He Fa on RuPaul

A golden wavy wig rises in winding layers above the head; a purple-red sequined gown fits the torso before trailing far across the floor. Exaggerated eye makeup surrounds He Fa's low eyelids, with one hand on the hip and the other lightly raised. RuPaul's glamorous stage image is borrowed into this adult character. The familiar broad face has not withdrawn; it finds another way to be organized amid excessive shine.

This look keeps me from treating the body as something that can only accept default packaging. Wig, makeup and dress can all alter proportions, and everyday rules of height, softness, hardness and propriety need not hold naturally. I want to preserve the pleasure of transformation without turning the ability to change into everyone's duty to grow ever more dazzling. Choosing the ordinary should not count as losing courage.

The train leaves its procedures on the ground: spreading it needs space, turning requires rearrangement, and however high the wig, it does not maintain everything automatically. I want splendor recognized as a set of concrete operations, as well as seen as a result. If we praise only someone's seemingly innate presence, making, adjustment and care readily disappear, until even the next bout of tiredness seems out of character.

He Fa's cool face keeps this golden tower from becoming an order to stay excited forever. I am willing to let sequins keep reflecting and allow the hand to lower and the train to be gathered. Completing a performance need not erase how it was completed. Next time, there can be another set of procedures, or simply this face meeting people without fully cooperating with splendor. The wig can be made higher; the performer's remaining strength is not the same material.