half of Angeria's pageant closet. Even when Bosco's fashion was bad, it was interesting. That short short little wig? I still don't know how I feel about it. The last episode's crylon Judy Jetson space hooker hunger games mom, *with* the short short little wig? Nothing has ever been so delightfully crunchy. Bosco will be an absolute blast on all stars, the bras and panties will be ever more expensive, and she'll come a lovely 3rd alternate ala Jujubee.
Daya- rarely in recent seasons have we gotten a good villain storyline, even more rarely did the villain become an antihero, and never until Daya did we get a queen that battled back from: first bootness, a family connection to an earlier season queen the judges considered "superlative," and the producers' disinterest in her and dismissal as a filler queen. The fandom loves Daya and rightfully so. Daya showed in spite of all of that that she could produce great TV and be a great drag race queen. I would also count Daya's aesthetic eye as second only to Willow's this season (babydoll dresses aside. we all have our weaknesses.) Daya delivered several standout looks that took a defined aesthetic and gave it a distinctly Daya twist (chaps look, KISS look, catwalk video, final runway). I have no complaints with Daya, only with the producers' treatment of her. They continued to do her dirty! Her narrative would've been better served by a final win in "Catwalk," which in turn with her finale performance, should've propelled her to the final 2 over Camden. That aside, can't wait to see what she'll do on All Stars. Will she win? I have complete faith in Daya. I have 0% faith in the editors. Look for a weird joint-style win ala Trinity and Monet in All Stars 4.
​
Willow- there is no doubt to me that Willow ran S14 just as much as Symone ran S13 or Sasha is running S15, but it wasn't smothering in the way that 13 or 15 felt. Granted, Willow had better, more interesting competition. But Willow was also super savvy. She didn't need all the screentime or talk from competitors in the world to make it clear that she was a winner, not when she put her screentime to such good use. Though Willow was comparatively quiet and laidback, she was never boring. (Her edit was a *little* boring. Just a steady upward trajectory. But sue me for liking a bitch who knows she's in her top era!). She was great in confessional, with a sense of humor- blunt, morbid, and a bit smug- not often seen on drag race. In drag, she showed that she could be a great drag race queen (Super Tease, Menzezes, ball challenges, Daytona Winds), great at fitting her own aesthetic into drag race challenge roles (Green Fairy in Moulin Ru, 60s Girl Groups), and most importantly, an interesting queen outside of drag race.
Any time that Willow was able to deliver her own signature drag on the show, she was doing something completely unique to what we've seen on Drag Race. Let's go through the highlights:

• Talent show performance: Willow's talent show performance is visceral in a great way- digging into spaghetti with bare hands, tossing it in the bath, tossing the toaster and then herself in the bath- these are all actions that evoke very strong emotions- gluttony, disgust, horror, fear- specifically as they connect to the body and physical sensation. These are not emotions the Drag Race (vs. Dragula) generally draws on. Disgust appears on drag race occasionally, but typically in cheap jokes that are pretty played out (ex. feigning disgust at the scent of a vagina). And for a show that is based around the malleability of the body, Drag Race is remarkably squeamish about bodily sensations beyond sexual arousal (ex. feigning an orgasm is always ok, but making a fart joke or wearing a dress with period blood is not). However, there's a good reason that drag outside of Drag Race is often interested in evoking negative emotions. Emotions like disgust, shame, horror, and fear are strong enough to produce bodily sensations, often the same ones that lust or love produce. The body and its nervous system are great at crossing wires, so this means that these negative emotions do often become sexual referents in the form of kink. Willow doesn't draw on that sexual association in her talent show beyond the aesthetic juxtaposition of a hot girl in a bikini shoving her face with pasta, but...
• She gets into it a bit more in her lyrics for "Bad Boy Baby"- "His body is splattered on the asphalt/Yeah but it's kind of hot/Like he dropped a hot bowl of spaghetti." The lyrics explicitly intertwine the emotion of lust with the body, gore, horror, and disgust.
• A couple of Willow's runways also play towards the emotions associated with kink, in a way we haven't seen on the show before. Again, for a show that plays a lot with sexual presentation and attraction, Drag Race doesn't give much due to fetish beyond the very mainstream themes of leather, latex, bondage, and whips. I'd really argue that these themes are so mainstream as to have become largely divorced outside of explicit BDSM settings from their invoked emotional referents- fear, pain, anticipation, helplessness- that provoke bodily sensation. Willow's latex hair wedgie Matrix outfit (wow what a combo of words), and hobble panty dress for the Heart On runway are fresh takes on kink on the show.
• A *lot* of Willow's runway presentation deals with bodily distortion and the separation of the body from a cohesive whole into its component parts (ex. the latex wedgie with disembodied hands to hold her hair, spring runway with head trapped in a house, 2nd ball challenge outfit with crazy long arms, Donatella lips on frills runway, all 3 finale outfits- intro catwalk, I hate people, final lipsync). And yet again, Drag Race has historically been willing to play with bodily proportion and distortion... but only in the hyper-feminine direction of more hips and tits, and played out plastic surgery jokes.

