Hell in a Handbag

by Jibz Cameron

The debut memoir from the unhinged queer genius known as Dynasty Handbag.

A freak’s freak, iconoclast performance artist Jibz Cameron is best known for her multimedia act Dynasty Handbag, an alter ego lampooning the tragic absurdity of heterosexuality, queerness, the female body, capitalism, depression, art making, and life itself. With her debut memoir Hell in a Handbag, Cameron traces her warped and inspired perspective from a childhood spent with hippie clowns on the broken-down commune scene of Northern California, to making morbid zines as a teen in the East Bay punk scene, to in-your-face experiences of misogyny in New York City’s avant-garde theater scene, to the grisly birth of Dynasty Handbag and her droll evisceration of contemporary life. An engrossing and swiftly paced story as candid as it is wise, Hell in a Handbag is an immersion in unhinged queer genius.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[tobe · Rating 5 out of 5]

picking up this book was like having a perfect slice of chocolate cake every single day

[Rae Breaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could read it for the first time a hundred more times

[Carolee Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know Jibz, but I respect Jibz. The four stars are for the first 3/4 of the book. I lost interest when it turned into a whirlwind show biz festival of vignettes by famous people. That’s just me, I guess. YMMV.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll probably read this book 5 more times.

[Lia Posatiere · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I read this book based on the cover…. Which slays boots down. I giggled quite a bit and cringed even more. Relatable at times but also felt light years away. Once again I am yearning for the mid nineties SF lesbian scene like fuck my drag u guys.
Wasn’t quite what I was hoping for but can’t really tell u what was wrong either. But i guess that’s kind of the point of the this type of memoir tho.

[Nicole Lynch-Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me on a really interesting journey through Jibz' life. Jibz is CRAZY smart, has been through so much, and it was inspirational and awesome to read.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know who dynasty handbag was when I picked this up but I now know that I would recommend this to literally anyone

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOLz on all the pagez

[Kelsy Vivash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was funny and sweet and weird and heartfelt and crass and explosive. The last chapter, about the death of Clyde, was particularly special. Loved it.