Drag language translation on RuPaul’s Drag Race: a study on representation through subtitles1 / A tradução da linguagem drag em RuPaul’s Drag Race: um estudo sobre representação através de legendas

Sinara de Oliveira Branco ** Associated professor at the Federal University of Campina Grande, of the undergraduate course of Letras (English) and of the Graduate program on Language and Teaching (PPGLE). Experienced in the area of Letras, with emphasis on Linguistics and on Translation, acting in the following themes: Translation and Culture, Intersemiotic Translation and Cinema, and Didactics of Translation. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2739-2254


Introduction
The act of dressing up with clothes socially designated to other genders has evolved since the 16 th century, the Elizabethan era 2 , and it has become what is known by drag nowadays.
The word drag is supposably an acronym for the expression "dressed as a girl", firstly used by Shakespeare to refer to men actors who would play feminine roles. Another explanation for the word drag is related to the long dresses, used by these artists, 'dragging' on the floor.
2 Information about the history of the art of drag presented in this article's introduction comes from the video 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Cast Explains the History of Drag Culture, which was produced by Allure and which features some of RuPaul's Drag Race contestants The art of drag arrived in the United States of America in the beginning of the 19 th century, being part of the famous Vaudeville shows 3 . Since this period until the Stonewall Riots, in 1969, drag queens survived as a subculture hidden from society. In the 1960s, drag queens, alongside trans women, gays and lesbian, started to protest against the unfair treatment of the police forces, giving rise to the Stonewall Riots, which was a period of violent protests by LGBTQ+ people (Lesbians, Gays, Bissexuais, Transexuals, Queer) against police raids, which were very common at the time, in the Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York City. Drag is so important right now, especially with 'he who shall not be named' as our president. I mean, we've made all of this progress and I can't imagine if I was in high school right now. Kids need something to know that their weirdness is amazing.
3 "A show composed by number of acts with no relation between them, like comedy, dance and mimicry presentations. (own translation for "Espetáculo composto de miscelânea de números sem relação entre si, como números cômicos, dança, mímica, etc." (Available at: https://pt.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaudeville. Access in: 30 Jun. 2020). 4 According to the drag queens in the video 'RuPaul's Drag Race Farrah Moan's statement reinforce the importance of discussing issues like the one highlighted in this article, since it is necessary to fight the oppression and the repression on the basis of governments that are against minorities, such as women, people of colors, immigrants or LGBTQ+ people.
Besides drag culture, RuPaul's Drag Race also spreads the language used by this community, not only in the U.S., but in various countries around the world, like Brazil. Non-English speakers have access to RuPaul' Drag Race through its translations in some languages, like French, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian (subtitles and dubbing available on streaming apps Netflix and WowPresents Plus). The reality show is full of expressions used by the U.S. drag community, therefore, their translation is a very relevant point for discussion, because there may be problems in the translation process, due to the specificity of the expressions and of the font and target cultures.
Taking these points into consideration, this study aims to discuss about the translation of drag language through the subtitled of RuPaul's Drag Race, studying the drag language presented on the reality show, considering its cultural aspects and meaning, and analyzing the representation of the translation of drag language to Brazilian Portuguese in the reality show's subtitles.

