Making of Chihiro③: Encounter with Ms. Raja

In the beginning of 2018, I happened to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) on Netflix.

Watch RuPaul's Drag Race | Netflix Official Site

Queens compete for 0,000 and the title of America's Next Drag Superstar in this Emmy-winning show hosted by the mothe...

www.netflix.com

It was because I managed to pass the entrance examination of my ministry thanks to the movie ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’. I was asked by the examiner what is my favorite movie and replied:

Chihiro

The movie told me there are people who are called ‘drag queen’ and what kind of pleasure and suffering they experience.

I believe the best part of watching movies is to encounter such diverse perspectives and what the ministry of health, labor and welfare does is to create a society which is open to the diverse perspectives.

The examiner was moved by my reply and decided to hire me. So… I started watching RPDR, thinking it might help me rethink about what is the purpose of working there. Then, I found myself enchanted by one of the contestants, Raja Gemini (Ms. Raja).

I didn’t know the reason why she enchants me so much till I heard her saying the reason she wants to win the race.

Ms. Raja

Many people are trapped in the box of gender. By winning, I want to become ‘beacon of hope’ of such people, tell them that it’s OK to think outside the box and say f*ck you.

And… I cried without knowing. I found out why I got charmed by her. Her drag breaks the stereotypes about gender. Her drag can be androgynous, masculine, feminine, and sometimes beyond such dualistic categories. She made me see outside the box. She made me hope to think outside the box like her.

(To be continued…)