Ballroom culture can be traced back as early as the late 19th century, gaining prominence in New York’s Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Having experienced discrimination for many years as they competed at these Balls, drag queens of colour broke away to create their own scene, free of racism, led by pioneer Crystal LaBeija.
Re-purposed and enacted in a version more suited to the times in which we live and the city we live in, Jay Jay Revlon and other fledgling ' House Mutha's and Fatha's' continue the tradition in ways which create harmony (and revelry) for those who explore and display their gender expressions, in UK's rapidly changing cultural and visual economy. In this era of austerity, political skulduggery with regards to Brexit, decreasing rates of social mobility and to top it all, a killer virus that has a Mexican beer as its namesake, rage at just about everything is commonplace in metropolitan England.
Yet, rage is a powerful energy when channelled creatively. Creative antidotes to societal ills can be a satisfying counterpoint. Showcasing beauty, fashion, sex appeal and much more, participants put their best shoe forward in the Ballroom circuit - effectively re-claiming their sense of personal sovereignty.
For many Qpoc's with femme personalities and gender expressions, the psychology of a Cis-heterosexual gay and white male dominated culture, can be difficult to navigate; there is a high premium placed at the gay altar of masculinity - its currency that of attention, envy and longing.
Confidence and ownership are hallmarks of this Neo-ballroom culture seen at cities all around the world. At a Ball, members of the community compete in different categories, with voguing being just one example.For queer and trans people of colour these are safe spaces; a means of survival, expression and fun.
Minor distractions displayed by participants, like the cattiness and melodramatic claims of one's look or dance sequence being stolen are ritual, competitive mechanisms for surviving at the margins. And pure theatre.
In the UK, black Queers have had a dearth of diverse representation, historically, and when represented it has largely been through the gaze of powerful LGBT+ gatekeepers; facilitated by whim, and scorned as niche - supplementary to bigger LGBT+ agendas.
Marginalisation does that. It disguises authentic creations; appropriates ideas and penalises those who don't and won't play the game. This game changed with the advancement of the internet and technology in general.
Once awkward and unsure, Qpoc Millennial's/Generation Z, are now empowered in the UK, at least. Any cursory visit to the internet offers viewers a massive education in Qpoc creativity.
Taking that creativity beyond the internet into a solid business model - one based on an outsider-culture; from the bottom up, is next-level - it requires business acumen and likeability. Navigating oneself as a freelance business person in the UK creative sector is no easy task when many of the non-black (and increasingly black) people who you come into contact with, learn via the media, that the African-Caribbean domestic reality is one that is, in the words of Kobena Mercer 'narrowly problem-centred'.
A natural entrepreneur, Revlon has taken his expanded project to Europe and included aspects of grooming in his oeuvre - all with the edginess that is synonymous with gay creatives.
Now, that's Next Level.
Refreshing as it is to see an autonomous creative non binary man of Jamaican heritage build a platform that engages like-minded people, who criss-cross boundaries of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class, I have no doubt that pioneering in such a place takes its toll. And while we could argue that success always comes at a price, invisible barriers that are not easy to surmount impact the overall well-being of Qpoc's; impacts that all too often go unacknowledged.
Alongside visibility, there is the potential for haters, to coin a Ballroom phrase, 'come for you…'
Accumulation of microaggressions; the weight of responsibility, otherwise known as 'the burden of representation' require resilience. In addition, financial disparity in the creative industry will always be a given, if those who create are blocked from commercial channels and owning their IP.
Always the performer and the consumer, never the producer.
Although the internet has broken down gate-keeping measures imposed by institutions and enabled the era of the art-preneur, personal branding and
Insta-Culture embody a generation of individualism that can be banal and self-serving to the point of pure vanity. But that's the point, I guess.
Yet, Jay Jay's creative vision has gone beyond consumer capitalism and self-worship. By enabling spaces, for Qpoc's to own their femme personae and use it as creative capital, he has effectively breathed new life into this, a Gen Z ballroom endeavour - promoting collective, inter-community well-being.
If you do get to a ball, and I'd highly recommend it (everybody likes to pose now and then, don't they?) remember that when they holler 'You're giving me life !' They mean it. Literally.
Copyright Shaun Wallace 2020.
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