Hello, hello, hello everyone! (I’m going to miss saying that after this month.)
Pride may be (unfortunately) almost over, but the fun doesn’t stop here. We’re ending our celebration with a bang, and I’m excited to share some of our final programming with you all!
This month, through the theme of Looking Back & Moving Forward, we’ve focused on highlighting real people, stories, and lived experiences that serve as a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come and the challenges that still lie ahead in carving out a world where everyone feels empowered to live their authentic truth without limitations. In order to move forward, we must look back at where we came from and strive to take continuous action to improve where we are going.
As part of that action, we encouraged everyone to listen and learn from the stories and struggles of LGBTQIA+ people, whether that was through the Queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Fandom Stars Bart and Kurt, Fandom Staff members Sam and Vinny, or simply your own friends, family, and loved ones. We even shared an incredible resource written by Lenhi about how to strengthen allyship for the LGBTQIA+ community, which contains steps (both big and small) that anyone can take to promote equality, inclusivity, and belonging for all. If you have not checked any of these blogs out, please go show your support and give them a read. Something as simple as reading and understanding the journeys of queer folks can make a world of difference when it comes to promoting love and acceptance for all.
We’ve certainly touched on a lot of serious topics this month, which has been especially important during a time when a record number of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced throughout the U.S. alone, but I think it’s also important to highlight one of my favorite qualities about the LGBTQIA+ community - our ability to spread pure joy, love, and enthusiasm in everything that we do. Even in times of darkness, we light it up with a rainbow. So to close out the month, we’re moving on to something a bit more fun and lighthearted.
And with that, I am thrilled to announce - bracket tournaments are back baby! And they’re better than ever! You may remember back in the stone age Wikia era, we hosted several bracket tournaments, from the “Greatest Love of All” Shipping Bracket to the Battle of the Fantasy Foods, and now they’ve made their triumphant return for Pride in collaboration with none other than - the Drag Race Wiki!
Drag Race Wiki Bracket[]
As I mentioned in my kick-off blog for this month, we wanted to honor and uplift the Drag community, who brings joy, promotes inclusivity, and inspires others to express their true selves without fear. And speaking of no fear - the Queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race get on the biggest drag stage in the world and are asked to impersonate some of the most renowned and beloved celebrities in a challenge called “Snatch Game” (a play on the game show Celebrity Match Game). No pressure at all. This fan favorite challenge has led to a lot of iconic moments, and also a lot of embarrassing ones, but one question will always be debated in the Drag Race fandom - which queen had the best Snatch Game performance in all of Drag Race Herstory? We’re going to determine that once and for all. But make it tournament style. Snatchdown for the Crown, if you will.
So how is it going to work? Great question! Thanks to our partners at Common Ninja, we’ve set up an interactive single elimination bracket tournament including 32 of the top Snatch Game performances throughout the show, from Jinkx Monsoon as Judy Garland to Shea Couleé as Flavor Flav. Queens have been randomly paired together to face off in five rounds of voting, each lasting a set period of time. Everyone will get ONE vote per match-up per round, with the winner of each match-up progressing to the next round to face the next queen. In the end, only one queen will be left standing and become America’s first ever Snatch Superstar!
- Round 1, featuring all 32 Snatches, will start TODAY Thursday, June 29th and run for 5 days until Monday, July 3rd.
- Round 2, featuring the 16 Snatches that won their first round match-ups, will start on Tuesday, July 4th and run for 4 days until Friday, July 7th.
- The Quarter-finals is where it really starts to heat up. Down to 8 Snatches, and only 3 days to vote! Saturday, July 8th to Monday, July 10th.
- Next comes the Semi-finals. 4 Snatches, and another 3 days to vote. Get your votes in from Tuesday, July 11th to Thursday, July 13th!
- Then it’s time for the big one - the Final match-up to determine who wins the Drag Race Wiki’s Snatchdown for the Crown! One final head to head match-up, 3 days of voting and ONE – yes, only ONE - vote for you to cast! The voting lasts from Friday, July 14th to Sunday, July 16th.
Once all the voting is done, we will crown our winner! Who do you think has the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to snatch the crown? The time has come for you to cast your vote, so come on over to the Drag Race Wiki and support your favorite Snatches!
This is hopefully just the first of more brackets to come, so let us know if that’s something you are interested in!
But wait! There’s more!
DragCon Interviews[]
I also mentioned in my kick-off blog that the Community, Content, and Events Teams here at Fandom had the amazing opportunity of attending RuPaul’s DragCon in Los Angeles in May, where we interviewed an incredible group of Queens including: Alexis Michelle, Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Honey Davenport, Jiggly Caliente, Laganja Estranja, Lala Ri, and Mistress Isabelle Brooks. I shared an inspirational video where they discussed their journeys from their first time in drag to what they hope the future of drag holds, so if you have not seen it, I highly encourage you to watch.
In addition to that, we had a bit of fun with them by asking some rapid fire questions about their hot takes on pop culture, from their favorite fandoms to their favorite Batman. If you think you know how they’re going to answer - no you don’t. Check out what they had to say below and see if you share any similar opinions.
We also showed the Queens their pages on the Drag Race Wiki, which they reacted to in real time. Some were impressed, some were shocked, and some had a couple corrections to make. Watch below to see what they had to say about Fandom, their articles, and their fans.
We hope you got a good laugh out of these as much as we did! One thing about drag queens is that they are always going to speak their mind, and they definitely did not disappoint.
Moving Forward[]
As our Pride celebration now comes to a close, I would like everyone to remember that the fight does not stop here. LGBTQIA+ folks are in a state of emergency as declared by the Human Rights Campaign (the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the U.S.) for the first time in its 40+ year history, and we need your support now more than ever. Not just this month, but all year long. Here at Fandom, we will continue to do our part in uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community, and we hope you will too.
Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay politicians in US History
I want to give a huge shoutout to everyone who volunteered to share their stories and voices on our blog this month as a powerful way of providing more insight into the lives of LGBTQIA+ people. For queer folks, opening ourselves up can often lead to negativity, exclusion, and outright discrimination, but it also has the beautiful ability to foster empathy, belonging, growth, and community for those who choose to share in that journey with us. As Harvey Milk said, “How can people change their minds about us if they don’t know who we are?”, so it’s incredibly impactful to share our whole selves and our stories to each other and to the world. Loudly and proudly.
I also want to thank everyone who has engaged with our Pride programming, especially to the many communities who crafted their own campaigns and showcased their rainbow themes throughout the month and beyond! We always look forward to seeing our global community get involved in our celebrations, and we can’t wait to continue celebrating more DEI months with you all! And most importantly, I want to thank those of you who have approached this month with an open mind and heart, as well as a genuine desire to learn more, understand better, and love deeper, because the more people that do so, the less we will have to fight for our rights.
When it comes down to it, Pride is all about celebrating the qualities that make us unique. Always remember the power that you hold just by being authentically and unapologetically YOU. There is no one else like you - show the world what you’re made of, and encourage others to do the same.
Everybody say love!
If you or anyone you know is struggling with and/or questioning their identity, or if you would like to learn more about LGBTQIA+ culture and history, please check out the resources below:
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