On September 17th Drag: The Complete Story will be hitting shelves everywhere. The work examines drag culture from the very beginning, with accounts of drag from as far back as the 1800’s, to now, where shows like Ru Paul’s Drag Race dominate television.
The author behind Drag, Simon Doonan, is known for his work as the Creative Ambassador of the New York City based clothing store, Barneys. However, this isn’t his first time around the publishing block; Drag will be Doonan’s seventh published work.
Doonan with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen/Image via DNAinfo
An exclusive spread in Entertainment Weekly showed off some pages from the upcoming book, revealing some of the queens that Doonan will be focusing on.
Some queens featured include Drag Race Alums:
Violet Chachki
Image via The Royal Northern College of Music
Kim Chi
Image via Anime Expo
Bianca Del Rio
Image via Stuff
Bebe Zahara Benet
Image via Gay Star News
And Ru Paul, herself
Image via Vanity Fair
Other influential queer figures from earlier on in history, like Marsha P. Johnson, are discussed in Drag as well. Meaning, Drag could potentially be a great book for older readers struggling to understand this new wave in queer culture, as well as for younger readers who haven’t been informed of the historical context that makes shows like Ru Paul’s Drag Race so important.
Image via Out
Entertainment Weekly also reported that all author proceeds made from Drag will be going to the Ali Forney Center, an organization dedicated to protecting LGBTQ youth from homelessness.
Featured images via Pinterest, Cosmopolitan, and The Austin Chronicle