A NYC trip into late 80's Ball Culture // Happening // Added 2008/07/09 at 15:03
Tradition dating back to the 19th century and going strong into the 21st. Ball culture is an underground subculture in the United States in which people "walk" (i.e. compete) for trophies and prizes at events known as balls. Let's take a closer look to the mid-to-late 1980s and the Paris Is Burning Documentary which is all about the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America.
Prominent members of the scene in NY are Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Anji Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja. Many of the contestants vying for trophies are representatives of "Houses" (in the fashion sense, such as "House of Chanel") that serve as intentional families, social groups, and performance teams. Besides providing a support system for its members, the main function of these houses is to compete against one another in "walks" or "drag walks" in which they are judged on dance skills, costume, general appearance, and attitude. Participants dress according to category in which they are competing and are expected to display appropriate "realness".
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgendered community involved in it. Many consider Paris Is Burning to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America.
The film also explores how its subjects dealt with the adversity of racism, homophobia and poverty. For example, some became sex workers, some shoplift clothing, and some were thrown out of their homes by homophobic parents. One was saving money for sex reassignment surgery. Through candid one-on-one interviews the film offers insight into the lives and struggles of its subjects and the strength, pride, and humor they maintain to survive in a "rich, white world."
The film also documents the origins of "voguing", a dance style in which competing ball-walkers freeze and "pose" in glamorous positions (as if being photographed for the cover of Vogue).
Balls continue to be held at bars or Masonic halls or other improbable venues. Across the country and throughout the five boroughs legends are still being born.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_is_Burning_(film)
