A Man in a Dress

7/30/2019 A Man in a Dress

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A MAN

IN A DRESS

A MAN

IN A DRESS

A MAN

IN A DRESS

A MAN

IN A DRESS

FRANKIE

TOFTELAND

FRANKIE

TOFTELAND

FRANKIE

TOFTELAND

FRANKIE

TOFTELAND


2/20

A

MAN

IN ADRESSWRITTEN,

DESIGNED,

AND

ILLUSTRATED

BY

FRANKIE

TOFTELAND1


3/20

TABLE -OF-

CONTENTS

1 RUPAUL

2WILLAM

3 DIVINE

4 RAJA

5 SHARONNEEDLE

TABLE -OF-

CONTENTS

1 RUPAUL

2WILLAM

3 DIVINE

4 RAJA

5 SHARONNEEDLE

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His name is RuPaul andRe CHaRles and Hes gonna be a s

RuPaul is a drag queen

who also an actor, singer,

model, and author. RuPaul is

arguably the most famous drag

queen right now, if not of all

time. He has lead the way for

other queens and the LGBT

community alike. Working across

different mediums throughout

his career he has inltrated the

music, lm, television, radio, and

fashion industries.

RuPaul was born Novem-

ber 17, 1960. When asked what

she named her baby boy, his

mother replied, His name is

RuPaul Andre Charles and hes

gonna be a star! Cause aint

another mother fucker alive with

a name like that! He started his

career in the 80s after moving

from his home in San Diego to

Atlanta and later to New York

City. His was struggling musician

and lmmaker helping to create

the movie and soundtrack Star

Booty and other underground

lms made with a home video

camera. During this time he also

performed as a go-go boy and

with his band Wee Wee Pole at

bars around New York City. In

the 90s he worked in the Geor-

gia and New York club scenes

in a genderfuck style making a

name for himself within the drag

and larger LGBT communities.

For years he appeared at the

annual Wigstock drag festival

and appeared the documentary

of the festival, Wigstock: The

Movie.

In 1993 RuPaul released

his rst album, Supermodel of

the World, which contained the

hit Supermodel (You Better

Work). The music video played

on MTV at a time when rap and

grunge were popular becoming

an unexpected hit. The song was

popularized though its play on

MTV as well as its airplay on the

radio placing it on several Bill-

board charts. He then released

several other popular songs

afterwards from his rst album in-

cluding Back to My Roots and

A Shade Shady (Now Prance).

RuPaul signed a modelling

contract with MAC Cosmetics

becoming the rst drag super-

model. This was al

for him to release

raphy, Lettin It All

which he also prom

in a storyline on A

dren and the set of

talk-show The Cut

He then landed his

VH1 titled The RuP

co-host Michelle V

he interviewed cel

musical acts.

In 1996 RuPa

his second album F

1997 he released

album, Ho, Ho, Ho

he released his fou

Red Hot on his ow

Inc.

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After premiering his new

reality show he released his al-

bum Champion which had stand-

out hits such as Cover Girl

and Jealous of My Boogie,

both featured heavily on his

show. At the third season nale

of RuPauls Drag Race RuPaul

released his new album Glama-

zon with the albums singles also

featured heavily on the show.

In 2010 RuPaul made an-

other reality show, RuPauls Drag

U. In this show three women are

made over by drag queens from

past seasons of RuPauls Drag

Race incorporating straight peo-

ple into this area of LGBT culture.

In 2009 RuPaul debuted

RuPauls Drag Race, a reality

show in which drag queenscompete for the title of Amer-

icas Next Drag Superstar.

The show is a landmark cultural

achievement in that it brings the

world of drag into the public

eye. It also gives drag queens a

new platform for exposure that

was otherwise unavailable in the

past on such an immediate and

large scale. In the past, LGBT

gures, much less drag gures,

would be unheard of appearing

on television but RuPaul has

been a pioneer appearing as a

drag queen in the public eye and

creating a wildly popular televi-sion show featuring drag queens.

RuPauls Drag Race is currently

the Logo networks most popular

show and the most streamed on

their website, logotv.com.

