‘The Essential RuPaul’: a drag queen’s digest

You can keep your dog-eared copy of War And Peace. And take back that selection of Virginia Woolf classics. Sashay away, Mrs Dalloway, we’re relaxing with some light reading this weekend.

To wit, a copy of The Essential RuPaul: Herstory, Philosophy & Fiercest Queens. This nifty guide, although unofficial, appears as though it’s had the stamp of approval from the world’s greatest Amazonian drag queen herself. The facts are right; the colour of the prose as rich as Ru herself; and the profiled finalists from RuPaul’s Drag Race well-selected and illustriously portrayed. Literally, the fine drawings look so much like the real queens, they throw shade at that bloke on the street corner who draws charcoal caricatures for a living.

Included in the hit list are Adore Delano (not our favourite queen for we think she’s a bit Gen Z aloof), Alaska Thunderf*ck (“Hieeeeeeee!”), Courtney Act (direct from Sydney to L.A.), Detox (as ’80s as drag can get), Latrice Royale (big is best), and Bianca Del Rio (possibly our favourite queen – dirty, funny and full of personality; watch out for her tour down under soon).

In the world of drag, there are some queens you love and some you detest. The test is picking out the best bits of a queen, praising her for these, and seeing if she can extrapolate on them and make them her trademark.

The Essential RuPaul critiques each queen to a ‘T’ and spots a kinda trademark brilliance in every one of Ru’s proteges.  Antonino Tati

‘The Essential RuPaul: Herstory, Philosophy & Fiercest Queens’ is available in hardcover, RRP $24.99 through Smith Street Books / Simon & Schuster Australia.