“I’m a Man in a Dress, and I’m Not Afraid to Show That”

“Beautiful by Night” captures the transformations of San Francisco’s veteran drag queens.

Olivia (a.k.a. Frank) says that drag is both a screen and a way of shedding her skin.James Hosking

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


On a Saturday afternoon, Olivia Hart gets dressed in her pay-by-the-week hotel room before heading out to Aunt Charlie’s Lounge, one of the last gay bars in San Francisco’s tough Tenderloin neighborhood. Fifty-four-year-old Olivia is one of several veteran drag performers profiled in Beautiful by Night, a documentary and photo series by filmmaker and photographer James Hosking. Olivia (a.k.a. Frank) says that drag is both a screen and a way of shedding her skin. “Olivia and I are pretty much one and the same,” she says. But, she adds, “my thing is not being a female illusionist where I look dead-on like a woman. I’m a man in a dress, and I’m not afraid to show that.”

Beautiful By Night by James Hosking

 

Gustavo holds a photo of himself as Donna Personna. James Hosking
 

Gustavo puts on breast pads. James Hosking
 

Gustavo transforms into Donna. James Hosking
 

Donna in her apartment. James Hosking
 

Collette LeGrande. James Hosking
 

Collette in her apartment. James Hosking
 

Frank becomes Olivia Hart in his hotel room. James Hosking
 

Frank applies fake eyelashes. James Hosking
 

Frank, mid-transformation, pauses for a cigarette. James Hosking
 

Olivia, on her way to Aunt Charlie’s. James Hosking
 

Olivia nears Aunt Charlie’s Lounge. James Hosking
 

Donna makes her way down Turk Street prior to the show. James Hosking
 

Olivia fixes her jewelry backstage. James Hosking
 

Donna gets ready for the show. James Hosking
 

Donna prior to her number. James Hosking
 

Collette makes a final check before her performance. James Hosking
 

Collette performs “Sunny” by Boney M.

 

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate