The Origin Of Ballroom Culture

In my class Humanities, our first unit is called Stories. To start the year off, I wrote an Origin story of my own for my first Action Project. It started with my class talking about what others origin stories are. An example we used was the story of how the world began, and the different versions that societies pass down to their people. Good stories have a way of bringing people together and being inclusive. Real or fiction, stories help us to feel empathy for the characters and you put yourself in someone else's shoes for once. They give us direction to write and be creative with our own stories. Listening or reading to someone tell a story stimulates our brain and our imagination. To catch the reader's attention you have to use descriptive language and good characters. We did activities to practice writing a good story so that we could form our own. I used everything that I learned leading up to this AP to write the Origin of Ballroom Culture.

The picture below is how a Drag Queen (Not Elektra) dressed in the 80's-90's. Ballroom became a big deal in the 80's but didn't start until the late 60's early 70's. Queens would wear colorful wigs and paint on over the top makeup. All artwork below created by yours truly.

TG. Drag Queen. 2019.

In the 60’s there was an elite task force that worked to stop people that participated in Drag; men dressing in women’s clothes. Being gay was okay and so was being transgender; only if you had money to deceive the masses. The task force was funded by the FBI and was started by a man named William Jarell. William was a racist, homophobic, straight white man. His grandfather was the Grand Wizard of the KKK, and William was carrying on his agenda under a different guise. The people who worked with William were trained to go to the extent of killing the offenders in broad daylight if they resisted arrest. Upon capture, the task force would bring them to a blacksite in Harlem, New York. William created propaganda to instill fear in the public. They would put up posts like, “People in drag are mentally ill!” and “There are only two genders; any other identity not allowed.” During the 60’s there was a racial war going on in New York, so nobody really paid attention to the disappearances of Drag Queens. Suicide rates started going up because they weren’t able to be themselves in public, and even their own family would turn on them. 

Elektra, a transgender female who lived in Harlem saw her community being torn apart. Her saving grace was that she got sex change surgery to look like a woman and she took estrogen hormones. She could walk on 5th avenue and strut like any other affluent white woman. Elektra’s name means “Shining Star” In Greek. She gave herself that name after her sex change surgery, and never spoke of her name that was given to her at birth. She was tall and slender, with cheekbones that sat as high as the sun. She had full lips, glossy chocolate skin and smelled of Chanel perfume. She had money, and that money gave her status. People close to Elektra compared her to a sunflower, tall, beautiful, and drew everyone's attention - men and women. A force to be reckoned with, she was something you couldn't look away from but you never knew why.

Elektra was a fashion designer for the gay and trans community and so was her friend Pray Tell. The Drag discrimination had been stirring within her for a while and she decided to talk to Pray about it.  “I want to create not a safe place but a brave space. I want people to see our beauty and know that we have something to contribute to this world as well. There is so much untapped talent in our community” Pray didn’t think it was a good idea at first but he went along with it eventually. “I just don’t want to see anybody get hurt Elektra.” She insisted, “Pray, I’ve felt the wind in my face my whole life. Which means I know when it’s at my back.” 

TG. Strike A Pose. 2019

Little did Elektra know, her idea would grow into a culture. She rented out a club in Harlem where she would start hosting events for brown and black queers. She had her hands in many pots throughout the city, so she was able to get the word out without raising trouble. Everyone was invited, the gays, trans and Drag Queens. Elektra decided to call these events “Ballroom” because of the different pageant categories every week.

Ballroom was magical and the energy was infectious. You can feel the spirit of healthy competition surrounding you. Walking a category in ballroom is an out of body experience. You could dance, walk runway or sometimes lip sync to the R&B music being played. The music was the lifeblood of Ballroom culture, it was distinctive for it's punctuated staccato style, and it was full of attitude. A particular type of dance that started in Ballroom was called Voguing which is the language of the gay, trans, and Drag Queen community. Voguing was created to mimic famous model poses. The rich culture behind the moves in Ballroom can be elusive to the uninitiated. The stage was elevated, and there was a podium where Pray Tell would announce the categories in a blatant voice. As people walked he would describe how they looked in gay lingo. "And the category is: Femme Queen in pumps! Now this category is to see if you can cross the threshold into the four seasons, or to the bar at the St. Regis, or tip up and down Fifth Avenue and never stumble, wobble, or show fear. Walk like you were born in stilettos!” The outfits were over the top with extra color and flare. Each performer brought their own identities and ideas to the scene. Some days it would be classy like fashion week, but other days it had culture. There was a disco ball in the middle and the crowd on the sides of the runway would hype up whoever was walking. There was a balcony and private VIP areas with bottle service for the Queens who won trophies. 

TG. Vouging, Making A Statement
Gay Man and Transgender Female. 2019.

A Drag Queen in Ballroom is not just a man who wears women’s clothes; a Drag Queen is an entirely separate entity. The person underneath the queen disappears almost completely and they change into another person, a better version of themselves. A drag queen has plunged their hands deep into their own psyches, and pulled out the weirdest, fiercest, and most theatrical parts of themselves, and mashed them together into something new. A character. An alter ego. Ballroom became a voice for individuals who were disenfranchised, rejected, and dejected from their family and society. Ballroom was created from a time of struggle, and thrived. Elektra helped these individuals come together to create a unified voice.

TG. Butch Queen. 2019.

TG. Femme Queen Walking Body Category. 2019.