A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Full title: "Female Force: RuPaul" by Michael Troy.
"Don't be a drag, just be a queen. We break new ground again with big heels in it's latest offering in the popular Female Force Series focusing on RuPaul. RuPaul is easily the most famous drag queen and self-described "Supermodel of the World."
This whimsical look at the life and times of the host of the popular Logo series "RuPaul's Drag Race" is as unique as the woMan himself. It is a must have for any collector's closet-- or shelf rather."
According to Wikipedia, RuPaul Andre Charles (born in 1960) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model, known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. RuPaul has received several awards, including Primetime Emmy Award, GLAAD Media Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, Billboard Music Award, and a Tony Award, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Drag".
2017,
Drag queen,
English,
Michael Troy,
RuPaul,
Full title: "Who Is RuPaul?" by Nico Medina.
"RuPaul Andre Charles always knew he was meant to be a performer. Even as a young child, he loved to dress up and imitate the glamorous women he saw on television. When he turned fifteen, he began studying theater in a performing arts school in Atlanta and never looked back.
Ru developed his drag-queen personality and launched his career in the 1980s. He now hosts and judges the widely popular and long-running show RuPaul's Drag Race, which has raised the profile of the art of drag, and drag queens around the world."
According to Wikipedia, RuPaul Andre Charles (born in 1960) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model, known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. RuPaul has received several awards, including Primetime Emmy Award, GLAAD Media Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, Billboard Music Award, and a Tony Award, and has been dubbed the "Queen of Drag".
2021,
Drag queen,
English,
Nico Medina,
RuPaul,
USA,
Original title: "Kallion kuningattaret" (Queens of the Rock) by Tarja Surakka.
The gritty glittering life stories of two divas, Jari Vihinen and Morgan Devereaux. On stage, divas have been allowed to shine as drag queens, dancers, and actresses. Jari and Morgan co-founded Finland's first drag queen groups and dressed at a time when homosexuality was first a crime and later classified as a disease.
In the underground world of the rock, they lived a glamour life - snatching a poke for themselves from restaurants, and sometimes also directly from the street. There were men buzzing around who liked the "girls" dressed in the dress. Offstage, life has been a fierce struggle for space as an artist, for a living, and for the opportunity to live in peace as oneself.
2015,
Drag queen,
Finnish,
Jari Vihinen,
Morgan Devereaux,
Tarja Surakka,
Full title: "Lettin' It All Hang Out" by RuPaul.
"In this book - part autobiography, part how-to manual - drag queen RuPaul comes out and reveals the real person behind the paint and powder, the sequins and the wigs. He talks of growing up in a house full of exceptional women; he describes a difficult but warm California childhood with the challenges of being "different"; he relates outrageous experiences in the drag scene and the New York underground; and he drops names that include Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Courtney Love, Karl Lagerfeld and Diana Ross. Sprinkled throughout the book are RuPaul's secrets to achieving fame, riches, success and glamour in the 1990s, as well as his worldly observations on being black, being gay and being a drag queen."
1995,
Drag queen,
English,
RuPaul,
USA,
Original title: "Angebliche Huren: Prostitutionskoketterie in zeitgenössischen Drag-Performances" (Alleged whores: Prostitution Coquetry in Contemporary Drag Performances) by Daniel Inäbnit.
In many contemporary drag performances, an extremely subversive, sex-positive, but also euphemistic handling of vestimentary and linguistic signs that move in the field of associations of prostitution is striking. The study explores the question of how and why drag performers often make references to sex work in this way and stage them accordingly.
Linked to this is the question of how drag performances can currently be defined at all and which established theatre science concepts can prove productive for such a description.
2023,
Daniel Inäbnit,
Drag queen,
German,
Germany,
Full title: "My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska?: A Memoir" by Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 and Marlena Spieler.
"Before extraterrestrial Trash Queen Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 rocketed to superstardom on RuPaul's Drag Race, Justin Andrew Honard was a small-town Pennsylvania boy searching for a stage. This dishy, visual memoir spills the tea on Alaska's meteoric rise to fame, from her childhood makeovers of Mickey Mouse dolls all the way to her legendary Drag Race lip-syncs.
With heartbreaking honesty, humour, and her signature drawl, she shares never-before-heard stories about the man behind the beat and sheds new light on the well-worn tales of her career, such as her time at Trannyshack and relationship with Sharon Needles. Intimate and alluring with exclusive photography throughout, this book is the ultimate backstage pass to the making of everyone's favourite Glametron transplant."