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10 112 WILLAM

WILLAM

ILLAM WILLAM

WILLAM

WILLAM

WILLAM

WILLAM

WILLAM

WILLAM

WIL

WIL

M

WIL

WIL

M

ILLAM

ILLAM

M

M

ILLAM

ILLAM


8/20

12

Willam Belli is an

actor, musician, and drag

performer who commonly

goes mononymously by

Willam. He is a muti-talented

performer who goes by

the motto, If youve got

a check, Ive got a talent.

Ill do anything for money

anything. He has been

in numerous feature lms,

the most notable being

Because I Said So and

American Wedding. He

also has extensive television

experience including

Southland, My Name is Earl,

Criminal Minds, CSI:NY, and

Boston Public. Despite his

vast acting experience he

is perhaps best known for

appearing on season 4 of

RuPauls Drag Race last year

where he stirred up quite a

bit of controversy for being

the only contestant to be

kicked off the program after

admitting to breaking several

of the rules in his contract for

the show. He says he doesnt

consider [himself] famous.

[He] considers [himself] a

novelty. Like a Crackerjack

prize.

The 30 year-old South

Philly native started dressing

up when he was only 11

in Florida because it was

so hot, and [his] thighs

chafed. It was just more

comfortable.When he was 13 he

was 53 and over 200

pounds, when he lost weight

through vegetarianism he

had gas for three years

straight. Due to these

circumstances he learned

how to be funny to make

friends. He says that

everyone liked him in school

because he was the funny

gay kid. His family has

always been very supportive

and his dad took him to The

Rocky Horror Picture Show

when he was 13. Willam tooknight courses and graduated

high school at the age of 16,

got emancipated and moved

to Los Angeles to start his

career.

I moved to L.A. to

famous ish. I didn

wanted to do. All

wanted to be in tab

came an actor. Iv

30 guest spots: na

in the last 10 year

Nip / Tuck was wh

known for, I did

that. And then I be

and then I became

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Willam contributes

to the LGBT community though

his visibility as a working drag queen on

tv, lm, and in music which not only increases

visibility for drag queens in general, but also for

other non-gender-conforming individuals whom are

often underrepresented in the media. He has also

become an accidental activist with his band,

Trans K, consisting of himself, current Drag

Race contestant Detox Icunt, and

Vicky Vox.

When the Chick-

-Fil-A people got real vocal

about the whole gay-hating thing we

made a video. We didnt know it would

be a big thing, but it was. At the Hollywood

Chick-Fil-A they show new employees the

video; probably to say watch out for

these bitches, they crazy! Youre

welcome, world.

The video is a parody of

Wilson Phillips Hold On titled

Chow Down (at Chick-l-A)

which Willam wrote, sang, and

starred in with the other mem-

bers of Trans K. The video cur-

rently has over 2.7 million views

on YouTube. Although it may

come across as an endorsement

at rst, the video description says

it all, If drag queens endorse

Christian-right owned Chick-l-

-A, is it still an endorsement?

NOPE. The feedback for the

video has also been extremely

positive both from the public and

from Wilson Phillips themselves,

We are lucky

gally and literally)

nie and Chynnas

approval on this. C

ed me saying that

harmonies but my

been better. Carni

RuPauls Drag Rac

so she instantly lov

Chick-l-A related

received on the ro

positive, and many

directly from the m

Chick-l-A employe

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16 17IVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVINIVIN


11/20

Divine was a prolic drag

queen who has left a lasting

impact on the drag scene and

LGBT community as a whole. He

was an actor in numerous lms

and released many singles to

international success. Although

he died in 1988 he has remained

an important gure in the LGBT

community with a cult following.

Divine was born as Harris

Glenn Milstead on October 19,

1945 in Baltimore, Maryland. He

was raised in a conservative up -

per middle-class family. He was

bullied in high school because

of his effeminate behavior and

because he was overweight. He

had an interest in owers which

lead him to work part-time for a

orist at age 15. He later went

to beauty school and became a

hair stylist specializing in up-dos

such as beehives. He would go

on to quit his job and had his

parents pay the bill for lavish

parties where he would dress in

drag as Elizabeth Taylor.

