Kiki (social gathering)

"Kiki" (alternately kiking or a ki), a term which started in ballroom culture, and was also for decades used in lesbian lingo to refer to a woman who was neither butch nor femme. The use of kiki as a gathering was later made more famous in the 2012 song "Let's Have a Kiki" by the Scissor Sisters, and has recently been brought back to slang by the LGBT community, is loosely defined as a gathering of friends for the purpose of gossiping and chit-chat.
Now referring to a social gathering, kiki developed as categorizations within different queer subcultures of ballroom culture as well as a mid-century American lesbian scene. The uses of this term thus all have historical ties to the LGBT community.
The word kiki first evolved from the French word meaning to “to choke” or “to throttle.” In the 1930s, the word was used to describe gay men who took on either dominant or submissive roles when sexual relations arose. From the 1940s, the term was used to reference lesbian women who did not identify as either masculine butch or feminine femme within the lesbian community, particularly working class networks; this connotation of the word continued for decades, but seems distinct from the use as a social get-together. From the 1990s, kiki was being used to refer to people gathering together to have a good time. This usage came from Black queer Ballroom culture, which gained a wider public audience through the 1990 movie Paris Is Burning, in which Ballroom participants used kiki to refer to the sound of laughter.
From ballroom culture, kiki began to bud off into its other scene, especially those particularly friendly towards Black/Latino members of the LGBT community, as depicted in the 2016 movie, Kiki. Post 2010, due in part to the release of "Let's Have a Kiki" by the Scissor Sisters, and the popularization of drag culture through RuPaul's Drag Race, the word found its way into mainstream culture.
Historically, Harlem drag balls of the 1920s and 1930s New York, came from the migration of African Americans from the South to the North of the United States. The original drag balls served as a safe place and resistance to homophobia for Black queer populations. The Ballroom scene and culture exist through multiple generations and emerged from and for Black and Latino LGBT individuals. The Ballroom scene served as a place for social support and creative expression. In 1967, the modern ballroom scene and culture were created in response to racism in New York's drag ball community.
These Kiki houses, and modern ballroom culture in general, provide youths a space of shelter and love. The competitions that are found in modern ballroom culture with these Kiki houses give out prize money for the winning Kiki house of the competition. The prize money gives these contestants an opportunity to make a living for themselves and not become victims of their circumstances. Within Kiki and ballroom culture there are many programs such as, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, that provide a space to educate the youth about ballroom and kiki culture, STDs (while helping to de-stigmatize them), safe-sex practices, and provide them with the help they need to continue down the right path in life despite all they have been through.
Within ballroom culture from the early 2010s, the term kiki gained the connotation of a light joke that doesn't need to be taken seriously. The term defined a new kiki scene created for younger LGBT individuals, between the ages of 13 and 24 years old, as a more economically accessible version of ballroom culture.
Balls are events in which houses or representatives host in which participants compete to win cash prizes and trophies throughout multiple categories. Usually, they include performances that go beyond gender and sexual identity, including fashion runways and voguing.
Many of the followers of modern ballroom culture are of Hispanic or African American descent and a part of the LGBT community. Due to the stigma that comes with sexuality in these communities many of them are kicked out of their homes. This forces many of them to live on the streets which exposes them to STDs, sexual and racial discrimination, and harassment.
Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it portrays the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. It shows the New York ball scene that housed major gatherings/competitions where queer people compete and perform in various categories coming from different houses. The title takes heavy inspiration from the Paris Is Burning ball held annually by artist Paris Dupree, who appears in the film.
The documentary follows several key players that represent major houses on the ball scene using interviews and footage. These houses were intentional families that doubled as social groups and performance teams. The "houses" serve as surrogate families for young ball-walkers who face rejection from their biological families for their gender expression, identities, and sexual orientation. The major figures include Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja. Figures such as the ones named earn "legendary" status if they continue to win trophies and their name becomes more known on the scene. Many of the interviews showed how each character was able to create their own separate world where they were able to live out all their fantasies without fear of being judged. These figures give commentary on gender roles, gay and ball subcultures, and their own life stories. The film explains how words such as house, mother, shade, reading and legendary gain new meaning when used in ways to describe the gay and drag subculture.
