dr.a.g. The Coffee Table Photography Book

This isn’t your father’s drag, wearing your mother’s old dress and fake pearl necklace for Halloween, though I appreciate his courage for thinking those shoes go with that bag.

Raja by Peter Palladino, dr.a.g.

The book dr.a.g. is a tome of bold characters created by people who confront homophobia, sexism, and gender politics with fabric and lipstick.

Being a gay man on ‘that’ side of thirty, thirty-one to be exact, I was introduced to drag by Ru Paul, To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar, Birdcage, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Yes I referenced movies, because like many of my generation living in Suburbia, USA this was my greatest exposure to positive images of drag queens and anything queer.  There was a sense of other icons of ‘gender bending’ such as David Bowie and the gimmicky Twisted Sister, but those meant little to me.

So when I think of Drag Queens I think of the words of Miss Noxeema Jackson, ‘When a gay man has way too much fashion sense for one gender he is a drag queen.’

Between television and the internet there are usually plenty of images to inspire my imagination and provoke thought but when I looked at this book at 160 pages I was overwhelmed by the number of performers and photographers in this collection.

You and a guest in the living room, or let’s face it the bedroom, can flip to any page and find something of interest to talk about: style, attitude, and fierceness these models have it all.  There is an image for every taste, from the classic idol to the stunningly exotic.

The book can be purchased at: http://www.bookthefilm.com/

Check out a full list of models with links to where you can find them on the internet at the bottom of the page.

With the permission of the copyright holder I have reproduced a few below to wet your appetite.

Classic Idol (Jimmy James by Walter Melrose)

Stunningly Exotic (Nina Flowers by Norman Dillon)

The full list of models includes: Lady Bunny, Joey Arias, Sherry Vine, Hedda Lettuce, Charles Busch, Frank Marino, Eddie Edwards, Mr. Kenneth Blake, Nina Flowers, Raja, Chad Michaels, Tammie Brown, Jujubee, Bebe Zahara Benet, Shannel, Ongina, Jackie Beat, Miss Coco Peru, Jimmy James, Jim Bailey, MADO