All this to say is a was a lot of fun to see Willow turn drag race tropes on their heads. And Willow's just really good. She's an underrated winner. I wouldn't want to see her on Drag Race again, or work the world. She's way too cool for the Drag Race brand. She would be cool even if she never did drag again. I will very happily go see anything she independently produces.
​
I've saved Camden for last, because if you thought this post was already way too long, watch me write another 5000 words about drag race and its relationship with male drag. But before I get into all that, let's talk about Camden as a drag race character.
If Daya is the girl production hated, Camden is the girl they loved. I love a hidden frontrunner storyline, and production did a great job with Camden's. Once her edit picked up steam in Daytona Winds, it didn't slow down again. Camden was the girl that got to gradually steamroll the other frontrunners (Daya- Daytona Winds, Catwalk (however dubious), Bosco- Lalaparuza, Moulin Ru), only to face defeat at the hands of her final competitor, Willow, at the finale. Where Willow found success at shaping her challenge roles to fit her already well-defined drag aesthetic, Camden was the rare contestant who successfully expanded her drag repertoire to fit the challenges.
Camden also benefitted from being an archetype we haven't seen much of on Drag Race. You could call her a theatre queen, but that's not really true to her personality or her edit. Off-Broadway queens on the show are generally edited to have an off-putting sense of delusion, desperation, and self-seriousness. Camden, with the confidence that came from actually having performed professionally for years, was none of these things. I read her as a better-realized and more interesting variety of Shuga Cain's or Gottmik's archetype- a queen that turned to drag for personal reasons after already achieving professional success in a separate sphere, fell absolutely in love with drag, and was still figuring out how their personality and performance translated between their in and out of drag selves. Camden had the *large* benefit over Shuga and Gottmik of entering drag with: - classical dance training and performance experience, - a much more interesting set of aesthetic references, -amateur acting and comedy experience. Camden was having just as much fun as Shuga at figuring out who she could be in drag, but she and the edit were much better at letting us know about it- like Bosco, she was great at narrating herself, which made for a really fun journey from week to week with her.
Her aesthetic and performance choices were also hilariously chaotic throughout the season. In situations where she had creative control, she might choose to: -repeatedly reference Bunheads (I cannot emphasize enough how much this was a choice), or she might completely rock a 90s London underground raver look and performance, or she might show up in very expensive Frozen cosplay, or she might provide the look of the night as a crystallized porcelain ballerina, or she might show up in a cotton candy meets Flintstones outfit of Salina-Estitties-bad proportions (love u Salina <3), or she might show up as a slutty horse, carriage, bridle, and all... the list goes on and I don't want it to end!
I also appreciate the level of commitment Camden displayed towards her more questionable choices; when Michelle advised against a joke about yelling into Ross's asshole for the roast, Camden made it longer for her set. When Camden showed up to the finale and started off with a questionable choice- pony play outfit of dubious proportions- she continued making questionable choices all the way through the final lipsync performance!
And for all that we learned about Camden's drag on S14, I feel there's still more to unpack. Rarely is Drag Race this good for a queen. I cannot wait to see Camden on All Stars. Will she win? She will make it to the finals. She will make it to the final lip sync. But I cannot tell you if she will give an incredible and captivating lip sync performance or if she'll choose to make another bunheads reference. Only time will tell.
Now to unpack the most interesting things Camden did on S14, and why they were cool to see on Drag Race. This is actually a bit similar to Willow- both Willow and Camden at their best work in similar ways against the way that Drag Race generally chooses to frame the nexus of sexuality, gender, and attraction.
The vast majority of gendered drag presentation that we see on drag race runs very femme, and by virtue of that, we see a lot of interpretations of female sexuality. It's usually straightforward- glamorous, sexy, and it's subversive mostly in the fact that it's a queer reclamation of female sexualities as seen by the male gaze. I would say this is a true even of the femme dom portrayals that we see on Drag Race (ex. Jaida in Madonna rusical)- it's a pretty mainstream and straight idea of what a femme dom is supposed to be. Less frequently we see straight or queer female sexualities centered in a women's gaze (ex Joey Jay <3). Rarely do we see hard butch, nongendered, or androgynous presentations- to the point that it *really* starts to stand out when we do (ex. Mo Heart's butch queen on UK vs the world, Victoria Scone's genderbend on Canada vs. the world, Raja's androgynous looks on All Winners).
Notice that these are all runway examples that I've cited. We really don't see looks that range past mild butch in challenges (Snatch Game excepted). Queens may be interested in exploring all this, but drag race as a production and the judges are not. As for masculine presenting drag, it's even more rare. Queens may go in boy drag for challenges, but almost never on the runway. This is key.
When queens are in boy drag in challenges (rare SG examples excepted), they are:

• playing male characters with no sexual presentation (ex. boy characters in the S15 Rusical, Alaska's pee-wee herman drag on S5 in the children's show skit)
• playing heterosexual male characters that depict hetero male sexuality as a completely hokey premise and joke (ex. mini challenges throughout the years, TMZ reporters room in comedy sketch in all stars 5)
• playing a "neutered" gay or effeminate man with no effective sexual potential when presented out of female drag (ex. Sasha in S15 Rusical)

Most often when the show needs to display masculine-presenting sexuality for a challenge, they use a pit crew member or an outside actor (ex. Leland in Moulin Ru, Danny Trejo in Daytona Winds 2). (Leslie Jordan is a lovely exception to this by virtue of being Leslie Jordan). Even here, these men are rarely presenting queer male sexuality. They are almost always playing it straight. (For more on the drag queen/gogo boy dichotomy, see How to be Gay, there's some paragraphs on this somewhere in there.)
To explain why drag race does this, Sasha's performance in the latest Rusical is key. As an effeminate man on the drag race stage (that's the label we'll use for Carl since he *is* straight(?) married to female Preacher Teacher- she's kinda more butch than him tho), Carl has no sexual power or potential in his male drag. Carl's frumpy clothes and Sasha's performance illustrate this pretty well. For the effeminate or queer man on drag race to unlock his sexual potential, he must put on femme-presenting drag. See: Carl in the final number once transformed into Ethel Sperman.
This is why we don't see masculine-presenting drag on the runway, especially drag that reads as queer masculine. The runway, being a *pure presentation of aesthetics and form,* is the most direct embodiment of the transcendence that drag allows for the long-shamed "feminine" aspects of queer male sexuality to their glorification and empowerment when presented in the male-as-female drag form.
(Note: there is a lot to unpack with the term "feminine" and its relation to queer male sexuality. I'll keep it short here and say that when I say "feminine" in this context, I'm referring specifically to the aspects of weakness/sexual submission that are often implied in the term, and become shameful or transgressive when juxtaposed with traditional ideas of male sexualities).
I think for Rupaul on the show, especially in the earlier seasons, the link between the shame of queer male sexuality and the transcendence of that sexual shame that could only be reached through glamorous, regal, sexual, feminine drag was really really strong. There is a reason the first 3 winners of the show all fit that ideal. I think that goes a *long* way towards explaining:

• why Ru had problems with trans queens being on the show (Ru's perspective: what is drag doing for you if you've already embraced and accepted the feminine pieces of you in a very visible way/ are you still doing drag if you're not achieving this specific variety of emotional catharsis through it)
• why Ru and the judges reacted so badly to Alaska's male drag on S5 and Milk's "werkroom Ru" on S6 (male drag can't be drag b/c feminine transformation and its emotional underpinnings are essential to my idea of what drag is)

At the time, these all seemed like things that undermined the central thesis of the show. This also explains:

• why Ru can't connect with mentally well-adjusted queens (why do drag if you aren't trying to solve your personal problems with it/you've already come to terms with your femininity)
• why Run can't connect with "theatre queens" (you're coming to drag from a professional angle instead of a personal angle, so i don't find your drag emotionally compelling)

Also! Who's the queen we see in male drag in challenges on the show the most? It's Ru! RuPaul! (ex. acting scenes on S6 final challenge, RudePaul on S10, court room reporter on All Winners). RuPaul doesn't go in drag on the show to play characters other than RuPaul the Glamazon, and he expects contestants to treat their drag the same.
Also!Also! There is clear reasoning for why Ru would feel this way about drag- the gay culture of the 90s and 00's was *so* different to today, and before drag race and the efforts of a lot of advocacy, there was a much larger stigma in the gay community towards feminine men, trans women, and drag queens. If you want to hear more about this I think Bianca or Courtney talk about it together on a podcast somewhere.
Drag race and RuPaul's allowance towards all these things has gradually changed thanks to awesome queens being on the show and fans wanting better for queens, but the effects of that viewpoint on the show are still really strong. So it's fun to Camden work against these ideas on S14.
To me, Camden's big standout moment is as Freddie Mercury on the runway and the "One Way or Another" lip sync. Camden's usual drag, as much as she goes towards any aesthetic, is very femme, Spice Girls-sexy. I don't find it particularly compelling, and I don't feel that she's adding much femininity or sexuality as compared to her character on drag race out of drag.
Freddie Mercury is different. Camden plays Freddie on the runway and in the lip sync very sexually. It is unequivocally a performance of powerful queer male sexuality. We really have not seen that on drag race before, especially on the runway. What's even better is how much fun Camden is having with it. You can really see the joy as she performs. She's having fun and feels more powerful in this queer male drag than her usual femme drag- and that in itself is incredibly empowering.
(Camden feeling more powerful in male drag works for the same reason that "Joey Jay is gay" does. Joey says as much in her lyrics, but there's a truth to it that goes beyond that. Like Camden, Joey is gay and femme enough already out of drag that her drag transformation might actually reveal more masculine or dominant aspects or her personality. If for a typical queen, drag goes something like "he's so gay she's straight," for Joey it goes "he's so gay she's masc.")
The same is true of Camden's other standout performances during the season. In the Lalaparuza, she has to lip sync against Bosco, the sexiest queen of the season, while not dressed in her super femme-presenting drag. As Camden puts it "how am I supposed to lip sync to this super soulful song dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog's bitch girlfriend?" But she makes the choice to perform the song sexually in spite of that, and she does it really well, to the point that the show has other contestants comment on it. See: Daya "I'm so hot for Camden right now." For Camden that feels like another really emotionally strong moment.
The last piece of this narrative is Camden's performance in Moulin Ru as the androgynous cabaret host. Although the character's dress and physical presentation is androgynous, Camden brings a queer masculine-coded sexuality to her performance that feels like a continuation of her discovery as Freddie Mercury. And like with Freddie, she performs the role very successfully and has a ton of fun doing it.
What's even better is just to see all these performances get rewarded by the judges on Drag Race. I really don't know how they would've been received on earlier seasons. But I'm glad we have them now, and I'm glad that queens continue to push Drag Race to expand its aesthetic bubble.
This concludes my thesis.

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