Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably seen something about the world of Drag. Maybe it was RuPauls Drag Race (or one of the spinoffs), maybe it was Drag Queens reading to kids, maybe it was at a local drag show. But did you ever stop and think about the history of that?
When I told a friend I was reading The Art of Drag by Jack Hall, Sofie BIrkin, Helen Li, and Jasjyot Singh Hans they thought it was up my alley. After all, they know my love of Halloween costumes and she said drag is the original cosplay. And while I am not denying it is that, it is so much more, too. Drag is not just the Queer community, but it is for all people as it is an expression of pushing boundaries. It is a live form of art. Your canvas is yourself.
This book is not your father’s drag. And while it gives things like the history of drag, it is not a direct history of drag, or history of gay liberation, or anything we usually think of . It is not a history of how non-conformity has been art and has been vilified and celebrated. This is about all of it and more. We see how mostly Drago Queens and Drag Balls started things, but also how there are links to ancient Greece, Japanese performance, and places you wouldn’t think to look. It is not just Stonewall and transgender people. It is everything from straight and gay men “dragging it up” for comedy, for commentary and the club kids scene. It is the minstrel shows and it is the historical drag balls, to the drag houses, to the contestants on reality shows. And it is none of that.
I don’t think I can honestly do justice to this book. It is something unique, and while I’ve read non-fiction before, I’ve read things about history and fashion and things about the Queer community, it is not like anything I’ve read before. A bad description is, this is an interesting introduction to the world of drag from practically the dawn of time until tomorrow.
And the artwork is just as kooky and wild as the world itself. Things are colorful, but can be flat. They are caricatures, but not to poke fun at, but you will laugh. The colors are fun, things are weird, and sometimes you will love them and sometimes not.