Audiovisual Translation, subtitling, and drag culture and language
Audiovisual Translation (AVT) intents to improve or promote access to audiovisual products or material, such as movies, TV shows, and video games, to the audience which is not proficient in these products' font language 5 . The term AVT refers to a specific kind of translation which needs to keep a constant relation between the written text and other sign systems, like image, and to consider the special features of oral communication REMAEL, 2007).
According to Meo (2010), the AVT encompasses dubbing, subtitling and simultaneous translation, and it is considered as a research field of Translation Studies. The AVT has emerged as a discipline to teaching and research, having an important role in language teaching and being "one of the most vibrant and vigorous fields within Translation Studies." (CINTAS; ANDERMAN, 2009, p. 8). 5 An audiovisual product is originally developed in a given font language. There are two main ways to perform an audiovisual translation: 1) keeping the translation in oral form; and 2) translating an oral text through a written text. In the first case, called dubbing, the font audio of the audiovisual product is replaced partially or completely. When there is a change from an oral text to a written text, keeping the font audio and adding the written text to the audiovisual product, there is a process called subtitling -this article's interest. Meo (2010)  According to Cintas and Remael (2007), there are three major components related to the subtitling process: oral text, image and subtitles. Besides the interaction of these three components, subtitles must also adapt to the space in the screen, to the audiovisual product's speech pace and to the audience's reading pace, of both verbal and non-verbal information REMAEL, 2007).
In relation to the pictorial message, which is everything that is visible on the audiovisual product, Ivarsson and Carroll (1998) highlight the importance of translating indispensable information in images through subtitles, like signs and news (IVARSSON; CARROLL, 1998). Remael (2001) explains that some components of the pictorial message of the audiovisual material do not need to be translated, because there is a common sense of the meaning of some of them, such as a no smoking sign or an angry facial expression.
The relations which exist in the subtitling process are wider than just a written code transmitting oral elements; for it deals with different mediums, channels, signals and codes, subtitling also represents a movement of Intersemiotic Translation, besides being an audiovisual translation (ROSA, 2001) Intersemiotic Translation, as discussed by Plaza (2003), is, primarily, a movement of interpretation and meaning production which approximates and converge signs in various languages and medium, mainly in multimedia and intermedia. The author affirms that Intersemiotic Translation can be characterized as a creative and critical practice of (re)producing, (meta)creating and (re)writing. Therefore, translation and creation are similar process that coexist in the Intersemiotic. In this way, subtitling would be a form of Intersemiotic Translation, since it involves different mediums (oral and written), channels (vocal-auditive and visual), signals http://dx.doi.org/10.35572/rlr.v1i1.1890 209 (sounds and letters) and codes (verbal oral language, verbal written language and non-verbal language).
The different mediums, channels, signals and codes pointed by Rosa (2001) represent four changes related to language in subtitles. Firstly, there is a change of medium, since language changes from a verbal and oral medium (and often from a non-verbal mediumimages) to a verbal and written medium, exclusively. Secondly, there is a transfer from a vocalauditive channel (or sometimes also visual) to a visual channel, exclusively. Thirdly, there is a change on the form of signals from a phonic substance (the sound of the words) to a graphic substance (the letters). Lastly, there is a change of code from verbal oral language and nonverbal language to written verbal language (ROSA, 2001).
Translations can be classified in three categories, according to Jakobson (1959): 1) interlingual translation, which is the interpretation of verbal signs through other verbal signs of the same language; 2) intralingual translation, which is the interpretation of verbal signs of a language through verbal signs of another language; and 3) intersemiotic translation, which is the interpretation of verbal signs through non-verbal signs (this field was deepen later by Plaza (2003), as discussed previously). Meo (2010) affirms that subtitling is the only kind of translation which encompasses the three categories proposed by Jakobson (1959): intersemiotic, as pointed by Rosa (2001) and discussed previously; and intralingual and interlingual, which are two types of subtitles presented by Cintas and Remael (2007).
Subtitling can be classified in five groups, categorized by different criteria: linguistic, time available for preparation, technical, methods of projection and distribution format. This articled focus on the linguistic criteria, since this research is in the field of Translation Studies, in the Linguistic Studies area. According to the linguistic parameter, subtitles can be divided in three groups: bilingual, intralingual and interlingual. The intralingual subtitles can be use by the deaf, to dialects in the same language, to karaoke, with pedagogical aims and for news (CINTAS; REMAEL, 2007). The interlingual subtitles can be used by listeners and deaf which speak a different language than the one used on the audiovisual material. This article focuses on interlingual subtitles for listeners, since subtitles for the deaf were not available on the streaming apps during data collection. More specifically, it focuses on the translation of verbal signs presented acoustically (verbal oral language) of the North-American LGBTQ+ language.
Interlingual subtitles must simplify the message of the audiovisual products for two reasons: 1) they coexist with the products' language, they do not replace it, therefore, the audience receives information from two mediums at the same time; and 2) the audience has only one chance to read the subtitles, therefore, they need to understand them the first time they read them (SKUGGEVIK, 2009). Besides that, Skuggevik (2009) points that subtitles need to resemble the sonority of words on the font text, and they cannot contradict what is shown on the image.

