1920’S HARLEM

Drag balls first appeared in Harlem's Hamilton Lodge in 1869. The balls had increased in popularity by the 1920s. Despite their rising popularity, drag balls were considered unethical and illegal by the general public.

When it became well known that LGBTQ+ people frequently attended these events, which were originally known as Masquerade and Civic Balls were renamed the general public considered drag balls unethical and illegal "Gay Balls" by the general public.

Drag ball culture has been irrepressible since the beginning, thanks to the patrons' and ball organizers' incredible perseverance in the face of difficulty.

Smoking … Paris Is Burning.

Photograph: The Ronald Grant Archive

Seeing as the emergence of these balls took place primarily underground away from the public eye not much is known about their fashion trends or makeup other than of course men dressing as women with dramatic painted faces. A few decades earlier, the city had experienced the emergence of ball culture, but many black drag queens felt left out and frequently had to bleach their skin to blend in with the largely white environments. Over time, these queens developed their own underground ball culture.

Off White Productions/Everett Collection

Octavia St. Laurent Mizrahi was an American model and AIDS educator who was active in New York City's Black and Latino ballroom community and Harlem's luxurious balls.

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If money wasn't important in the world to survive, I guess I wouldn't want anything but what I have now But since money does, I hope that the way I look puts money in my pocket”