The film also covers the dangerous and negative aspects of the scene as it pertained to walkers' health and the lengths they go to walk the runways. The film explores how its subjects deal with issues like AIDS, racism, poverty, violence and homophobia. Some, including Venus Xtravaganza, became sex workers in order to support themselves and their lifestyle. There is a powerful scene in the film where the "house mother", Angie Xtravanganza, is told the news of Venus's strangling by a dissatisfied client that truly shows the dangers faced at this time by the community. Many are disowned by their transphobic and homophobic biological families, leaving them vulnerable to homelessness. Additionally, some shoplift clothes due to lack of resources in order to "walk" in balls. The film also gives insight on the origins of "voguing", a dance style in which competing ball-walkers pose and freeze in glamorous positions as if being photographed for the cover of Vogue. Conversely, Livingston wanted the film to be much more than a dance film and filmed it in a way that anyone could learn from it and how these people survive trying conditions and find community and positivity regardless.
The film was well-received, receiving mostly positive reviews from a number of mainstream and independent presses, remarkable at that time for a film on the LGBT community, given the enormous legal and cultural obstacles that they faced at the time. The film holds a score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 7.83/10. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress being considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". There was also controversy about the creator due to being a white film creator filming and showcasing a central queer culture based on people of color. Critics including feminist scholar bell hooks questioned whether Livingston – a middle-class, white, genderqueer lesbian – was playing the role of voyeur; an enabler of cultural appropriation. Furthermore, several participants in the film felt they were not properly compensated for a film that had generated such wealth. In 1993, The New York Times reported several performers wished to sue for a share of the profits. The film grossed $3,779,620 domestically against a budget of roughly $500,000: excellent numbers for a documentary but minimal in comparison to blockbuster films. All of the named performers dropped their claims after their attorneys confirmed they signed standard release forms. Livingston distributed approximately $55,000 among 13 participants: an unusual, not unprecedented, move for a documentary. Even so, people have continued to speak and write about Paris Is Burning. In 2003, the New York Times reported that more than a decade after its release, Paris Is Burning remains a commonly cited and frequently used organizing tool for LGBT youth. Seen as a way for younger ball participants to meet their cultural ancestors. Modern media, such as RuPaul's Drag Race, take heavy inspiration from the film, Kiki, and ball culture today. Even through its controversy, the films lasting impact is undeniable showing such a rich culture of balls and the community found within it.
Houses were established between 1968 and 1973. While they often provide social and emotional safety, houses are not usually concrete spaces and buildings; yet, sometimes houses do serve as actual homes. Houses are kinship structures that provide a home for their members or children. The children of the house consist of various ages, races, and backgrounds. These houses are led by mothers or fathers that represent that House.
The structure of ballroom houses are set up with parents and children. In these houses, your gender does not determine your role, instead your role in the house is based on your ability to guide those around you. The mothers and fathers, who are platonically related, of these houses take more of a responsible mentor role, they provide love and guidance to their children. They are usually of higher class than those of their children, who are usually of lower or working class. The children of these houses are selected by the parents of the house. They do this based on who they feel like best to add to structure and the relationship of the house that they have already established. Within these houses they work together to support each other both financially and emotionally. While most of this responsibility falls on the parents of the house, other members can help as well. They also do things for the ballroom community by hosting balls and spaces for the kiki houses to show off their ballroom skills.
Kiki houses a part of the kiki ballroom community and scene include:
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Relevant figures for the kiki scene are, and not limited to: Twiggy Pucci Garçon, Aisha Diori, and Arbert Santana.
Twiggy Pucci Garçon is an African American non-binary LGBT youth activist who goes by she/they pronouns. They are the chief strategy officer of True Colors United, an organization that provides services for the LGBT and BIPOC homeless population, joining in 2014. She was born in Virginia. In an interview with Jama Shelton, she stated, “I came to the ballroom 16 years ago in 2004. I was in high school.” Garçon founded the Opulent Haus of Pucci and was the house's mother. She also oversees the House of Garçon. She was the ball consultant and runway choreographer for the show Pose. Garcon was one of two writers and a subject for the movie Kiki (2016).
Aisha Diori is an African American HIV/AIDS Activist who helped pioneer the kiki scene in New York alongside Arbert Santana. She has worked with Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and the Hetrick-Martin Institute to promote and to host balls catered towards HIV prevention. At the Hetrick-Martin Institute, she would host Kiki Lounges to educate LGBT youths on HIV and STI prevention. These lounges along with community interaction from health institutes for queer youths helped form the kiki ballroom scene in New York. In 2002, Diori was the house mother of the House of Latex, which she held for 6 years. She founded the House of Iman for WBT in the early 2000s which was also a part of the kiki scene.
Arbert Santana (Latex Evisu) was a Puerto Rican HIV/AIDS activist who was the founder and mother of the House of Latex and the House of Evisu. In 2010, Santana began a collaboration with Robert Sember and Michael Roberson of Ultra-red in order to document house/ballroom culture. The Arbert Ballroom Ballroom Freedom and Free School was founded through this collaboration and named after Santana after their death in February 2012.
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