Ballroom+Culutre

The ballroom scene is a subculture of the LGBT community, predominantly made up of people of color, specifically African American and Hispanic (Monforte, 2010). It stemmed from the Harlem drag scene in the 1920’s and 1930’s (transgriot, n.d.). Within this subculture, contestants compete at balls, walking and dancing, in order to gain trophies and overall recognition within their community (Monforte, 2010). Many of the contestants compete under the structure of a house, although the option to compete on an individual level is accepted (Monforte, 2010).
 * Ball Culture **

Within the documentary //Paris is Burning// (1990), Dorian Cory, a renowned drag queen and founder of the House of Cory states, in reference to houses, “it wasn't a question of a man and a woman and children, which we grew up knowing as a family [but] a question of a group of human beings in a mutual bond” (//Paris Is Burning//, 1990). Within the time period of the 1980’s and 1990’s many of the LGBT youth within the Harlem area were without homes, shelter, food, and overall support as a consequence of their lifestyle. Cory states that the houses gave a new meaning to the concept of family, debunking the hetero-normative construct. Many of the house members lived communally, while some simple congregated during the balls. Houses were run by “mothers” and “fathers” of any gender, with the house members taking the role of “children” (transgriot, n.d.) [|Paris is Burning: House Definition]
 * House System **

The Ball Scene has continuously influenced pop culture. For example, Willie Ninja created the well known dance style of Voguing (//Paris Is Burning//, 1990). Voguing served as the inspiration for Madonna’s popular song and music video Vogue (timlawrence, n.d.). More importantly, the ball scene works to erase gender expectation created by society. The ball scene works to highlight the many facets of masculinity, as illustrated by the various categories within the competition. Over time, the balls have evolved from traditional drag competitions to embracing the various nuances of masculinity. [|Paris is Burning: Voguing]
 * Social Influence **

Kyera Swint *As this community is a smaller subset of the LGBTQ community, it is highly lacking in research. This community is often overlooked or lumped into the facets of the Trans or Drag communities.

References

H. (2013, August 08). What is voguing? (Paris is Burning). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdgYBCnW-8

"'Listen, and you will hear all the houses that walked there before': A history of drag balls, houses and the culture of voguing". London: Soul Jazz, 2011. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://www.timlawrence.info/articles2/2013/7/16/listen-and-you-will-hear-all-the-houses-that-walked there-before-a-history-of-drag-balls-houses-and-the-culture-of-voguing

Livingston, J. (Director). (1990). //Paris is Burning// [Motion picture]. Off White Productions, Inc.

M. (2015, January 26). Paris is Burning | 'Categories' (HD) - Dorian Corey| MIRAMAX.

Retrieved May 08, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wITnguCPHBI

Monforte, I. (2010). House and ball culture goes wide. //Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review//, 28-30.

TransGriot. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2016, from http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2008/02/theres-no-place-like-home-history-of.html