Dancing in the Face of Disdain
Since its conception, white supremacy has been sewn into the fabric of American society, one which many white Americans have worn with a sense of pride and ferocity. The United States shunned those who were minorities and made everyday life difficult and at times—deadly for those who were not white, hetersexual, or cisgendered. Because of this, those who did not fit inside this rigid box of respectability, were forced to establish their own institutions and practices.
Black and Latine queer individuals pioneered ballroom culture as a form of resistance with extravagant dances and performances. Ballrooms were a safe space for queer individuals to gather with one another without the intrusion of cisgender or hetersexual people. The mainstream world scorned those who do not fit in with whiteness or straightness, so Black and Latine queers created their own world. This world of ballroom did not pay attention to the status quo. Their performances were an act of resistance because they were doing exactly what White America would hate to see. People who were assigned male at birth dressing and performing as women because it is what makes them feel most like themselves. However, this would have repulsed a majority of America because
they wanted masculine men. In a world that values white, heterosexual and cisgendered lives above all, Ballroom culture offered a place where intersectional voices are praised for being their most authentic self.
Though queerness was shamed, ballroom embraced the uniqueness and flamboyancy of each performer. The winners were the ones who were most expressive in their identity. The performances they put on were a magnificent display of their true selves that they had been forced to suppress in a patriarchal and homophobic world. Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris is Burning followed the lives of several trans and gay performers all impacted by the ballroom scene. Their struggles of existing through a bigoted society were revolutionized by an underground world that valued the presence of minorities. The majority of performers from the documentary explained how they were disowned by their families, but they found their real home in the drag houses. Through editing, sound, and cinematography, Paris is Burning was able to showcase a world where Black and Latine queer uniqueness was celebrated and community was created.
Queer approaches to this documentary have been discussed by scholars with many of them having a similar opinion about the performances that these Black and Latine drag queens put on. They believe that the performances at these ballrooms place emphasis on being cisgendered and white. However while white supremacy forces many minorities into assimilation, these performances are not a display of that. These drag balls are quite the opposite because white supremacy would hate to see Black and Latine queers celebrating their true selves. The idea that white supremacy would be able to curate a community that celebrates both race and sexuality as much as ballrooms is unimaginable. Ballrooms are not a product of white supremacy but a resistance to it.
In the documentary, one of the categories that the drag queens perform is realness. Mine Egbatan believes that this category is problematic for its reliance on conforming to the gender norms of femininity. “However, being real is achieved by aesthetic concerns. Characters in the film give importance to look like a woman by wearing make-up or fashionable clothes”. It is my opinion that Egbatan ignores the fact that these are ultimately performances in the end. These drag queens use make up and clothes as a way to magnify their own femininity and not necessarily conform to society’s standard of femininity. The femininity that drag queens depict is very different from that of societal standards. These drag queens exaggerate their performances with hyper femininity. They want to take up space with their glitz and glam. One example of this would be Pepper Labeija’s dress during one of her performances in the documentary Paris is Burning. She wears a sparkling gold dress with a ballgown silhouette. The dress, adorned with large puffy sleeves that engulf the space, is accompanied by a spectacular hat decorated with feathers. Her outfit dominates the room; something women would not be allowed to do by society. She wears this dress to purposefully show off her own femininity.
In the 1991 article “Paris Is Burning Jennie Livingston,” film critic Gary Hentzi writes that ballroom is, “a subculture that celebrates the frantically precise imitation of the stylistic mainstream.” Drag queens in Paris is Burning are shown personifying and exaggerating a variety of characters and categories found in the real world such as school girls or more broadly sportswear. Realness is another category in which people who were assigned male at birth dress and perform as cisgender women. Realness, however, meant more than just blending in with cisgender identity, but also being real to one’s self. They were not merely trying to look assigned female at birth, but they were trying to showcase their real identity that they had been forced to suppress for all these years.
On the other hand, the white femininity that many of the scholars incorrectly believed the individuals in Paris is Burning followed specifically values women who are feeble, subservient, and light (both personality and looks wise). Barbara Welter’s “The Cult of True Womanhood” best explains white femininity and its value on piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity.
Welter writes, “If anyone, male or female, dared to tamper with the complex of virtues which made up True Womanhood, he was damned immediately as an enemy of god, of civilization, and of the republic.” The performers in Paris is Burning broke all social constraints that society has pressured men and women to fit into. The characters in Paris is Burning have grown up in a world where society’s definition of men and women is clear and little leeway is given to those who did not fit in. They were shamed by society for their flamboyancy and femininity because it diverged from what was ‘normal’. It was vulnerable and risky to perform at these ballrooms because one’s true identity was exposed. Yet, that did not stop the individuals who were present in Paris is Burning. They used ballrooms as an escape from the discriminatory society they lived in. These drag balls were created out of a need to survive and thrive with others in their community. In a world that was made to suppress their individuality, they worked together to create these drag houses that uplifted the queer community.