Subtitling and linguistic variations
The audiovisual translation must consider all of the audiovisual products' cultural and linguistic specificities. Besides that, it must present a language which corresponds to the language presented on the audiovisual product (IVARSSON; CARROLL, 1998). As language and culture have an indissociable relation, in the sense that "language is an expression of culture and culture is expressed through language" (PETTIT, 2009, p. 44), the audiovisual translator needs to consider at least two cultures when translating: the font culture, represented by the audiovisual product, and the target culture, to be represented on the subtitles. According to Pettit (2009), an audiovisual translator should not be only bilingual, they also need to a have "bicultural" vision of both languages -font and target 6 .
There are two main aspects which can originate questions of untranslatability: i) the target language may not have a word or an expression which is equivalent to a word or an expression on the font language; ii) the sociocultural situation can be inconceivable on the target language (DUDEK, 2018). Rosa (2001) discusses that trying to find a correspondence between font and target languages, taking into consideration their cultural contexts, is a hard task, since verbal oral language is more variable than verbal written language and it is directly connected to the community that produces it (CINTAS; REMAEL, 2007). In the case of RuPaul's Drag Race, the verbal oral language used by the contestants belongs to a specific community: U.S. drag queens -in this case, the show presents a cutout of this language, since the drag contestants do not represent U.S. drag queens as a whole.
The main questioning by Cintas e Remael (2007, p. 185) about subtitling linguistic variants is: "[…] how does one translate the sophistication of spoken language variants into a regimented written form?" (CINTAS; REMAEL, p. 185). Oral language has its own characteristics and when it comes to linguistic variants, oral language becomes even more diverse. Subtitles must cover these traces and also maintain a formal register of language for it is a written form.
The linguistic variation presented on RuPaul's Drag Race is essential to understand the show and drag culture itself, thereby, representing it on subtitles is of major importance. Cintas e Remael (2007) discuss the fact that these characteristics cannot be considered as untranslatable or avoidable for they are important and not arbitrary.
It is fundamental that the target audience, which will have access to the subtitled audiovisual product, can understand its linguistics specificities; therefore, it is important to translate non-standard registers, "be it a metaphor, an idiom or dialect", to draw the viewer's attention to this characteristic of the audiovisual product (MEO, 2010, p. 24). To translate dialects or expressions that have a strong bond with the culture represented on the audiovisual product, it is important to consider language as a "a complex dynamic system". Its dynamicity is related to the context of the message, since the meaning of words is progressively constructed by the context (MEO, 2010), and its complexity is formed by the amount of information needed to explain a lexical item.
Since orality is so complex and dynamic, spoken language will not always have a stable and clear expression, which can become a problem when translating, since subtitled must cherish stability and clarity (MEO, 2010). In those cases, the translator is responsible for determining the relevance of the elements of spoken language and its role on the subtitles. For such, the translator needs to interpret the message transmitted by the audiovisual material, considering its sociocultural and pragmatic characteristics. Rittmayer (2009) points out three problems that can emerge when translating slangs (which can also be considered when translating dialects, sociolets, idioms, etc.): 1) sometimes there will not be an equivalent in the target language; the target language can have more than one equivalent expression, and the translator has to choose between them; 3) the censorship made by the client or by translators themselves, which can entail a meaning loss on the target text. Corroborating with this idea, Rosa (2001, p. 219) discusses the "strategy of decentralization", which refers to the use of oral language characteristics and non-standard varieties on subtitles. For the author, the use of these language registers it related to the attempt of being more faithful to the font language text. Meo (2010), on the other hand, acknowledges that although valuing local knowledge and cultural varieties on audiovisual products is a current tendency, translating dialects of a font language through a dialect in a target language can lead to comprehension problems. However, the use of these dialects would not prevent the target audience to have a general comprehension of the audiovisual products. Besides that, the use of these dialects has an important role on the translation process: it shows the target audience the culture represented on the audiovisual product.
If there are equivalent dialects between font and target language, audiovisual translation seems to be a "simpler" task, but Cintas and Remael (2007) set another challenge: when there is not a similar word on the target language. In the case of RuPaul's Drag Race, the lack of equivalents is very likely, mainly because the reality show is full of neologisms. To overcome problems that can emerge on the subtitling process, Cintas and Remael (2007) propose some strategies: 1) loan, the incorporation of a font language word on the subtitled on the target language; 2) explicitation, the use of hyponym, hyperonymy and generalization, etc.; 3) transposition, the substitution of a cultural concept of the font language for a cultural concept of the target language; 4) omission, simply exclude a given expression from the subtitled -it not the most recommend strategy, although necessary sometimes; 5) compensation, the use of other words and expressions on another part of the text to compensate some omission; 6) addition, adding information to simplify another information of the audiovisual material. Cintas and Remael (2007) also suggest inventing words as a way of resolving the lack of equivalence between font and target language, mainly when the text is full of neologisms. The authors discuss that it is recommended to create neologisms on the target language, always using quotation marks.

