by Li Kiefer
Drag is an all inclusive art form. There are drag kings, queens, assigned female at birth queens, and androgynous royalty. I wanted to focus on how trans women specifically have historically impacted the world and culture surrounding the art of drag. I wanted to do this because their impact and place in drag is often overlooked mainly because of RuPaul. RuPaul doesn’t allow trans women on Drag Race unless they haven’t had top surgery, and he makes them come out on the show. RuPaul is the most well known drag artist so his disclusion and invalidation of post surgery trans women is very impactful and causes trans women to often be overlooked in the world of drag.
One of the most influential times for drag was in the 70s and 80s, specifically in Harlem New York where the Ballrooms happened. Ballrooms were a kind of fashion show runway competition. You would walk, dance, perform and serve in hopes of winning a trophy. Ballroom is where vogueing comes from. Vogueing is a highly stylized, modern house dance. It often mimics model and fashion poses and style. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue", and when showcased in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning. Vogueing is still used today in drag performances and it’s a big part of the history and culture of drag.
Paris Is Burning is a great documentary that focuses on the lives of a few ballroom performers, most of them are trans women. It’s a great example of the community and culture that shaped drag. In the movie they mention houses and motherhood. A house is like a chosen family of performers who know each other from the ballroom scene. They live together and support each other. Every house has one founder called the mother. This concept of houses, chosen family and motherhood also carried through to drag. Ever since it was created in the ballroom community there have been drag mothers, families, and royalty.
Another thing showcased in Paris is Burning is the language of the ballroom community. Realness is a good example. Realness is how real you are, are you convincing people enough that you are who you say you are, a real woman? Could you walk around without people suspecting you’re trans? Realness is still a term used today, it’s used a lot on RuPaul's Drag Race only it doesn’t refer to trans women it refers to men dressing up as women and how convincing or real they look. There are many more terms that have been coined from ballroom culture, realness is just one example of many.
One performer who is featured in Paris Is Burning is Venus Xtravaganza from the house of Xtravaganza. Xtravaganza states in Paris Is Burning that she began cross-dressing and performing at age 13 or 14, placing her earliest performances around 1978 or 1979. Eventually, her family caught on to her lifestyle, and because she didn't want to embarrass them she moved away. She relocated to New York City in order to be able to perform freely. Her ball career began in 1983, when House of Xtravaganza founded by Hector Valle invited her to join the house. Valle died from AIDS-related complications in 1985 and then Angie Xtravaganza assumed the role of house mother, and she took on Venus Xtravaganza as her drag daughter. At the time of filming Paris Is Burning, Xtravaganza was an aspiring model. She wanted her sex change to make her feel complete. On Christmas Day in 1988, Venus Xtravaganza was found strangled under a bed at the Duchess Hotel in New York. It was estimated that her body had been there for four days upon discovery. Shooting for Paris Is Burning was ongoing, and the film's final minutes include Angie Xtravaganza reacting to her death. Angie Xtravaganza said she felt that Venus was one to take too many chances, that she was too wild with people in the streets and that she feared something was going to happen to her. Angie Xtravaganza was the first person detectives approached with the news of Xtravaganza's death, and it was she who broke the news to Venus’ biological parents. In Paris Is Burning, Xtravaganza describes a time she narrowly escaped an attack by a man who discovered she was transgender during an intimate encounter, and it is possible her murder occurred during a similar situation. Her killer was never found. In RuPaul's Drag Race, contestants and judges frequently allude to lines from Paris is Burning, many of them are Venus Xtravaganza's. A notable example is, "a bunch of overgrown orangutans," a read Xtravaganza used in the documentary. The House of Xtravaganza remains active in the ball circuit, nightlife, and LGBTQ activism. It is one of the oldest active houses in New York City.
Overall almost every aspect of drag and drag culture comes from trans women specifically in the ballroom scene during the 70s and 80s. We have to include them in our history, education, and current drag culture. We can’t just ignore the huge impact they had on drag and disclude them. Drag is meant to be all inclusive and all forms of drag are valid.
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