The House of Hidden Meanings
by RuPaul
Harper Collins
International drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul recalls in his revealing memoir that his first memory was when he was a five-year-old. He discovered that he could make his own magic and make his mother smile by impersonating Tina Turner, Carol Burnett or people in the neighbourhood.
He was also five years old when he was called a ‘sissy’ for the first time by another kid. He didn’t know what it meant but he knew it was an accusation from which he had to defend himself.
Growing up as a queer Black kid with an absent father and a temperamental mother had its challenges. RuPaul remembers that school was a waste of time, but he learnt a lot from reading books, watching television and observing people.
High school was a particularly alienating time as he could see his community occasionally on television but he couldn’t find them in real life. Getting into a school of performing arts and being cast as the drag queen in a Tennessee Williams play gave him ideas, but he was still searching for his tribe.
There is not a feather boa, wig or high heel in sight as RuPaul strips bear his soul to share the moments that contributed to him finding his identity – by transforming from a “gender-fuck anarchist drag” artist to the “high Femme sexy Glamazon” we know today.
This memoir is one of acceptance and love. Love for the little boy waiting on his porch for his father to return and love for his body that he abused in grungy clubs all over the world before finding the grace to keep sober for the last twenty-five years.
Love for all the men who broke his heart and love for Georges (who hails from Perth) who restored his faith in love. Love for his body that crashed on park benches and strangers’ floors to survive. Love for whatever God is out there in the universe that gave him such a rich life that he now shares in The House of Hidden Meanings.
Lezly Herbert
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