Drag
A British History
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of California Press
Published:12th Sep '23
Should be back in stock very soon
“A must-read for anyone interested in the history of drag performance.”—Publishers Weekly
A rich and provocative history of drag's importance in modern British culture.
Despite its transgressive associations, drag has persisted as an intrinsic, and common, part of British popular culture—drag artists have consistently asserted themselves as some of the most renowned and significant entertainers of their day. As Bloomfield demonstrates, drag was also at the center of public discussions around gender and sexuality in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from Victorian sex scandals to the "permissive society" of the 1960s. This compelling new history demythologizes drag, stressing its ordinariness while affirming its important place in British cultural herit
"A must-read for anyone interested in the history of drag performance." * Publishers Weekly *
"An excellent examination of the complexities of various forms of stage drag and its mainstay role in British popular culture." * Library Journal *
"A new look at the history of drag. . . . Bloomfield illustrates how drag has long been a complex yet ‘ordinary’ artform, historically straddling queer radicalism and mass entertainment along the way." * ArtReview *
"A thoughtful and fascinating read." * Everything Theater *
"A fascinating overview of the story of British drag artists." * Aleks Sierz *
"An excellent primer to the complexities of drag as ‘a queer art form’ and so much else besides."
* New Humanist *
"Dr. Jacob Bloomfield is the uncontested expert when it comes to the history of drag in this country." * The Herald *
"A rich and fascinating account about female impersonation that will greatly add to contemporary, often ahistorical, understandings of drag." * CHOICE *
"A fascinating and richly illustrated history." * Journal of Social History *
ISBN: 9780520393325
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 28mm
Weight: 544g
272 pages