Strike a Pose
Ballroom culture may be on fire worldwide, but it started with people of color
The beat starts and the commentator calls the category… “OLD WAY, YOU ARE NOW!!!!” All competitors are lined up waiting to walk with their eyes on that trophy. They are striving for the privilege of bragging rights — at least until the next function (in some cases an entire year for major functions) — and a chance to make a moment that everyone in that room will remember them by. The countdown to stop anyone else from entering this battle has begun, 5… 4… 3… 2… and suddenly the burst of a House chant begins “NI, NI, NINJA!!!”
Ballroom, for those who may not be aware, started out as an underground culture composed of Black and Latinx people from the LGBTQIA Community. The culture is one that has been highly publicized in films such as Jennie Livingston’s 1991 documentary Paris Is Burning, and more recently in Viceland’s My House and FX Network’s POSE, which was recently renewed for a third season.
One perspective we tend not to hear often is that of women of color who are part of the scene and have been for years. I myself hate labels and the whole divide-and-conquer mentality. Women are women, and I choose to shed the cisgendered label (denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their…