North-American and Brazilian drag culture and language
The language used by the LGBTQ+ community in the United States emerged on a tough time: sexual relations between same sex people was considered a crime, there was not a debate about right equality; they were discriminated, marginalized in the face of what was considered a "normal society", they were expelled from their home, and some of them were even arrested or killed. The necessity for a secret code for this community was more than just fun, it was a matter of surviving. The code helped to identify members of the sabe subculture, besides protecting them of being discovered by people outside the group.
Polari, which came from Great Britain, was the very first language used by this group in the United States, and it was usually associated to gay men. In the end of the 1960s, when sexual relations between same sex people was no longer considered a crime, the use of this http://dx.doi.org/10.35572/rlr.v1i1.1890 213 language by gay men decrease, and it started to be used by comedians in radio shows. On this study, this language will be denominated as "drag language", since this nomenclature does not include every member of the LGBTQ+ community as its users, because in fact not all of them use it; and this nomenclature also consider the art of drag as not exclusive to gay men, since it can be interpreted by women and people of other genders.
Although not being accept by society, the LGBTQ+ community kept growing as an esthetically and linguistically rich subculture, being one of the major influences on pop culture.
The beginning of the drag pageants (which exist to this day), on the 1970s, helped expanding the community. On these events, drag language and culture were being developed and settled.
During the 1990s, the documentary film Paris is Burning (1990)  The pajubá dialect incorporates expressions from Portuguese with expressions from African ethnic-linguistic groups that were enslaved in Brazil -nagô and ioruba. This language is 7 Latinxs is the neutral form of the words "latino" and "latina". The expression is used by researchers, activists and journalists and it is part of the linguistic revolution that aims transcending the gender binarism in some languages, like Portuguese and Spanish, and include the diverse identities of Latin-American people. (Available at: https://www.huffpostbrasil.com/entry/why-people-are-using-the-term-latinx_n_57753328e4b0cc0fa136a159. Access in: 01 jul. 2020). 8 The ENEM is a test for high school students for admission in universities. 9 "'Acuenda o Pajubá': meet the 'secret dialect' used by gays and travestis" (own translation).
widely use in Afro-Brazilian religious practices. It started being used by the LGBTQ+ community when they started to participate on candomblé religious practices, because it was one of the few religions which welcomed minorities.
Just as the drag language from the United States, the pajubá acted like a secret code for surviving. In 1987, for example, during a month, the police force's Tarantula Operation, which used AIDS eradication as a pretext, chased about three hundred travestis and trans women arbitrarily. Besides being necessary for surviving, this language also creates an identity affirmation, which united members from the same community who share the same struggles.

Analysing the language on RuPaul's Drag Race subtitles
The corpus used for analysis is constructed by six images and subtitles from RuPaul's Drag Race, specifically from the eighth and nineth seasons, and from RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, specifically from the third season. The collected images are presented through a chart which contains the image, the subtitles and the font text. Since the reality show in study has several drag queens, only three of them were selected for analysis: the hostess, RuPaul 10 , and the contestants Sasha Velour 11 , from the nineth season, and Trixie Mattel 12 , from the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
To the collection of data, there were selected scenes of when the participants are in drag, or getting in or out of drag, which could be during the challenges, on the main stage or on the workroom. The scenes were chosen according to the presence of expressions from drag language. These expressions were identified with the help of the intralingual subtitles in English, available on Netflix and WoW Presents Plus. The only tool used to take screen shoots was the Windows tool, the print screen. The print screen key was pressed along with the Windows flag key (win + print screen), and the screen shoot would be stored on a file.
To delimit the data collected, the expressions which were identified four times or more were considered: 'bitch' (six times), 'category is' (six times), 'tuck' e its variations (six times), 'squirrel friends' (five times), 'gag' e its variations (four times), e 'queer' (four times). The corpus is constructed by six images, one for each of the expressions reported above.

