Was that a dramatic enough title of a post for you? Well it's also the title of one of the most exciting and fabulous and sad films I've ever seen. Paris is Burning is the documentary on the New York gay Ball scene which was prominent in the late 80s/early 90s.
Latino and Black gay men would meet up in the early hours and live out fantasies of being utterly fabulous and walking the ballroom floor, strutting their stuff. There are houses that these men belong to - like the House of LaBeija and the House of Pendavis or even the House of Xtravaganza. Each house has a mother who rules the House and commands respect from the children in her house. Many of the people who come into these houses are looking for a family who may have disowned them for being gay so it's the only family they have, being sisters under the skin. These children could also be upcoming legends or legendary - status is vital, think Dominique Deveraux on LSD and you get the idea.
Paris is Burning uncovers a hidden world that gobsmacked me by the terms used.
VOGUING - Madonna ran on the coat-tails of this movement where posing became an art form. These bitches are fierce! 2 people dance because they don't like each other, a war through posing.
MOPPING - To steal clothes/garments in preparation for a ball.
READING - The wickedest form of insult, using a flaw to turn round and win an argument.
SHADING - A form of intimidation by people from other Houses when one person is tearing up the ballroom floor. Being shady is frowned upon - fierce is recommended.
Because of all these men, categories are made for different queens to dress up aka
-Butch Queen on way to First Ball
-Femme Realness Queens
-Dynasty
-High Class Eveningwear or
The Poconos vs the Catskills
My favourite category is Banji - the idea of being the kind of boy who robbed you before you got to the ball
An MC rules the roost at the ball giving the performers walking music along the lines of Cheryl Lynn's Got To Be Real or Diana Ross' Love Hangover. He calls out as they walk "Shante, Shante Shante!!"
What's sad is that a lot of these men are hustlers or rentboys and one of them is later found dead in a sleazy hotel. He made a great woman with hair bigger than Christie Brinkley!
As always there are so many quotable quotes
"She burnt up my mink coat, I was devastated"
"We all at one time or another have lusted to walk a ballroom floor"
"If everyone went to balls and did less drugs, it'd be a fun world, wouldn't it?!"
"A house is a gay street gang"
"Is this realness or not? Let it be motherfucking hot"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment