Ballroom

The underground Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ ballroom culture that originated in Harlem in the 1960s-70s, evolving from drag balls into an elaborate subculture of competing 'houses,' vogueing, runway walking, and deeply creative fashion expression across dozens of competitive categories. Documented in the 1990 film 'Paris Is Burning.' Clothing varies dramatically by category — from hyper-feminine femme queen looks featuring couture-level evening gowns to butch realness requiring passing-standard masculine office or street clothing — with the unifying standard being impeccable execution and 'reading' correctly.