Bitch
The word 'bitch' is used to designate a female dog. However, it is also commonly used as a derogatory expression against women, to represent promiscuity. In this case, the word has a violent and misogynistic load. On the other hand, during the 90s, the word 'bitch' was taken by the feminist movement as something empowering -instead of devaluing, 'bitch' became to be used as a synonym for a strong, independent, confidant woman, as discussed by Pardes (2014) on an article published on Vice magazine.
'Bitch' continues being used on a pejorative way, but it is also used with this new meaning (even though it does not have a totally positive connotation yet). The LGBTQ+ community, for example, is one of the communities that widely use the word 'bitch'. Gays and drag queen use to call each other 'bitch'. This expression is also extensively use by all RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, for example. However, the feminist movements criticize the use of 'bitch' by the members of LGBTQ+ community, mainly gay and bisexual men, because it seems more misogynistic than empowering if not used by women. Therefore, the translation of this word in the context of the show must be discussed, because besides being part of the language in study, it can cause problems of translation. There are several possible translations for this word in Portuguese, like megera 13 [it has a close meaning to shrew] and vadia 14 [it is the most direct translation for 'bitch'], meretriz [it has a close meaning to prostitute] 15¸ and mulher de vida fácil 16 [woman with an easy life].
It is possible to observe, on frame 1, that the translator chose to use the word bicha on the subtitle. As previously discussed, 'bitch' can have several translations, but none of the dictionaries used on this research cited bicha (which is used to refer to gay men, it has a close meaning to fag) as a possible translation. However, the translator's choice is probable related to a pragmatic vision of the expression. The word 'bitch' when used by the drag queens' contestants of the reality show works like a kind of vocative, a way to call someone.

Frame 1 17 -RuPaul announces the top five
Considering the idea of transposition of concepts between font and target language, as discussed by Cintas e Remael (2007), it is possible to understand that the word bicha is used by drag community in Brazil with the same purpose of the word 'bitch' in relation to the North-American drag community. It seems like a continuity between font and translation, as discussed by Plaza (2003). Another important issue about this translation is that the transposition of cultural concept on the font language in a cultural concept in the target language may not cause problems, since bicha in widely used in Brazil. The positivity or negativity of this expression is also something to be questioned.
The expressions bicha and 'bitch' went to a similar process of resignification: both of the words were used as depreciative terms and became, inside specific communities, words of empowerment. However, these terms remain with an idea of marginalization and, at the same time, of mockery. Considering that, the transposition between concepts of the language becomes even more clear.
As discussed by Meo (2010), subtitles are connected with the pragmatic characteristics of the audiovisual material, in this case, RuPaul's Drag Race. Considering the pragmatic context of a given expression is to consider its specific use, which is of great interest to the translation 17 The frames used for the analysis are composed by an image and the information if it belongs to RuPaul's Drag Race or to RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, with the abbreviations "RPDR" e "RPDR AS", respectively. Besides that, there is the year of its original release and the specification of the season and episode (for example, S8E5). At last, there is a transcript of the font text in English and of the translated text in Portuguese (the expression in bold are the ones to be analyzed).
process. The translator's choice may be motivated by the attempt to transpose an expression on a font language, which is related to a specific community, through an expression that has a similar use on the target language, related to a similar community to the one presented on the font language. The translator's choice may also be motivated by the sound similarity of both words, bicha and 'bitch', as discussed by Skuggevik (2009). The words also start with the same letter, and that helps on the lip-sync.

Category is
In Paris is Burning (1990), as discussed by Butler (1993), the participants of the balls compete in categories, such as executive realness or butch queen realness. These categories were announced before the presentations so that the audience could know what they were about to see. The expression 'category is' was used to announce the category they would walk. When the presentation for the most feminine participant was about to begin, for example, it was announced "category is FQ realness". This expression is used by the North-American drag community to this day. In RuPaul's Drag Race, for example, this expression is used by RuPaul to inform the runway's theme to the audience and the judges, as shown in frame 2.
There is a movement in Brazil that is similar to the New York balls in the 90s, which is also related to proud and resistance. In Brazil, these groups focus on voguing, but it is not a widespread culture in the country. Therefore, there is not a same concept of a ball category in Brazil. In any case, the subtitles present a literal translation of the expression, categoria é, which does not erase the meaning of the English expression: 'category is' is related to a category one is walking in.

Frame 2 -RuPaul announces the category
Another aspect of the subtitle in study is the translation of the word rudemption. This expression is a neologism created on the show to the word redemption. On this runway, category was redemption: a chance for the queens to redo one of their looks from their original season which had bad reviews (since this image is from an All Stars season). The word redemption became rudemption as a word play with the name Ru, RuPaul's nickname. The intralingual subtitles in English, available on the streaming app, highlighted the expression in italics. On the translation, the translator also created a neologism with the word redenção [redemption, in Portuguese] using RuPaul's nickname -creating the word rudenção (which was used between quotation marks). Creating neologisms in the target language to translate a neologism used in the font language and putting it between quotation marks is one of the strategies discussed by Cintas and Remael (2007).

