Diary of a Drag Queen

Author: Crystal Rasmussen
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473560497
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
Longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2020 Life's a drag... Why not be a queen? 'Stories like the one where you shagged a 79-year-old builder and knocked over his sister's ashes while feeding him a Viagra. Or the time you crashed your car because you were giving a hand job in barely moving traffic and took your eye off the car in front. That's the kind of dinner-party ice-breaker I'm talking about.' Northern, working-class and shagging men three times her age, Crystal writes candidly about her search for 'the one'; sleeping with a VIP in an attempt to become a world famous journalist; getting hired and fired by a well-known fashion magazine; being torn between losing weight and gorging on KFC; and her need for constant sexual satisfaction (and where that takes her). Charting her day-to-day adventures over the course of a year, we encounter tucks, twists and sucks, heinous overspending and endless nights spent sprinting from problem to problem in a full face of make-up. This is a place where the previously unspeakable becomes the commendable - a unique portrayal of the queer experience. (c) 2019, Crystal Rasmussen (P) 2019 Penguin Audio

Diary of a Drag Queen

Author: Daniel Harris
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 9780786715169
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 199

Book Description
In a revealing and candid memoir of life as a drag queen, the author takes readers into the heart of an American subculture--straight men who want sex with men dressed in drag. Original.

My Name's Yours, What's Alaska?

Author: Alaska Thunderfuck 5000
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1797208438
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Alaska Thunderfuck spills the tea on her meteoric rise from timid Pennsylvania kid to drag superstar in this intimate photographic memoir that will appeal to diehard Alaska admirers and broader drag fans alike. Before RuPaul's Drag Race became a worldwide phenomenon, Drag was mostly an underground art form, performed by the daring and the quick-witted, with maximum energy and a minimal budget. This is the story of one of the galaxy's greatest queens, Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, as she transforms from wearing dresses made of trash bags because she has to, to wearing dresses made of trash bags because she wants to. Finally coming clean on her home planet (earth), this dishy, visual memoir tells the stories that shaped Alaska into an All Star: from prom king to the House of Haunt, to the very public breakup that almost destroyed her. Intimate and alluring with exclusive photography throughout, and illustrations by the author, My Name's Yours, What's Alaska? is the ultimate backstage pass. UNIQUE & PERSONAL: Chronicling Alaska's journey from small-town kid to drag superstar, this memoir stands out for its emotional resonance, distinct humor, and unapologetic realness. Filled with compelling personal stories told in Alaska's unique voice, it gives fans an exclusive look at Justin Honard the person, not just Alaska Thunderfuck the drag queen. LGBTQIA+ REPRESENTATION: LGBTQIA+ consumers will see their experiences and passions reflected in Alaska's authenticity and openness about her childhood struggles, and will be excited by a drag memoir that celebrates the whole story of queerness, not just the sassy, shady highlights. GREAT GIFT FOR FANS OF RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: Behind the scenes stories of Alaska's journey to RuPaul's Drag Race fame, alongside full-color photography of Alaska's iconic trash-glam looks throughout her career, will deliver the exclusive content fans crave. Perfect for: • Diehard drag fans • Fans of Alaska Thunderfuck, RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Trixie Mattel, Bianca del Rio, Sharon Needles, Magnus Hastings, Cherri Baum, Veruca, and more • RuPaul's Drag Race enthusiasts who want to deep dive into a famous queen's rise to stardom

Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret

Author: Leila J. Rupp
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022633645X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Book Description
It's Saturday night in Key West and the Girlie Show is about to begin at the 801 Cabaret. The girls have been outside on the sidewalk all evening, seducing passersby into coming in for the show. The club itself is packed tonight and smoke has filled the room. When the lights finally go down, statuesque blonds and stunning brunettes sporting black leather miniskirts, stiletto heels, and see-through lingerie take the stage. En Vogue's "Free Your Mind" blares on the house stereo. The crowd roars in approval. In this lively book, Leila J. Rupp and Verta Taylor take us on an entertaining tour through one of America's most overlooked subcultures: the world of the drag queen. They offer a penetrating glimpse into the lives of the 801 Girls, the troupe of queens who perform nightly at the 801 Cabaret for tourists and locals. Weaving together their fascinating life stories, their lavish costumes and eclectic music, their flamboyance and bitchiness, and their bawdy exchanges with one another and their audiences, the authors explore how drag queens smash the boundaries between gay and straight, man and woman, to make people think more deeply and realistically about sex and gender in America today. They also consider how the queens create a space that encourages camaraderie and acceptance among everyday people, no matter what their sexual preferences might be. Based on countless interviews with more than a dozen drag queens, more than three years of attendance at their outrageous performances, and even the authors' participation in the shows themselves, Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret is a witty and poignant portrait of gay life and culture. When they said life is a cabaret, they clearly meant the 801.

Fiercely You

Author: Jackie Huba
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 162656809X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Book Description
Work through your fears by getting fierce! Fiercely You is a creative, playful approach to the serious problems that women face regarding confidence and risk taking. At a particularly low point in her life, bestselling author Jackie Huba serendipitously stumbled upon the wonderful world of drag queens and was inspired. They were supremely self-assured, utterly fearless, strong, powerful, and unabashedly and completely themselves. Jackie even became a drag queen herself: Lady Trinity. Drawing on her own experiences and interviews with the world's top drag queens, Huba and coauthor Shelly Kronbergs offers five Keys to Fierce that will help readers find the courage to ignore criticism and live the life they truly want to live every day—no wigs or stilettos required.

Diary of a South Beach Party Girl

Author: Gwen Cooper
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416936122
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
South Beach in the late 1990s is a town of blink-and-you'll-miss-'em nightclubs populated by celebrities, models, mobsters, heiresses, drug dealers, drag queens, and fun seekers of all stripes. It's a place where the famous come to party like locals, the locals party like rock stars behind velvet ropes, and the press is savvy enough to know what not to report. Rachel Baum is a sheltered, career-oriented everygirl when she moves to South Beach from her quiet Miami suburb, searching for a life less ordinary. Quickly making friends among SoBe's most exclusive scenesters, she spends her days building a career and her nights building a reputation. But in a town where friends become enemies faster than highs become hangovers, the life less ordinary turns into more than Rachel bargained for. As she pursues the endless party in penthouses, dive bars, after-hours clubs, and cocaine speakeasies, Rachel struggles to balance her goals and ambitions with the decadence and excess -- especially her drug-fueled, on-again off-again relationship with Yale-graduate-turned-addict John Hood -- that threaten to destroy everything she's always worked for. With tremendous wit and razor-sharp insight, Diary of a South Beach Party Girl portrays the innermost sanctums of South Beach's privileged Beautiful People through the eyes of a no longer innocent heroine.

We Can Do Better Than This

Author: Amelia Abraham
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473580951
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 291

Book Description
How do we shape a better world for LGBTQ+ people? Olly Alexander, Peppermint, Owen Jones, Beth Ditto, Shon Faye and more share their stories and visions for the future. 'A vital addition to your bookshelf' Stylist, 5 Books for Summer 'Captivating... A must-read' Gay Times, Books of the Year In We Can Do Better Than This, 35 voices - actors, musicians, writers, artists and activists - answer this vital question, at a time when the queer community continues to suffer discrimination and extreme violence. Through deeply moving stories and provocative new arguments on safety and visibility, dating and gender, care and community, they present a powerful manifesto for how - together - we can change lives everywhere. 'Powerful, inspiring...urgent' Attitude 'Read and be inspired' Peter Tatchell 'Illuminating' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk 'Friendly and fierce' Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay Bar

