#hyperfemininity is such a slay sometimes

[rivertigo]

Long and impractical nails are soooooooo like you don’t even understand how much I love long impractical acrylics that are coated with charms and glitter

[mogai-sunflowers]

MOGAI BHM- Day 13!

happy BHM! today i’m going to be talking about ballroom culture!

[Image ID: A black-and-white photograph of a drag ball. In the photo, a crowd of Black people are standing around a gated area in a room, watching a Black man, dressed in a short black dress and black combat boots, dance and pose on the tiled floor. End ID.]

The history of drag ball culture can be traced to the 1920s in New York City, just before queer culture began to rise in Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance- however, at this time, mainstream drag balls were pretty much all white. Black performers were allowed to participate, but they were asked to lighten their skin in order to do so, and were often judged harshly and unfairly by completely white judge panels.

This horrible racist abuse led Black and other non-white queer people, especially indigenous and Latino queers, to form their own drag ball subculture. They would organize their own balls, sometimes in official drag ballrooms, and sometimes in their own homes, and drag ball culture really grew during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

During this time, drag ball culture was organized into different “Houses”, which were official establishments of the culture and events, but also frequently served as solace and shelter for Black and Latino LGBTQ people who had been kicked out of their homes or were facing violence for their identities. These Houses were based on the concept of family and love and defiance, and were the soul of drag ball culture. The first house, which kickstarted ballroom culture from the 1960s on, was the LaBeija House, founded by Crystal and Lottie LaBeija in the 1960s as a response to the racism they’d experienced in extant drag scenes in New York City.

There were many, many, many Houses that participated in drag ball culture- some of the most famous ones include The House Of Ebony, The House Of Xtravaganza, and the House of Ninja. All houses were led by “mothers” and “fathers”, usually elder members from drag ball culture. 

Drag scenes in this time period consisted of several different opportunities, mainly for lesbians, both cis and trans, gay men, and trans women. Contestants would “walk” (perform) and participate in different categories based on their identity or how they expressed themselves. These categories produced a lot of queer language as we know it today.

Two terms that originated with/were popularized by ballroom culture of the late 1900s, were ‘butch queen’ and ‘femme queen’. ‘Butch queen’ was a category for performers who were gay men but did not possess hyperfeminine or hypermasculine qualities/expressions, but rather a combination. The term was for a uniquely queer celebration of a blending of masculinity and femininity. ‘Femme queen’ was a category for people who would today be considered transgender women- people who were born ‘male’ but sought forms of gender, sexual, and/or social transition to live and present as a woman. 

Femme queens and butch queens were the biggest parts of drag culture. They accompanied other categories, like for butches (not butch queens) who were masculine lesbians. Other categories highlighted ‘Realness’ (the ability of performers to ‘pass’ as straight men/women), ‘business executive’, and several categories that allowed men to still be masculine and women to still be feminine. 

Language was very important in drag ball culture. ‘Femme’, ‘butch’, ‘queen’, they all described an aspect of queerness that was personal and yet political at the same time. This dedication to queer language led to the development of unique terms and language to define aspects of ballroom culture- in fact, most modern ‘queer’ language has been appropriated by white queer people from ballroom culture. Terms like ‘spilling tea’, ‘work’, ‘slay’, ‘yass queen’, and many others, all originate from ballroom culture. Many popular dance trends and moves, including the infamous ‘voguing’, also originate from the dance aspects of ballroom culture.

Although the history of drag kings is very often overlooked, they were and just as integral to drag culture as drag queens are. There were drag ball categories for trans men, butch trans men, and for trans men to ‘pass’ as gay men. Butch and trans men categories and experiences in this culture were emphasized and related, building the shared history between butch lesbian and trans male communities. queer history is inextricable from this kind of Black and Latino history. Queer language is not just queer language, and its history deserves to be known and respected.

Sources-

https://mozartcultures.com/en/understanding-the-ballroom-culture-its-incredible-impact-on-the-world/ 

https://www.allgaylong.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-modern-ballroom-culture/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_LaBeija 

https://time.com/5941822/ballroom-voguing-queer-black-culture-renaissance/

@metalheadsforblacklivesmatter @intersexfairy @cistematicchaos

[what-even-is-thiss]

Gender bender au