“Glamazon” RuPaul Says Bigger Isn’t Always Better...when it comes to AIDS Service Organizations

by Paul E. Pratt

At a staggering seven feet in heels, RuPaul has made a career of being larger-than-life. It seems only appropriate that the “Hardest Working Drag Queen in Show Business” should speak out on a subject from which other, less vocal celebrities might shy away. According to this flamboyant entertainer: Size matters, honey! 

Unlike most, the “Queen of All Media” likes them small. Well, at least when it comes to the AIDS service organizations to which she lends her time and assistance. Admits RuPaul: “Over the years, and I think most people feel the same way, certain big charity organizations have soured in my mind and in my heart, because I feel like they really are not doing much.” 

Scathing words from the “Supermodel of the World.” Since sashaying into the global consciousness over a decade ago as first a singer, then VH1 talk show host, and eventual supernova of more than seventeen films, RuPaul has been a staple at HIV/AIDS benefits around the nation. 

In December 2004, RuPaul headlined Divas Rock Atlanta, a performance raising funds for multiple Georgia-based HIV/AIDS nonprofits. She prefers opportunities such as this to give back to smaller groups rather than donating time to the more well-known, and hierarchical, ASOs. 

In fact, RuPaul finds fundraising methods used by many of these organizations to be pretentious, losing sight of the real reason for the events in pomp and circumstance. When it comes to helping those with HIV and in need, this approach makes her weary.

“It’s all about people dressing up in designer clothes and going to some big dinner and flossing to raise money,” Ru says. She is frustrated by the focus on appearance. Unusual, perhaps, coming from an entertainer whose entire career has been built on appearances and illusion, glitz and glamour. Were planning of HIV/AIDS fundraisers in her well-manicured hands, things would be much simpler. “I figure, why don’t you not buy the $10,000 dress, not have the ball at the big hotel?” she asks. “Just hand over the money. Why not do that?”

Like her personality, RuPaul feels care and administration of funds to support those living with HIV/AIDS should be direct, which is impossible in larger ASOs. As a result, she lends her time and energy to smaller organizations such as Aid for AIDS, a nonprofit in Los Angeles. Says Ru: “The money goes directly into the organizations without having to filter through some mega-organization.”

“I’m face-to-face with the people who need the help most,” she says of the additional perk of volunteering with small organizations. Though RuPaul admits it’s not HIV/AIDS-specific in purpose, the multitalented performer is particularly fond of New York City’s Ali Forney Center (AFC). The organization is named after a homeless queer teen living in the streets of NYC during the 1990s. 

“[The Center is] about young kids thrown out of their houses because they’re gay and need a place to live but the system doesn’t support them,” RuPaul explains.

After meeting the AFC executive director Carl Siciliano, who was a guest on the morning radio show she hosted last year on NYC’s WNEW 102.7, RuPaul was immediately drawn to the stories of the youth the organization served. As he told Ru during their initial conversation, Siciliano says the gay community is often unaware of these youths and the hardships they face day-to-day. “I don’t think there has been enough advocacy for them from the gay community,” says Siciliano. He sees RuPaul’s involvement as a step toward changing this. “It is very important that someone in a prominent position like RuPaul is going to be a voice for these kids.”

Committed to the safety of other youths in the same situation, Ali Forney was a dedicated HIV prevention worker. While advocating for the NYPD to investigate a series of homocides among the homeless queer youth he befriended, in December 1997, Forney was murdered himself. His death is still unsolved. The Center carries on his tradition.

“[The youth are] vulnerable to so many terrible things being on the streets, like selling themselves for sex, which puts them at risk for HIV/AIDS,” Ru explains: “They risk being beaten up and killed because of the hate that prevails out there.”

According to Siciliano, HIV infection rates among these wayward teens, especially those who feel forced into prostitution to support themselves, are “pretty enormous.” Says Siciliano: “I have always said the most effective prevention method among these kids is to provide safe housing.” While AFC provides a dozen bedding opportunities for teens, hundreds of applicants are turned away every night. Next year—with a recent funding increase and support from RuPaul to raise awareness of its mission—the Center plans to open an additional thirty beds.

Meanwhile, RuPaul’s interactions with AFC clients is already having a tremendous impact. Her interest alone is healing for many of the teens, Siciliano notes. “It makes the kids feel like what they are going through matters, that they as human beings matter,” he says. “To see somebody like RuPaul listening to them, paying attention to them, and treating them like they have some kind of value is very important for their own battered sense of self-worth.”

Of course, to a degree, RuPaul can perhaps relate. The superstar originally escaped to New York City from Atlanta while in her late teens. Arriving with “only a pair of high-heels and a dream,” she knows personally the downside of being a gay youth in the Big Apple. 

RuPaul faced these risks first-hand during her rise to fame, which coincided with the height of the 1980s AIDS explosion in NYC. When asked what kept her safe from the epidemic she says took so many of her friends, RuPaul is at a loss.

“I think it was the luck of the draw, honestly,” she says, her voice becoming soft, questioning. “[HIV] doesn’t discriminate. There were people who I knew who were even more at risk, less at risk, whatever, and that seemed to not be the determining factor.”

While she advocates for smaller ASOs, RuPaul does not limit her support exclusively to these. Rather than letting size determine her support, she is willing to help any group with a mission in which she believes.

“I’m all for any organization that’s going to help people live their lives, be free and do whatever they want to as long as they don’t hurt anyone,” she declares. RuPaul recalls that message—“Do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt anyone”—being ingrained in her by the song “Conviction” from the musical Hair. 

After taking four years off to focus on family and personal affairs, RuPaul returned last year with her own songs to inspire harm-free fun. The first song from her Red Hot album, “Lookin’ Good, Feelin’ Gorgeous,” was a #2 smash on Billboard’s top dance music chart and themed NBC’s Biggest Loser reality show. “Workout,” the Junior Vasquez-remixed follow-up, is currently burning up dance floors.

In July, RuPaul’s likeness hits the shelves of finer retailers across the country as Integrity Toys releases The RuPaul Doll, the first-ever transgender/drag queen fashion doll. Geared toward collectors as well as toy lovers, the thirteen-inch-tall collectible dwarfs Barbie. The three distinct styles (“Supermodel,” “Red Hot,” and “Glamazon”) represent eras in Ru’s illustrious career.

Her active career prevents RuPaul from “doing everything [she] would like,” but it provides the opportunity to play a small role in the lives of others. While she has repeatedly broken barriers in the entertainment industry, RuPaul says she has no idea how she or her career have impacted her fans. More importantly, she says, that is not her concern.

“Somebody told me years ago that what other people think of me is none of my business,” RuPaul says. Instead of worrying about the perceptions of others, she simply keeps doing what she loves. Still, she would like to be a role model, especially for those who are helped by organizations such as the Ali Forney Center.

“I hope to inspire people to take more chances and not live in fear,” RuPaul says. “I hope my career is an example of the possibilities.”

For more information, visit www.RuPaul.com or www.TheRuPaulDoll.com. To contact AFC, log on to www.AliForneyCenter.org.

Paul E. Pratt is a San Francisco-based entertainment and features writer.

June 2005