Odds are, if you’re a frequent Jalopnik reader, you probably don’t need a drag queen to teach you how to jump start your car, but RuPaul isn’t just any old drag queen. RuPaul is a Black man, and one of the most well-known and successful queer people on the planet. RuPaul is also a fervent car guy with millions of passionate and diverse followers across his social media. As a queer car person, I never knew how those two parts of my identity could coexist, so seeing someone like RuPaul sharing car content makes me very happy.
It seems like each generation grows less and less interested in working on their own cars, and while some things should absolutely be left to a professional, some tasks are simple enough for almost anyone to tackle. Almost anyone can jump start a car, or change a flat tire like RuPaul’s last car care video. Sometimes seeing someone like you do a task you might be scared of is all it takes to realize that you can do it too.
While not everyone has an external jump box or multi-charger like RuPaul, they are easy to find, reasonably affordable to buy, and are smart to keep handy in case of emergency. As long as your jump box is charged, all you gotta do is attach the positive clamp to the positive terminal on the car battery and then attach the negative clamp to the negative battery terminal. Next, press the jump button, wait a moment, and start the car. Once the car has started, it’s important to drive around for about 30 minutes so your alternator can charge your battery back to its normal level.
This process becomes muddied if you are driving an electric car, especially a Tesla vehicle since they require some wildly convoluted procedures to jump start when their 12-volt batteries die. If you don’t have a jump box or multi-charger like Mama Ru and you need to hook up to another car, there are a few additional steps. Park the running car with its engine close to the engine compartment of the dead car and open the running car’s hood so your cables can reach both cars. Attach the positive clamp to the running car’s positive terminal followed by the negative clamp to the negative terminal of the battery. Then, open the hood of the dead car, and attach the positive and negative clamps in the same spot, and start the dead car while the other car stays running. Allow the alternator to recharge the battery again, and you’re good to go.
In a frustrating yet almost poetic way, car troubles don’t target people based on their identity or the color of their skin. Hell, most of us car nerds here at Jalopnik are religious minorities, ethnic minorities, women, and/or identify as LGBTQIA+. We’re all living proof that just because you don’t see a ton of people like you in the automotive space doesn’t mean you don’t belong here. Even the supermodel of the world RuPaul is a car person who does his own maintenance — you can too.