2022,
Alaska Thunderfuck 5000,
Drag queen,
English,
Marlena Spieler,
Full title: "Release the Beast: A Drag Queen's Guide to Life" by Bimini Bon Boulash.
"Bimini Bon Boulash captured hearts and minds on both sides of the Atlantic as the gag-inducing, death-dropping, plant-based breakout star of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Season 2. Not only did she make us laugh and cry, she showed us how to develop a Positive Mental Attitude and live happily and healthily outside society's idea of "normal."
Telling the story of how drag took her from the brink of self-destruction to the mainstage, as well as life lessons drawing on convention-breaking icons from Kate Moss to Katie Price, in this book Bimini uses all her wit, charm, and kindness to show us how to lead the lives we wish we could lead, through the life-changing magic of drag."
2021,
Bimini Bon Boulash,
Drag queen,
English,
UK,
Full title: "GuRu" by RuPaul.
"As someone who has deconstructed life's hilarious facade, RuPaul has broken 'the fourth wall' to expand on the concept of mind, body, and spirit. This unique perspective has allowed RuPaul to break the shackles of self-imposed limitations, but reader beware, this is a daily practice that requires diligence and touchstones to keep you walking in the sunshine of the spirit.
Once you're willing to look beyond the identity that was given to you, a hidden world of possibilities will open its doors. That is RuPaul's secret for success, not only in show business, but in all aspects of life, especially in navigating the emotional landmines that inhibit most sweet, sensitive souls. If you think this book is just about 'doing drag', you are sorely mistaken because for RuPaul, drag is merely a device to deactivate the identity-based ego and allow space for the unlimited."
2018,
Drag queen,
English,
RuPaul,
USA,
Full title: "Caught In The Act: A Memoir by Courtney Act" by Shane Jenek.
"Boy, girl, artist, advocate. Courtney is more than the sum of her parts. Meet Shane Jenek. Raised in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, by loving parents, Shane realises from a young age that he’s not like all the other boys. At a performing arts agency he discovers his passion for song, dance and performance, and makes a promise to himself: to find a bigger stage. Meet Courtney Act.
Born around the turn of the millennium, Courtney makes her name in the gay bars of Sydney. Years later, she makes star turns on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Celebrity Big Brother UK, bringing her unique take on drag and gender to the world. Behind this rise to global fame is a story of searching for and finding oneself. Told with Courtney’s trademark candour and wit, Caught in the Act is about our journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity. It’s an often hilarious and at times heartbreaking memoir from a beloved drag and entertainment icon. Most of all, it’s a bloody good time."
2022,
Australia,
Courtney Act,
Drag queen,
English,
Shane Jenek,
Full title: "Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah" by The Lady Chablis and Theodore Bouloukos.
"Born Benjamin Edward Knox in Quincy, Florida, "The Doll" always knew she was different. At a Tallahassee club, in her teens, she found the drag mother who would set her on the path to stardom. Before long, The Lady Chablis had a headline drag act replete with trademark saucy wit, down-home wisdom, and, of course, breasts. The rest is "Miss Thang" history..."
According to Wikipedia, The Lady Chablis (1957-2016), also known as The Grand Empress and The Doll, was an American actress, author, and transgender club performer. Through exposure in the bestselling nonfiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and its 1997 film adaptation, she became one of the first trans performers to be introduced to a wide audience.
1996,
Drag queen,
English,
The Lady Chablis,
Original title: "Mary: Mein Leben in ihrem Schatten" by Georg Preuße.
Georg Preuße lets us participate in his steep rise, his joys, his defeats, and his psyche. I have read some biographies and all of them have reflected a never-easy career. Apparently, this is a testimony of our world that one learns from pain, which Mr. Preuße also expresses in open words. But he also lets us participate in his joy, in his inner learning and searching, which never stops. It can also be very direct.
He is a perfectionist, sometimes melancholic, anxious, courageous, and also strong. He goes his own way and he now knows his limits, which he has not always observed. Precisely because he has explored womanhood within himself, although he feels himself to be a man, allows him to take a look at the power relations of the sexes, which remains closed to many others.
2005,
Drag queen,
Georg Preusse,
German,
