<I>Brenda, Miss Black Trans New York 2017</I>
date: label: Date
content: February 18, 2017
name: label: Photograph by
content: Gerard H. Gaskin, Trinidadian American, born 1965
label: Subject of
content: Brenda Milan, American
label: Subject of
content: Black Trans Advocacy, American, founded 2012
label: Subject of
content: Black Trans International Pageantry System, American, founded 2012
notes: label: Caption
content: “The balls are a celebration of black and Latino urban gay life. They were born in Harlem out of a need for black and Latino gays to have a safe space to express themselves. Balls are constructed like beauty and talent pageants. The participants work to redefine and critique gender and sexual identity through an extravagant fashion masquerade. Women and men become fluid, interchangeable points of departure and reference, disrupting the notion of a fixed and rigid gender and sexual self. My images try to show a more personal and intimate beauty, pride, dignity, courage, and grace that have been painfully challenged by mainstream society. All of this happens at night in small halls in cities all over the country. These photographs, taken in New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Washington, D.C., show us different views of these spaces as they are reflected in the eyes of house and ball members who perform what they wish these cities could be.” – Gerard H. Gaskin
label: Description
content: A color digital image portrait of the 2017 Winner of the BTIPS NY (Black Trans International Pageantry System of New York) Miss Black Trans New York, Brenda Milan, taken at the Ebony Ball in Manhattan in February 2017.
label: Description
content: Milan is pictured from the hips up, standing against a dark grey background. She wears a long sleeve, black dress and is posing with her proper right hand on her hip. She is facing forward and looking to her right. Across her chest is a white sash reading [BTIPS NY MISS BLACK TRANS NEW YORK] in black text. Upon her head is a tall rhinestone tiara in an intricate design.
place: label: Place captured
content: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Dance
label: Topic
content: Fashion
label: Topic
content: Gender
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: LGBTQ
label: Topic
content: Music
label: Topic
content: Nightlife
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Sexuality
label: Topic
content: Urban life
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Portfolio/Series
content: Legendary Portraits
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gerard H. Gaskin
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2019.44.1
objectType: label: Type
content: portraits
label: Type
content: digital images
label: Type
content: digital media - born digital
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Gerard H. Gaskin
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: digital
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 6720 pixels × 4480 pixels
label: Dimensions
content: 256.76 MB