January 5, 2021|
Before there was
Pose, before Madonna showed us all how to Vogue, before Stonewall, there were courageous individuals in the ‘50s who busted gender norms, donning drag in a “Leave it to Beaver” America and paved the way for those that followed, daring to be different in a culture that sought to criminalize their behavior. Combing through a treasure trove of letters found in a storage unit in 2014, the creative team behind
P.S. Burn This Letter Please embarked on a five-year journey to reconstruct the lives of its protagonists.
Burn this Letter offers a fascinating glimpse into the pre-Stonewall era of drag queens, femme mimics and female impersonators. Many of them from small towns across America’s heartland itching to flee to the big city in search of a better (freer) life where they could fully express themselves. Such as James Bidgood, a former female impersonator from Madison, Wisconsin who upon arriving in New York said, “As soon as I stepped of