Divine. Thats my name. Its the name John [Waters] gave me. I like it.

Thats what everybody calls me now, even my close friends. Not

many of them call me Glenn at all anymore, which I dont

mind. They can call me whatever they want. They call

me fatso, and they call me asshole, and I dont

care. You always change your name when

youre in the show business. Divine

has stuck as my name. Did you

ever look it up in the dic-

tionary? I wont even

go into it. Its

unbeliev-

able.

He then befriended, among many people, John Waters, who

his name. Divine would often appear in drag in Waters controve

derground lms with Waters other friends who later became k

The Dreamlanders. When Waters lms began getting pr

did Divine, with the Los Angeles Free Press commenting,

300-pound sex-symbol Divine is undoubtedly some so

of discovery. In Waters 1972 lm Pink Flamingos,

the nal scene involves Divines character

eating dog feces. This scene became a

standout in Divines acting career

and he later complained that

everyone thought he

was a coprophile.

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21

All of Divines underground

acting was kept secret from his

parents while they continued to

nancially support him and his

expensive parties. After charging

them for a major repair for his

car, they cut him off. Divine then

proceeded to cut off communica-

tion with his parents for the next

nine years with the exception of

postcards from around the world

excluding a return address.

In the early 70s Divine

and John Waters attended the

ball scene in the D.C. area

where Waters pushed Divine

into a more outrageous persona,

including an exposed stomach

and carrying weapons.

Throughout the 80s Divine

released a number of singles

written by composed Bobby

Orlando and later Barry Evan -

geli that proved to be popular in

discos internationally. He went

on a series of tours around the

world and made appearances

on shows such as Good Morn-

ing America to publicize his

music. Divine starred in Waters

1988 lm Hairspray in which

he played two roles, one as a

woman and one as a man. He

received much praise for his

acting in the lm and this was

considered his breakthrough into

mainstream cinema.

On March 7, 1988, three

weeks after the nationwide

release of Hairspray, Divine re-

turned to his room at the Regency

Plaza Suites Hotel in Los Angeles

after a full day of rehearsals and

a diner with friends. He died that

night in his sleep of an enlarged

heart at the age of 42.

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22

RAJARAJA

RAJA

RAJARAJA

RAJA

RAJA

RAJA

RAJA RAJA

RAJA

RAJA RAJA

RAJA

RAJA

RAJA

RAJA RAJA


14/20

Raja rst came into the

public eye as a makeup artist

under his given name, Sutan

Amrull. He was rst known as

the makeup artist for Americas

Next Top Model for nine of the

shows cycles. Some of his more

notable clients include Dita von

Teese, Pamela Anderson, Paulina

Porizkova, Iman, Tyra Banks

and Twiggy. As a drag queen

Raja would go on to compete in

season 3 of RuPauls Drag Race

and win that season becoming

crowned Americas Next Drag

Superstar.

Sutan Amrul

better known as Ra

June 14, 1974 in C

When he was only

ily moved to Indon

back to California

suburb of LaPuente

nine. He grew up a

nate kid in a religi

recalling, It was s

had to really strug

As a child he woul

tumes of out bed s

els, I knew I shou

on a heel. You just

a desire that need

In the early 90s Raja got

his rst glimmer of notoriety as

an L.A. club kid. He received at -

tention for his outrageous outts

made of materials such as saran

wrap, duct tape, or wrapping

paper admitting, I was a kid

starved for attention. His rst

time in drag was when he was

16 at a talent show. He was timid

and shy as a kid and drag help

to pull him out of his shell. My

insecurities were hidden behind

makeup. Drag was a catalyst to

making me a secure person.

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Raja as a drag persona

is stylish. Raja is a vixen. Raja

is a villain ... Raja is an angel.

Raja, which means king in

Indonesian, got his name from

the tiger in the lm Aladdin when

he was 19. He claims to have

chosen it because of his ambigu-

ous drag style which plays with

androgyny, and draws heavily

from fashion, I have so many

inuences, Im a big follower of

fashion. I love fashion, because

designers really nd different

reference points and really study

up on different cultures.

