WHERE DID ALL THE CONTESTANTS GO?

I realize that it has been some time since I decided to talk drag and pageants and and I thought, it was time to get people thinking about things. I spent the day talking about drag and in particular, competition/pageant drag and I have been thinking about the atmosphere of pageants in the state of Oklahoma.

I feel I need to add this disclaimer:

THIS IS MY OPINION. I DO NOT CARE IF YOU AGREE WITH ME.

However, after years of observing and participating in this community, I do feel qualified to at LEAST offer my opinion.

No matter the system, it seems that promoters are saying over and over again that they cannot get people to compete. City prelims get 2 contestants. Bar owners are disappointed because no one wants to go to a pageant that is being played out on social media. If you want to know what is going on, friend the right people and pics and videos will flood your feed. You can wear your Hello Kitty pj's and root for your girl and never leave the Candy Crush comfort of your home.

Just wait! The judges will weigh in too and so will everyone else! You can get all the gossip by 4AM. You didn't pay a dime, you saw the gown and the WHY DID SHE DO THAT MIX FOR TALENT WHEN SHE KNOWS THIS IS NOT USOFA????

Wait a few hours and you will wake up to the post of gratitude from the winner with 40 hashtags that make no sense.

Then as the season goes along, everyone starts to hedge bets on the winner, and camps become divided. People get pissed. There is one winner and a handful of losers and then the barrage of "SHADE", "MESS", "NEVER GOING BACK" starts. Wait two weeks because then there will be a host of "I really want to accomplish my dreams" posts.

All of this immediate notoriety and "celebrity" happens in front of all of us, it gives the wrong kind of attention, it reinforces the idea that showing up and showing out gets attention and deserves reward.

I am not going to condone this anymore. Not because I am over drag but because I am over the idea that affirming an attitude of entitlement is better than rewarding hard work. I LOVE MY COMMUNITY.

Promoters, if you want to know where your contestants are, ask your reigning titleholder. What have they done to encourage YOUR pageant, what has the state titleholder done? Have they explained the system? Have they prepared them for the categories? Do they understand the expectations? What is stopping them from competing? What are the misconceptions they have?

SHAME ON US.

Shame on us for not holding EVERYONE to a higher standard.

Shame on us for encouraging substandard competition and a fundamental lack of understanding of the systems.

We have diluted the talent pool. Not by having too many pageants but by accepting less than the best as our representatives. By revering rhinestones and not talent.