THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN MEANINGS: A Memoir, by RuPaul As “The House of Hidden Meanings” is RuPaul’s fourth book and his first straightforward memoir, it’s understandably being marketed as an opportunity to see the pop culture icon in a new light.
The striking, almost intimidating, black-and-white cover photograph notably subverts the expectation of seeing Ru in glamorous technicolor drag.
All the artifice has been stripped away, we’re being told: This is RuPaul stripped bare. But the meanings laid bare in the text contradict RuPaul’s narration again and again.
What’s revealed is a striver high on his own supply who tries to spin his story as empathetic wisdom draped in Instagram-ready captions.