Description

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The ultimate celebration of LGBTQIA+ icons profiling 40 artists, entertainers, writers, and activists who inspired the queer community with their style, openness, and diversity.

This giftable collection of Instagram-worthy illustrated biographies takes you on a tour through LGBTQIA+ history from the 20th century through today, featuring profiles of Britney Spears, Judy Garland, RuPaul, Lady Gaga, Mae West, Freddie Mercury, and Lil Nas X.

What makes a gay icon? Free, uninhibited expression; an open mind; creativity; and bravery. Friends of Dorothy celebrates a wide range of people with the strength, vulnerability, charisma, and style that set them apart and gave them status with the queer community. 

Queer icons include supporters of LGBTQIA+ rights such as Marsha P. Johnson, and others like Divine and RuPaul who shattered social barriers to become important cultural ambassadors of queerness, changing the world in the process. Other icons are timeless entertainers with unique appeal, from Judy Garland and Bette Midler to Grace Jones and Lady Gaga.

This collection welcomes readers into a flamboyant world populated by larger-than-life figures who inspired LGBTQIA+ people—over the decades—creating controversy, challenging conventions, and sometimes putting their own lives on the line in order for new generations to live in a more equal and accepting world. 

With spectacular color portraits by artist Alejandro Mogollo Díez, the dramatic visual style perfectly captures the flair and panache of these figures.

About the Author

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Anthony Uzarowski is the author of Jessica Lange: An Adventurer’s Heart and coauthor of Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies. He has written numerous articles on cinema and the arts, with his work appearing in the Guardian, Film International, Gay Times, Queerty, and many other publications. You can also see his head pop up in the occasional documentary, where he shares his love for classic movies and its stars.

Alejandro Mogollo Díez is a Spanish artist and illustrator from Seville. He studied art, film, and photography at Cornell University before becoming an art director and graphic designer. His unique illustrations, inspired by classic Hollywood and pop culture, have garnered the attention of many celebrities, including Madonna, who has shared his work on social media. His work has been previously featured in Encyclopedia Madonnica and MLVC60.

Praise For…

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In this jubilant outing, film historian Uzarowski (Jessica Lange) spotlights 40 tastemakers beloved by the LGBTQ+ community, from classic celluloid heroines of the 1930s and ’40s and pop divas of the 1960s and ’70s to contemporary celebrities. According to Uzarowski, there’s “no set sexual or gender identity” required to be a queer icon, who are celebrated instead for their “strength and vulnerability,” unabashed love of glamour and camp (Marlene Dietrich), support of the LGBTQ+ community (Cher), and groundbreaking representation of queer identity in their work (James Dean), or personal lives (Elton John). Alongside pop art–style portraits from Diez, the biographical sketches highlight how the subjects’ public personas intertwined with their lives and careers, from Katharine Hepburn’s “ambiguous sexuality and confidence... [that] distinguished her from other female stars of the era” and led to movie projects “that highlighted her tomboyish qualities,” including a role in the “gender-bending” 1935 Sylvia Scarlett, to “probably bisexual” Frida Kahlo’s “unique blend of feminine beauty and masculine elements,” which were evident in both her “androgynous... self-portraits” and personal style. While there could have been more diversity—many subjects are drawn from mainstream white culture, though Uzarowski takes care to include the likes of Josephine Baker and James Baldwin, along with a few other people of color—readers will revel in this tribute to boundary-pushing luminaries. It’s a delight.

—Publishers Weekly