Things that aren’t controversial: Miss Vanjie should have won the makeover challenge and Nina v. Silky was probably one of the worst lip syncs in the history of Drag Race. I love Nina West too much to call for a double sashay, but if there was ever a moment this season, it was that.
Things that are mildly controversial: Nina West should have shantayed – I’m biased, but apparently so is the rest of the internet including AOC. BRING BACK MY MISS CONGENIALITY!
Things that are split down the middle: Are you Team Silky or Team Yvie?
Last week on Drag Race, six of the eliminated queens returned to take part in the classic makeover challenge. After the critiques, RuPaul not only asked the queens “Who should go home tonight…and why?”, she asked the eliminated queens too! (Gia Gunn only wishes she could create drama like RuPaul. Bitch has 9 Emmys for a reason.)
In case you need a reminder, here are the people who are Team Yvie (ie. voted for Silky to go home), and Team Silky (vice versa).
Team Yvie
Yvie Oddly
Scarlett Envy
Shuga Cain
Honey Davenport
Ariel Versace
Brooke Lynn Hytes
Plastique Tiara
Team Silky
Silky Nutmeg Ganache
Nina West
Akeria C. Davenport
Soju
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
I’m fascinated by these two camps because they don’t fall along any party lines. Pageant girls are represented in both, as are comedy queens. The “look” queens and the “personality” queens are found in both groups. There’s even racial diversity across the board! At this point in the competition, the answers to questions like “Who should go home tonight?” are personal and emotionally motivated. I’m not buying any of this “I’m just basing it on today” crap. If that were true, someone should have picked Nina, but no one did (aside from Ru, LOL). I like patterns and need logical explanations.
Yvie and Silky are actually similar in a lot of ways. Both have abrasive personalities but for different reasons. Yvie can sometimes dish it out too hard, while Silky can’t accept even the smallest criticisms. They’re incompatible, but they’re also cut from the same cloth.
Team Yvie is filled with people who, despite being talented, seem to second guess themselves constantly. Perhaps, they see a bit of themselves in Yvie, the same sort of inner monologue and criticism that they themselves go through. Yvie expects a high standard of everyone, largely because she expects that of herself.
On Silky’s team, the queens are fierce contenders who let you know they’ve entered the room. They’re loud and at 10, but they also bring an undeniable swagger to their performances (not sure about Soju, but it does take some nerve to talk about your cyst to RuPaul herself). Silky has such an inflated sense of self (which can also be positive at times), that she’s almost immune to criticism, even if it’s constructive.
Maybe then, last week’s divisions were voted along identities. Overthinking and type A queens with Yvie, and loud and confident queens with Silky. The only person who doesn’t really make sense is Nina, but this could be a sign that she found her confidence, riding high from her second win. I’m Team Yvie, but that’s also the kind of person who I identify with as well. I wonder if Silky fans would identify differently. Maybe I’ll make a Buzzfeed like quiz: “Answer these questions and we’ll tell you if you’re an Yvie or a Silky.”
In Thursday’s Untucked, Silky went as far as to say that she didn’t want to be Yvie’s friend outside of this competition. Although it seems like Silkies and Yvies can never get along, a week ago, Silky and Yvie were seen sitting next to each other and laughing their heads off at Micky’s, a gay bar in West Hollywood. If there’s hope for the two of them, maybe there’s hope for us all.