Gag
There are several definitions of 'gag' on dictionaries, as mordaça [an object used to prevent someone to talk, a gag], piada [joke], amordaçar [verb for the action of putting a gag on someone] and esforçar-se para vomitar 18 [to induce vomit]. But for the drag community, this word has a different connotation. According to Urban Dictionary 19 , 'gagging' is a slang initially used by gay men in the 90s to describe something exceptional, something to impressive that makes someone 'gag'.
On the scene presented on frame 3, Trixie is talking to one of the contestants about the elimination of one of the drags queens on the competition. On the subtitle, the translation of two lines can be visualized: the first one, from Trixie Mattel, "I was a little gagged", translated as "Fiquei meio passada", and the second, from BenDeLaCreme, "I was totally gagged", translated as "Eu fiquei muito passada".
One of Dicionário Informal's 20 definition to passado is near to impressed, like in the example provided by the dictionary: "Menina, tô passado com esse bafão!" 21 [which can be 18 The four definitions for 'gag' are from Michaelis Dicionário Universal Ingles (GAG. In: Michaelis Dicionário Universal Inglês. São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2003. p. 155). 19 Available at: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gagging. Access in: 01 Jul. 2020. 20 Available at: https://www.dicionarioinformal.com.br/passado/. Access in: 01 Jul. 2020. 21 Available at: https://www.dicionarioinformal.com.br/passado/. Access in: 01 Jul. 2020. freely, and formally, translated to "girl, I am really impressed with this gossip" 22 ]. It is possible that the translator's choice to translate the expression 'gagged' as passada was a result from an attempt to find a word on the target language that was similar to the word on the font languagewhat Cintas e Remael (2007) call transposition.
Even though 'gagged' means something near to 'being choked' in Portuguese (literally translating), when it is used by this community, it has the connotation of being impressed by some event. The word passada is a widely used expression in Portuguese, and it denotes the same idea as 'gagged' and, although it is used by many people, it was originated in the LGBTQ+ community.

Frame 3 -Trixie talks about the elimination
Furthermore, the expression passada was initially used by a community similar to the one that used 'gagged' on the font language. This shows that the translators are aware of the specificities of the language used on RuPaul's Drag Race and of the need to adapt it in the best possible means. Hence, the target audience can comprehend the role of this language on the show without having troubles to understand the audiovisual material.

Queer
The word 'queer' has several definitions on dictionaries, such as the adjective 'queer' as original, eccentric and rare 23 . As a slang, the word 'queer' can be defined as homossexual 24 . Fressles and Rauch (1997, p. 39) define the expression near queer as "one who is nearly out of the closet" 25 . Consequently, 'queer' could be considered someone who is already out of the closet. The same authors define 'queer' as "homossexual. Once derogatory, now often used by lesbians and gays in an effort to destigmatize the term." (FESSLER; RAUCH, 1997, p. 41).
Fessler and Rauch's (1997) definitions were written in 1997. On that time, the authors define the word in study as term that is changing from a negative connotation to a positive one. It is valid to question if the word 'queer' is considered negative or positive nowadays. The word 'queer' is used as a positive, empowering and resignified term for the gender norms on Butler's (1993) studies. The author defined the idea of 'queer' as beyond homosexuality, being related with everything that dissent the heterosexual and binary gender norm. Therefore, 'queer' encompasses gays, lesbians, transexuals, bissexuais, drag queens, etc. Morton (2002, p. 121 apud COLLING, 2007 2) defines 'queer' as "to enter and to celebrate a ludic space of a textual indetermination 26 ".
On frame 4, the word 'queer' on the subtitle was translated as biba [an offensive way to call a gay man]. The word biba is defined as "homossexual" and "euphemism for homosexual" by Dicionário Informal 27 . On the other hand, the word 'queer', as previously discussed, is not related exclusively to cis gay men, as suggested on the subtitles. When Sasha Velour defined New York as the home of queer art, she was probably not speaking specifically about cis gay me. Anyway, she cites only gay men as reference to the artistic movement. In this case, it seems appropriate to translate 'queer' as biba.
Another question that should be taken into consideration is the seriousness of camp aesthetics and of queer art, as called by Sasha. The word biba, even though considered as a possible translation for 'queer', is considered a pejorative slang. Therefore, using biba to refer to something so important as the representation of LGBTQ+ community in art can be problematic. Cintas and Remael (2007) highlight the importance of using expressions of the target culture which seem appropriate to the context of the audiovisual product and which has a similar use to the font culture. Thus, it is important to question if, in fact, biba can be used to translate the idea of a queer art/aesthetic, considering the representativity and relevance of the matter.
The use of the expression biba by the drag community in Brazil can be problematized, to meet the need to verify, previous to translation, how target language's native speakers behave linguistically (cf. NIDA, 1945). In, Portuguese, there are several expressions that relate to the general idea of the word 'queer', as the acronym LGBTQ+, and some alternatives if 'queer' is related to the idea cis gay men -if it really were Sasha's intention -, such as gay, bicha [fag] and viado [fag]. Therefore, it is necessary to question the use of these expressions by the studied community during the subtitling process.
The translator also needs to evaluate the impact and the emotional value of a given word, as discussed by Cintas and Remael (2007). It is worth mentioning that it is possible to use the word 'queer', just as in English, in Portuguese, since this is the term used in the research and activism in Brazil (e.g. Teoria Queer [queer theory], literatura queer [queer literature], movimento queer [queer movement]). In that case, the subtitler would use the loan strategy, discussed by Cintas and Remael (2007).