In the book Black Looks : Race and Representation by bell hooks, she includes an essay titled “Is Paris Burning?” This essay shares a similar criticism as Egbatan that drag balls rely on white supremacy, and the performers in the documentary idolize white femininity. She writes, “For in many ways the film was a graphic documentary portrait of the way in which colonized black people (in this case black gay brothers, some of whom were drag queens) worship at the throne of whiteness, even when such worship demands that we live in perpetual self-hate, steal, go hungry, and even die in its pursuit.” True white femininity values women who are docile, fragile, and submissive. These performers in Paris is Burning are the opposite of the characteristics of white femininity. They want to take up space in the ballrooms and captivate audiences. They want fame and money, which white women must never show desire for. These performances critique gender as they subvert what it means to be a woman. The performers in Paris is Burning do not hate themselves, in fact they love their identity so much that they want to show it off to the ballrooms. That is why they perform; to be able to express their true identity. In the documentary Paris is Burning, one of the performers in the ballroom explains, “A ball is, to us, is as close we’re gonna get to all of that fame and fortune and stardom and spotlights.”
The movie begins with quiet shots of New York City at night. The only sounds in the background being cars passing and wind blowing. Then music begins to fade in, and queer individuals are shown congregating on the streets. Laughter and 80s synthpop music begin as soon as the queer individuals are on the scene. In this scene sound production is used to show how lively the world of queer individuals was in New York. The movie begins with silence, however, as soon as the queer community is introduced, music begins. The music is used in this scene to radiate the energy that is in each of these individuals when they are all together as a community. The music plays over their conversations and laughter as a way to portray the joy that one feels when they have found their community. Ballroom acted as one of the only outlets where queer people could have family when even their own had rejected them.
The music in Paris is Burning enlivens the dances of the performers in the film. These dances are often voguing, which originated from ballroom culture. The music made each dance feel more notable and extravagant.
Not to mention the double meanings that some of the song titles that were included have towards ballroom culture. In “The Music and Meaning of Paris Is Burning” by Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, she mentions two song titles that are references to important aspects of ballroom. Jennie Livingston included “Got to be Real” by Cheryl Lynn and “I’ll House You” by The Jungle Brothers. Lynn’s song is a reference to the realness category that performers in Paris is Burning would compete in. Although the song’s true meaning is about finding one’s true love, it was turned into the anthem for the category of realness. By including this song, the movie pays attention to the performers in Paris is Burning desire to be real.
“I’ll House You” by The Jungle Brothers is an allusion to how there were several different houses that each hosted their own balls, and would take in gay people who had been disowned by their family. In this instance, the ballrooms say to vulnerable queer individuals, “I’ll house you”. The movie uses the double meaning of house for taking someone in as well as ballroom culture to illustrate the crucialness of ballroom for the queer community.
The cinematography and editing are another key part in delivering the ideas of queer uniqueness being celebrated and the queer community being built in Paris is Burning. The movie includes several intimate interviews of performers who go to these balls including Pepper LaBeija, Angie Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, Kim Pendavis, and Venus Xtravaganza. In order to create a more personal viewing these are filmed with only the performer in view. Sometimes the individual will be doing a mundane task like putting on make up, smoking, laying on their bed, or sewing. These simple additions create a more intimate viewing experience as you feel their authenticity through the screen. In these interviews the performers discussed their family’s disapproval, characteristics important to ballroom culture, or their own sexuality and gender. Some of the conversations can be quite heartbreaking, especially the one revolving around queerness and biological families.
However, many of the interviews express their joy around attending the balls. One performer explains, “A ball is the very word. Whatever you want to be, you be. So at a ball, you have a chance to display your elegance, your seductiveness, your beauty, your wit, your charm, your knowledge. You can become anything and do anything right here, right now and it won’t be questioned.” Ballrooms were the only space where queer individuals could freely express themselves; that is one of the reasons it was so special to queer individuals in NYC. Most spaces would have shunned gay performers, but the ballroom was centered around queerness. This quote is said while showcasing performers voguing and modeling at ballrooms. Each contestant is dolled up and ready to perform. Their self expression on full display for all ballroom attendees to see.
Paris is Burning also includes title screens such as shade, legendary, mother, reading, etc. These terms were coined by the Black and Latine LGBT+ community and act as a demonstration of the unique culture that they have created for themselves. The film demonstrates what each of these terms mean in order to help inform unfamiliar viewers. Dorian Corey explains “ I don’t tell you you’re ugly, but I don’t have to tell you because you know you’re ugly. That’s shade.” Before this definition was given, the film included an example of shade where a boy tells another boy that he is all paint. This was able to demonstrate the uniqueness that surrounds ballroom culture. These are interactions that are not common in the white and hetersexual mainstream. Paris is Burning is not only about queer identity, but also Black and Latine identity.
Although Houses may have died down in popularity, there is no doubt that the influences of Paris is Burning are still around. On social media, vocabulary like shade and mother as well as the art of reading and vogueing still continue to circulate the community. Black and Latine queers are some of the first pioneers of gay culture that is depicted in Paris is Burning. Even the birth of ballroom in 1980s Harlem was unique to the scene surrounding it, as Harlem was full of Black creatives.
The gay and trans individuals in Paris is Burning view gender as a performance. Individuals in Paris is Burning who were assigned male at birth put on makeup and clothes, then perform in an elaborate display of femininity. The performances shown in Paris is Burning are a survival act in order to navigate a world that shuns queerness. Paris is Burning was instrumental in queer media as it was one of the first commercial successes that revolved around queer voices and their experiences in living in a homophobic and transphobic world. The film showed the true colors of what it meant to express oneself in a world that wanted you silenced.
