Let's Have a Ball

PERSEPHONE AMELIE

Let's Have a Ball

BALL/KIKI CULTUREÂ AND THE CIRCULATION OF BLACKNESS

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Ball Culture History Figures Kiki Culture Circulations of Blackness Why This Matters Sources

About the Author Persephone wanted to create something somewhat cool and informative. Â You can find her on many different social media sites under different things.

She hopes you enjoy this zine, and learn more about the kiki/ball culture scene.

LET'S HAVE A BALL

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BALL HISTORY Ball culture has its beginnings tied back to many different times Popular beginnings say that it started in 1920s and 30s Harlem drag balls.

This zine will focus more on the 1960s-80s ball scene, as well as the kiki scene that is emerging.

Ball culture became a place for queer black and brown bodies to be themselves, show off their moves, and be in a space with other similar folks A place of politics; queer black and brown bodies congregating in a place with each other, talking about the things that affect them Especially a safe place for folks during the AIDS epidemic and a place for queer folks to be away from folks who were not accepting of them.

Popular places: New York and California, but especially New York

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a j n i N i l W i l Born: April 12, 1961

Died: September 2, 2006 Known as the godfather of vogueing, central star of the movie Paris is Burning, a film on ball culture in New York

BLACK AND BROWN AND BEAUTIFUL FOLKS WHO ARE INVOLVED WITHIN THE BALL/KIKI SCENE Twiggy Pucci Garcon and Chi Chi Mizrahi are a part of the newer crowd of Kiki culture.

A place for LGBT youth of color to come together, it gets its history from ball culture and the way that it brought LGBT folks of color together for a place of sanctuary, information, and a way to be themselves.

Featured within a new movie, co-directed by Garcon called Kiki

Twigg

y Puc ci Ga rcon &Chi Chi M izrah i

LET'S HAVE AÂ BALL

Kiki culture is the new, up-andcoming scene started by LGBT youth of color.

Folks like Chi Chi Mizrahi (above) are paving the way for other LGBT youth to express their creativity and find a place of belonging.

Other folks involved in the scene include GIa Marie Love and Twiggy Pucci Garcon. These folks, along with others, are centered in the film Kiki, which talks about the beginnings of the kiki scene and steps into the lives of these individuals.

The kiki scene isn't just a place for folks to get together and dance; kiki culture has become a place for youth to find support, express themselves, and be in community with those who face the same injustices as themselves.

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Kiki Culture

BALL CULTURE & CIRCULATIONS OF BLACKNESS Ball and Kiki culture are not without their

appropriation and circulations from non black and brown folks. Madonna's "Vogue" is a direct example of this. While "Vogue" brought club music and dancing up to popularity, it fails to attribute or mention the black and brown folks who came before her and created the popular culture.

In relation to the Sharpe quote, the production of Paris is Burning by Jennie Livingston also brings light to the ways in which blackness is always circulated, but rarely credited back.

Within Paris is Burning, Livingston went into the safe spaces of these black and brown folks and filmed their lives, their hardships, everything, and at first, had really failed to properly compensate the folks for whom she became popular from.

"IS IT THAT BLACK PEOPLE CAN ONLY BE THE OBJECTS OF TRANSACTION AND NOT THE BENEFICIARIES OF ONE?” CHRISTINA SHARPE, IN THE WAKE

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LET'S HAVE A BALL

Why is this Important?

WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT ABOUT BALL/KIKI CULTURE OR ACKNOWLEDGING IT AS A CIRCULATION OF BLACKNESS?

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It's important to recognize ball and kiki culture as places of agency for LGBT folks of color to come and be themselves, as well as have a safe space for themselves. The intersections of gender, race, and sexuality come together within these spaces and allow folks to transcend the gender and societal norms that are placed onto them.

It's also important to acknowledge the ways in which blackness is circulated. Black culture, black sayings, blackness is circulated and appropriated and commodified by non-black folks but the recognition is never given back to those who originally created it.

SOURCES ISSUE 1 | MARCH 2017

Creator Persephone Amelie Sources for Information and Images: http://www.out.com/entertainment/201 7/2/06/twiggy-pucci-garcon-glory-kiki https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/20 15/07/22/arts/dance/20150726vogue.html?_r=0 http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2008/02/ theres-no-place-like-home-historyof.html http://www.ailurophelle.com/2016/04/he rstory-voguing-and-ball-culture.html https://id.vice.com/en_au/article/voguing-tosurvive-how-nycs-kiki-culture-is-givinglife-to-lgbtq-youth-of-color https://www.cinemapolitica.org/film/pari s-burning https://radfag.com/2015/05/31/vogueis-not-for-you-deciding-whom-we-giveour-art-to/ http://simplytwiggy.com/

Persephone Amelie persamelie@gmail.com Dedicated to those who came before me and allow me to be in the place that I am today.

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