Drag has evolved over the years. Queens were once like vampires, sequestered to the darkness, never touched by the sun. You’d often find us confined to nightclubs: tall figures floating above the crowd like mystical giants, pushing through a pulsing pool of people. Other times we’d be under a spotlight, singing in a sticky dive bar or standing on a theatre stage. Access to this art form was very limited. It was a niche community that rarely offered outsiders a glimpse into the glitz and glamour.

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Fast-forward and drag has exploded into the zeitgeist of the mainstream: it is everywhere, and it is for everyone. From margins to mainstream, we no longer fear standing out in the sun. We’re in movies and television campaigns, we’re commercial tycoons, pop stars and household names. We have been serving since the dawn of time; now, the world finally has an appetite, and they are Eating. It. Up.

Through facing adversity, we’ve equipped ourselves with a handbag full of tools and talents that help us live life authentically. This is why we are the perfect people to inspire others to be themselves. You see, the skills we have aren’t limited to lashes and lipstick. We can help anyone live a life as fantastical as a drag queen’s. Style, confidence, business, make-up: we can do it all. Why do you think our wigs are so big? They’re full of secrets.

Edited extract from Drag Queens Down Under (Affirm Press) by Art Simone, out now.