Many of you might be familiar with ball culture, given the recent popularity of the Netflix show, Pose. Ball culture is an underground LGBTQ+ scene in New York City that began in the 1960s and became popular in the 80s. This subculture centers on performance and has fostered a network of community for Black and Latinx queer people for generations.
Back when ball culture began, individuals became involved in the scene by joining ‘houses’ and attending balls, or large competition events, which consisted of hours-long performances and included dancing, modeling, and more. House members would dress and walk (and ‘vogue’) according to specific categories, and the best performer would win trophies and other prizes. Ball culture reimagines notions of gender and sexual identity, as well as social location, in a myriad of ways, and it still exists today.
This week, please watch the documentary film Paris is Burning in full. This groundbreaking work of art has been hailed for elevating one of New York’s queer subcultures of the 1980s. Make sure that you’ve read our course materials in advance of viewing the film; responses without references to our texts will receive deductions.
Then, in 300 words, please respond to the following. Be mindful of organizing your writing—you should include a separate paragraph per bullet point.
- Introduce the film. What community(s) and identities are captured here? Who is being represented?
- What is “walking”? Can you connect this form of embodiment to Butler’s work? Is walking subversive? How?
- In ball culture, how are participants “doing gender”? Connect your response to West and Zimmerman, and if you discuss elements of masculinity and femininity, you should discuss Connell’s work as well.
- Consider an intersectional analysis. What does ball culture provide for queer people of color?
0 comments