Rajas time on RuPauls

Drag Race was intense and

grueling, as he expected from

his work on Americas Next Top

Model. He knew the time and

exhaustion that went into reality

tv competitions but he felt that

he needed to show the world his

type of drag.

After winningDrag Race Raja re

rst single, Diamo

Queen and relea

video for it. The so

electro-house beat

some rock inuenc

queens from RuPau

release music after

but many are brim

autotune. Raja isn

doesnt pretend to

the song, his style

kind of talk-singing

Cash or the more c

Ke$ha. When aske

music he says, I ju

make music that M

can be like, Oh m

the sickest song. C

use that for our run

I think as a drag queen, one of

things we do is pretend to be

beautiful. We paint ourselves up,

and we pad ourselves, and we

throw on a wig. We pile all these

things on ourselves to be more

beautiful. But the competition al-

lowed me to dig deeper into my

soul and what it is that calls me

as an artist and an entertainer. It

was a nice realization that what I

have within me is as powerful as

what Im presenting as a visual.

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ESSHARONNEEDLARON

NEEDLES

S

S

S

ARON

NEEDLES

SSHARO

NE

RONEEDLESON SHARON

RONNEEDLESDLES

SHARONEE

SHARONNEESHARON

NEEDLESSHA


17/20

Sharon Needles describes

himself as a stupid genius, reviled

sweetheart, and PBR princess.

He rst came into prominence

when he won the fourth season of

RuPauls Drag Race. He was seen

as an underdog and a joke before

the competition and during by his

competitors; meanwhile during the

show he became a fan favorite for

his wit and aesthetic.

Sharon was born Aaron

Coady on November 28, 1981

in Newton Iowa. He was bullied

all through school for being gay

and weird. He consequent-

ly dropped out of high school

because of the harassment he

received.

In 2004 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he began work -

ing as a drag queen. He often talks about how he was frequently

booed off stage and received no respect because of his al-

ternative aesthetic. In Pittsburgh he formed the drag

troupe The Haus of Haunt with his group of

friends, including his boyfriend, which

Needles describes as one punk

rock, messy mash up of

very talented, fucked

up weirdos.

On January 30, 2012 the fourth season of RuPa

premiered and Needles was an instant fav

ghoulish look including pale white foundati

hair, and black clothing. Lady Gaga even

ed Sharon Needles looks FABULO

2night on drag race. Very Born Thi

Way outt/fame monster wig.

Any rentals for my tour?

#needthatbody-

suit.

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He then went on to

become a professor on RuPauls

show, RuPauls Drag U and was invited to be

part of RuPauls Drag Race All Stars but declined ashe was the reigning champion. In October 2012 he be-

came a horror host for Logos Fearce! presenting horror

and suspense lms. In January 2013 he released his

debut album, PG-13 with celebrity features includ-

ing Amanda Lepore and RuPaul. Recently, in

April 2013, he appeared in Willams

single RuPaulogize

W h i l e

Sharon was endeared

by the public, the other contestants

counted him out from day one, calling him a

weirdo and commenting that its just bad drag. Sha -

ron himself didnt think he could win with his past in Pitts -

burgh and with previous patterns in the show stating, being

a comedic, campy, shtick queen and seeing how far those

types of queens made it in past seasons, I would have been

shocked if I made it pas t the rst day. However Needles

continued to do well in the competition eventually

winning the title of Americas Next Drag

Superstar.

Sharon has also received a lot

of controversy for being a racist,

including an alleged Facebook

post of him using a racial slur.

He also has come into controver-

sy for his performances including

wearing a bathing suit with swas-

tikas on it and calling audience

members racial epithets. Sup-

porters say he is merely trying to

force dark issues into the light.

When asked about it Needles

responded, No. Thats not my

problem. Im an artist and I dont

fucking have to answer for my

work.

It dis-

heartens me to think

that anyone would think I have an

negative views on race, sex, creed, we

or any other label. I am too smart and

spired by all levels of pop culture to hate a

something as simple as race. To whomeve

this fabricated Facebook post, I applaud

serving social media realness, but I s

you spend your free time on someth

more productive.

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A Man in a Dress

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