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The Big Reveal

An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"Drag embodies the queer possibility that exists within each of us—the infinite ways in which gender, good taste, and art can be lived."

–Sasha Velour

This book is a quilt, piecing together memoir, history, and theory into a living portrait of an artist and an art. Within these pages, illustrated throughout with photos and original artwork, Sasha Velour illuminates drag as a unique form of expression with a rich history and a revolutionary spirit.

Each chapter strips off a new layer, removing one tantalizing glove and then another, to reveal all the twists and turns in the life of a queen. As Sasha recalls her own journey, from the women who raised her, to learning the craft of an artist, to success, disaster, and more, she also uncovers the history of queer life around the world that made it all possible.

From shamans to "fairies balls," empresses to RuPaul's Drag Race (and beyond), The Big Reveal chronicles and celebrates our shared queer pasts. "If we want to be seen as legendary," writes Sasha, "we have to weave ourselves into history."

From an iconoclastic drag queen comes an equally singular, thought-provoking manifesto that brings necessary and sparkling substance to our understanding of drag, queerness, beauty, and liberation!

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    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2023
      A renowned performance artist shares her life as a genderfluid drag queen. "My drag represents some of the most vulnerable parts of me," writes Velour in this candid memoir documenting her long career in media and theater arts. As creator and editor of the drag magazine Velour and host of New York City drag show Nightgowns, the author is perhaps most widely recognized as the winner of Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Delivering a provocative, informative, and opinionated excavation of drag culture, Velour traces her own evolution on the circuit. She knowledgeably discusses the art form's popularity surge via revolutionary uprisings like the Stonewall riots, which brought greater visibility to obscure, pioneering performance troupes. Velour recalls that her first introduction to drag was with her extravagant grandmother Dina, who encouraged her to "channel my inner diva" with costumes and living-room performances. She fondly references the legacies of drag balls and pageants (and their intrepid founders) and applauds the ability of RuPaul and her show to expand queer visibility, defy the community's marginalization, and "shift my life and unravel preconceptions." In chapters on drama and costuming, Velour vividly details the intricate backstage preparations for her pivotal finale performance on Drag Race and elaborates on the inspirations for her unmatched fashion flair. Throughout the text, the author includes Post-it note asides, scrapbook photographs, line drawings, and full-color storyboards (Velour has a master's degree in cartooning). In addition to generously sharing entertaining anecdotes, maxims, and fond tributes to family and friends, the author isn't shy about divulging the hard truths about life in the drag and queer communities. She leans easily into opinions and perspectives on hate, societal bias, and religious-inspired homophobia "in a world that doesn't necessarily want us," but she remains hopeful about the future acceptance of queer and trans people to make room for all "to exist in real life, not just onstage." An impressive textual and visual display of artistry and courage.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 30, 2023
      In this showstopping debut, Velour, creator of the Brooklyn drag revue NightGowns and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season nine, interweaves her autobiography with the cultural history of drag. Placing her own achievements within the context of the gay rights movement and breakthroughs by previous drag artists, Velour recounts how the Stonewall riots and the emergence of queer theory and grassroots LGBTQ community movements in the 1980s and ’90s influenced the creation of NightGowns and her zine Velour. Elsewhere, memories of lip-syncing to Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” on RuPaul’s Drag Race lead to a study of gender-inclusive theater in China and Japan, and profiles of 1920s drag aerialist Barbette, who “flew into the air like an ‘angel, a flower, a bird’ (as Jean Cocteau put it), draped in white ostrich with a platinum finger wave”; José Sarria, winner of San Francisco’s “first big drag pageant”; and Josephine Baker. Velour seamlessly mixes rigorous scholarship with inspirational aphorisms (“Beautiful relationships don’t need to last forever to make deep shifts in your life”) and heartfelt anecdotes about finding community and navigating the pitfalls of mainstream success, while enriching the narrative with copious photographs and illustrations. This is a rousing tribute to a revolutionary art form and its practitioners.

    • Booklist

      April 15, 2023
      Sasha Velour, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race and known for her iconic looks, show-stopping lip syncs, and Judith Butler impressions, has written a moving memoir and an informative look at the history and meaning of drag. Velour details what it was like growing up as a burgeoning queer artist and how drag helped her find herself and express her multifaceted identity. Part of Velour's brilliance in drag is her thoughtful intellect and surprising wit, two elements that combined made her a queen unlike any that Drag Race viewers had seen before. This same intelligence and intentionality come through in her writing. Reading this memoir gives readers a peek into her brain and allows us to even further admire the genius of her art form. Peppered throughout are stories of her family, her influences, and the artists who came before her. Sasha Velour's memoir is a must-read for fans of drag, advocates of the LGBTQ community, and anyone looking for a path to revealing their truest self.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • OverDrive Read
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Languages

  • English

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