RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 star Gottmik is making history as the first transgender man to ever compete on the show. Trans identity and the art form of drag have coexisted peacefully within the LGBTQ+ community for many decades. But when it comes to a mainstream show like Drag Race, it has been taken a few years for the producers to feel confident about casting openly trans individuals. But that's not to say that the series never featured a transgender woman on the cast. In fact, there have been multiple trans women on the show, even if it took them a bit longer to officially come out.
The Drag Race fans can look as far back as season 2 to find a trans woman, Sonique, who happened to be doing drag on the show. In the years since, the fandom has gotten to know Peppermint, Stacy Layne Matthews, Gia Gunn, Jiggly Caliente, Carmen Carrera, Kelly Mantle, Ilona Verley, among others. The highest-placing trans contestant in the history of the show was Peppermint, who lip-synced her way to the Top 2 of Drag Race season 9, but then lost the final Lip Sync For The Crown to Sasha Velour. Now, the franchise is ready to welcome a trans man.
It's official: Gottmik is the first transgender man to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race in the history of the series. However, this isn't his first rodeo into reality TV. As a makeup artist, Gottmik has worked on Germany's Next Top Model and on Queen of Drags. He is also very close friends with beauty influencer Gigi Gorgeous, with whom he appeared on the cover of Out Magazine in 2020. Before the Drag Race season 13 announcement was even made, Gottmik had already accumulated over 130,000 followers on Instagram, proving that he was already a social media sensation prior to getting cast on the show. Overall, Mik is an unstoppable force of creativity and innovation, and he will be a fierce competitor for the other contestants in the werkroom.
It might have taken some time for Drag Race to cast a trans man, but Gottmik is here to tear apart any and all gender constructs. At the end of the day, this is an art form about breaking boundaries, and RuPaul's Drag Race is uniquely positioned to give visibility to trans individuals and give these fantastic performers a global stage to walk onto. But don't be fooled: Gottmik will play to win, and possibly become the first-ever transgender winner of Drag Race.
The fans will ring in the new year with a brand-new season of Drag Race. The time has come, and these drag artists are ready to shine.
RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 premieres Friday, January 1, 2021 at 8pm EST on VH1.
Sources: Out Magazine