Squirrel Friends
Urban Dictionary defines 'squirrel friends' as "reference among drag queens to refer to other drag queens, especially those that hide their nuts" 28 . In English, 'nuts' is used as an informal expression to refer to testicles in the same way that bolas [balls], or even ovos [eggs] is used in Portuguese. Drag queens are known for hiding their penis and testicles (this will be discussed in the next section) to create an illusion of a more "feminine" body, or, in Urban Dictionary's word: hiding their nuts. RuPaul -the likely responsible for creating the expression 'squirrel friends', or at least for its popularization -comments about the "drag queens' secret language" on an interview for The Late Show 29 . In that occasion, RuPaul explains that 'squirrel friends' are friends who like 'nuts ' (or bolas, in Portuguese).
In English, one can refer to their drag queen friends as 'squirrel friends', since squirrels are known for hiding their nuts to consume them later. The pun makes perfect sense in English, since 'nuts' is a slang for 'testicles'. RuPaul's definition for 'squirrel friends' has a similar pun, but instead of being related common practice for drag queens, it has a more sexual connotation: 'squirrel friends' are friends who like men, or, as explained by RuPaul, their nuts.
The translation for this expression to Portuguese can be problematic, since it brings a cultural reference which is hard to conceive on the target culture, as discussed by Dudek (2018).
Firstly, nozes [the most direct translation for 'nuts'] is not used in Portuguese to refer to testicles.
Secondly, squirrels are not very common in Brazil -therefore, using the word 'squirrels' on the translation may cause comprehension problems on the subtitles. In that case, the 'bicultural' vision, as discussed by Pettit (2009) is fundamental to a comprehensible translation. This translation, specifically, deals with an extratextuality problematic, since the concept of the font language does not exist on the target language (MEO, 2010).
RuPaul's line (presented on Frame 5), "All right, now just between us squirrel friends", is repeated on most of the episodes during this specific moment (when the queens leave the mainstage and the judges deliberate about the performances on the challenge). The expression 'squirrel friends', which is used to name your friends who do drag, or, as defined by RuPaul, who like 'nuts', was translated on the subtitles as amigas drags [drag friends]. In that case, the subtitler kept the specificity of the expression: not any friends, but your drag friends.
The translation does not have any reference to squirrels or any sexual conation, which is one of the main reasons to the pun. Trying to maintain the sexual connotation of the translation is not an easy task, since there is no similar concept in Portuguese related to squirrels or nuts.
However, the translator managed to keep the special characteristic of the word (relating to people from a specific community). Also, the expression amigas drags probably would not cause problems on the subtitle's reception.

