Abstract
We have all heard of great battles in our history books and learned about the American Dream. However, we rarely hear stories about marginalized individuals. One of those communities is the Queer community. When we add the medium of television to the equation, depictions of Queer people tend to take on interesting formats. In the 21st century, we heard great stories about the fight for Marriage Equality for Queer individuals, or the acceptance of Gay and Bisexual men in blood donation clinics. Yet, we do not hear great stories about Transgender individuals. Throughout the recent years, legislation aimed at demeaning the Transgender community have been numerous, including the Drag Ban, Bathroom Bill, among others. When positive, fair, and accurate depictions of Transgender individuals are presented on a medium such as television, then we are taking step to make society better, and not marginalized. In this thesis, I will be examining the narrative storytelling of contestants (known on the show as Queens) on RuPaul’s Drag Race as they are coming out to the audience, and themselves, as Transgender. By utilizing Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm, an examination into the narrative fidelity and narrative probability of the coming out stories will add to the stories told about Transgender individuals. Additionally, through these narratives, we could learn something new about this community, how a show like RuPaul’s Drag Race is aiding in Queer Worldmaking, and if this show could be a source of directives for questioning Transgender youth while they navigate their coming out processes.