{"id":12487,"date":"2019-09-16T22:15:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T02:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=12487"},"modified":"2019-09-18T06:02:45","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T10:02:45","slug":"episode-338-simon-doonan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-338-simon-doonan","title":{"rendered":"Episode 338 – Simon Doonan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 338:
\nSimon Doonan<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

“Drag has been the wallpaper in my life forever.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Author, fashionista, creative ambassador, and recovering window-dresser Simon Doonan<\/a> takes us on a guided tour of gender non-conformity with his latest book, Drag: The Complete Story<\/a> (Laurence King)! Simon & I talked through his personal history with drag, how drag has evolved over the millennia, how the current moment is pushing drag in new directions, and why male British comics were so comfortable performing in it (a long-standing question of mine). We also get into his love of craft and how dressing windows at Barneys New York<\/a> was the perfect venue for him, the value of having a day job and not making art the center of one’s life, how a kid who failed his 11+ wound up writing a shelfload of books, the joy of his crafting reality show, Making It<\/a>, why he didn’t get through the auditions for Queer Eye<\/em>, the TV skill he had to learn, his love of history and his abhorrence at the idea of being anyone’s role model, why it’s life-affirming to wear some color, what sort of drag I’d be able to pull off, and plenty more! Give it a listen<\/a>\u00a0(conversation begins at 7:53)! And go buy Drag: The Complete Story<\/a>!<\/p>\n

(NOTE: All of Simon’s proceeds from this book go to the Ali Forney Center<\/a> for LGBTQ youth at risk for homelessness)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“I think it’s good for writers to get out and work. Like Simone Weil: she used to work in a car factory.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n