Tuck
The expression 'squirrel friends' means 'friends who hide their nuts', as discussed previously. 'Hiding their nuts' to resemble a vagina is a common practice amongst drag queens (even though it is not a rule). In English, this practice is called 'tuck'. Daily Beast website defines 'tuck' as: "tuck (v.): to affix one's male genitalia in a way that it is not visible so that one resembles a woman (n.): the product of a man affixing his genitalia (typically with duct tape and multiple pairs of pantyhose) so that it is not visible" 30 30 Available at: https://www.thedailybeast.com/rupauls-drag-race-slang-tuck-sickening-and-more-dragterms?ref=scroll. Access in: 01 Jul. 2020. The language used by Brazilian drag queens, also known as Pajubá, has a similar expression for the same practice: aquendar. This word does not only relate to the act of hiding the genitals, but also to having sexual relations, according to Dicionário Informal 31 . In English, 'to untuck' is an inflection of the verb 'to tuck', and it refers to the act of removing a tuck (noun).
Same as in English, the Brazilian Portuguese expression aquendar has an inflection: desaquendar [the same meaning as 'to untuck'].

Frame 6 -Trixie at the Snatch Game
On the scene presented on frame 6, Trixie's line, "my balls are tucked so tight", is translated as "minhas bolas são tão aquendadas". Firstly, there is a problem related to the verb to be, since, in Portuguese, it means both verbs ser (in the sense of being someone/something) and estar (in the sense of being somewhere/somehow). Drag queens stay 'tucked' for a short period of time, mainly during their performances. Therefore, it is important to reflect if "são tão aquendadas" is the most suitable translation to determine an action that do not last long, since são is related to the sense of being something (in this case, 'being tucked'). Drag queens are not [as in são] tucked for life, they are [as in estão] tucked for now. Nevertheless, the apparent confusion between the verbs ser and estar do not completely change the idea of the sentence.
Secondly, the translator chose to use the expression aquendada to translate 'tucked', which is the expression used by the Brazilian drag community to refer to this practice. As discussed by Cintas and Remael (2007), language is directly connected to the community which 31 Available at: https://www.qualeagiria.com.br/giria/aquendar/. Access in: 01 Jul. produces it. Therefore, it is very important for the translation process to considerer these language's specificities, trying to establish an equivalent not only between two languages, but between font and target culture. The use of the expression aquendada to translate the expression 'tucked' demonstrates concern and valorization of the North-American and Brazilian LGBTQ+ communities, which is very important of the subtitling process (MEO, 2010).

Final considerations
Discussing issues related to the LGBTQ+ community is of great importance to strength the community and its representation on academy, mainly in the face of repressive and excluding governments. This discussion has a queer author as main author, debating about queer people and language, written with the intention to problematize some aspect of the queer universe.
This article sought to bring visibility to the need to reflect about drag language in the context of translation studies, through the analysis of the translation of drag language expressions on the reality show RuPaul's Drag Race, promoting a contextualization of the history of drag queens since the practice of cross-dressing by Shakespeare, going through the Stone Wall Riots to the creation of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Six images and subtitles were analyzed based on the theories presented on section two.
The analysis of the translations of expressions from the English drag language to Portuguese followed the strategies discussed by Cintas and Remael (2007). The collected images show translations which sought a parameter which considers the specificities of drag languages. This concern with the language used by this community represents a tendency to value local knowledges and cultural varieties represented on the audiovisual material, as discussed by Meo (2010). Therefore, it was possible to identify that RuPaul's Drag Race translators are aware and concerned about the specificities of this language and the need to represent them on the Portuguese subtitles. Accordingly, the translators seem to have knowledge of the languages involved on the translation, as well as of both cultures, offering a "bicultural" vision of the theme.
On the other hand, some images presented translations which seem to avoid terms of Brazilian drag language, as the use of esconder o pacote (freely translated as 'to hide the package") instead of aquendar (to tuck), or transformismo ('transformism') instead of drag. In these cases, the translators seem apprehensive to use a similar language in Portuguese to the language presented on the audiovisual material, which may arise from the concern that the audience would not fully understand the subtitle's information. However, as discussed by Meo (2010), the use of these Brazilian Portuguese expressions on the subtitles does not prevent the audience of having a general comprehension of reality show. Besides that, using them would present to the audience, which may not know this language, a new vision of the culture represented on the audiovisual material and, through the subtitles, a similar culture on national context.
Further studies of this thematic are also important. Moreover, it is possible to identify, through researches about subtitles reception, whether the audience is or is not ready to watch the reality show with subtitles that fully use drag language in Brazil. Finally, it is necessary to understand that language and culture cannot be separated -one cannot be understood without the other, one does not exist without the other. Therefore, studying North-American drag queens linguistic practices and their translations and relations with the linguistic practices of a similar Brazilian community is a rich field of research, which can still be exploited by studies from linguistics, anthropology, psychology and publicity.