First Comes Love

Author: Tom Rasmussen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1526626861
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
'Bitingly funny, infectiously inquisitive and ferociously sharp. Adored!' ATTITUDE 'A fascinating interrogation' GRAZIA 'An incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution' REFINERY29 It was one thing to get married when your parents, your neighbours, your community insisted on it, when a sacred union for heterosexuals was not just one option but the only option. It's quite another to keep doing it in when free of that societal and religious pressure. What is the allure of an institution grounded in patriarchy, in elitism, in white supremacy in the West, an institution that invalidated all but one kind of love till quite recently? Why do so many of us fight against these social ills while also posting pictures of proposals on Instagram? Is it possible to be married while subverting the institution by doing it one's own way, or is marriage having the last laugh after all? Tom Rasmussen comes from a Northern, working class family, for whom marriage in the centrepiece of life. They are also a male-bodied, non-binary queer person in a relationship with a man. Journeying through wildly different weddings, visits to wedding planners, interviews with the much-married, those who have questioned their decision to marry, and those who would never consider matrimony, this is an incisive, witty and moving look at marriage - as an achievement, a compromise, a selling-out, a practical solution. Tom Rasmussen examines what marriage means across the spectrum of sexuality and class, and what the future looks like for this most historic and universal of institutions. 'An incisive, compassionate probing of the pleasures and pitfalls of marriage ... A deft deconstruction of normativity today' DAZED 'Tom Rasmussen is a smart and accomplished storyteller ... Anyone - queer or straight - who's considering marriage, or for that matter anyone who's deeply in love should read this unputdownable book' KATE BORNSTEIN 'I love Tom Rasmussen and adore their writing' TRAVIS ALABANZA 'An interrogation and an investigation ... A deeply funny and optimistic read' JUNO ROCHE

Diary of a Drag Queen

Author: Crystal Rasmussen
Publisher: FSG Originals
ISBN: 9780374538576
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
A cocktail-spitting, norm-pinching dive into everyday queer life in the twenty-first century—a hilarious, moving memoir Life’s a drag . . . Why not be a queen? When you peel off the sequins and lashes, wipe away the lipstick and mascara, open your heart and your eyes—what does the life of a drag queen really look like? Crystal (and Tom) Rasmussen tell all in this outrageous, raunchy, moving, naked (in more ways than one) memoir about life on and off the stage. Born into a loving working-class family in northern England, Crystal finds her way to London, to a coveted, soul-crushing job in New York fashion, and back again. Searching for good sex, good stories, and “the one,” she shags men of all kinds from all sorts of platforms, sells cider to tourists, and performs with her college drag band, DENIM. She learns about true love from her mum and falls in love with her best friend. Charting her day-to-day adventures over the course of a year, we encounter tucks, twists, and unfiltered sexy bits, heinous overspending, body shame and self-love, and endless nights sprinting from snag to snafu in a full face of makeup. In these pages the previously unspeakable becomes the everyday and the celebrated, and Crystal makes sure we feel every single thing along the way. A full-hearted, full-throated, full-disclosure portrayal of the queer experience that makes you laugh and cry and wish for understanding, Diary of a Drag Queen is a dazzling, true performance of a real, flawed, extraordinary life.

Auntie Uncle

Author: Ellie Royce
Publisher: POW! Kids Books
ISBN: 9781576879351
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Told from the perspective of their adoring nephew, Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero is the story of a courageous drag queen who saves the day, and brings two communities together. The young narrator thinks it's awesome that his Uncle and his Auntie are the same person. Uncle Leo is an accountant, and is great at helping with math homework. Auntie Lotta is a fabulous performer, and loves to sing and dance with her nephew. One day Lotta's family comes to watch her perform at the local Pride parade. Suddenly, a dog breaks free of its leash and nearly causes a float-crash, but Lotta springs into action just in time to save the dog and the parade. The mayor wants to give her a medal for courage and to throw a big party for her and all her friends, but Lotta worries that her friends who only know him as "Leo" won't get along with her fellow drag performers who know her as "Lotta." With the help of their nephew they put together a fierce look that is both Leo and Lotta, the perfect ensemble for an Auntie Uncle. A sweet, uplifting story about fearlessley letting your true self shine.