House in the House Ballroom Scene
The ballroom scene started in the 70s as a way to ensure strength and social acceptance of people in the United States. It started as a game where gay children and gay youths who were separated from their families could gain back their social connection. The older youths took care of the younger ones which led to the formation of families that were later referred to as houses. During this period different, different houses came up, and the people in those houses competed at different categories of games. In the House Ballroom scene, houses are taken as alternative kinship where mother and father are taken as leaders while children are members of the whole house. Houses according to the House Ballroom scene united people where they were regarded as homes since the groups in the game became real-life families. Individuals who joined the ballgame from different countries are taken as families when they join the house. The house is taken as a unifying factor of all people who were considered homeless and those who had shifted from their home country where they regained social connections.
Houses in the ballroom were given names such as Mizrahi, Revlon, and Balenciaga where the names were developed from fashion icons. The houses offered children and the youths in the region the house of belonging since they were involved in the games and had seniors who acted as parents in those houses. Children were given advice and guidance in the homes by those who acted as parents. During the 70s, many houses were built to cater for all the children and youths who were from other countries and who had their real families from the countries.
Houses in ballroom scene had a perfect utopian system where they had both mother and father. The houses were literary considered as homes for many as they created a sense of ownership to most of the children and youths. Each house aimed at having its ballroom which led to developing of many ballrooms in the country. Between the 1970s and 1980s, many houses had developed with different names assigned for each. They included the House of Corey. Wong, Dupree, Labejja, Princess, Christian, and the house of Pendavis. These houses acted as social networks mostly for black gay people and they comprised of more men than women. Due to the high population of men than women in those houses, the games that became common were masculine aesthetics over the commonly played game during that time which was a drag.
The best houses during that period had both the month and the father, but we have some that had same-gendered people. The ones that had both family figures were more preferred as they discouraged homosexuality because it was common during that period where gays and lesbianism were highly practiced. Fathers were the most masculine people and acted as the heads of the house whenever they were part of the families. Those who were in the houses were considered as being in a family because the houses had a father, mother, and children. The houses during that period were meant to accommodate the blacks and gays who were mostly eliminated by the society which forced them to go to the streets. The houses emerged to create homes for the homeless and get the families involved in cultural and social activities. The houses competed against each other in different games which gave each member of the family a sense of belonging.
The term house as used in the ballgame scene was meant to imitate the houses that were formed in Paris and the term aimed at describing organization structure of the people who were deemed homeless by that period. The houses were organized completely as home because they had a complete structure of homes with mother and father as the heads and children as the members of the house. The difference that was between those homes and the real homes is the fact that the mother and the father in those houses were not the real biological parents of the children. The children also were not connected by blood, but within the houses, there was love, devotion, and trust just like other real homes.
Children who joined the houses came from communities, families, and schools that were rejected. Also, individuals who portrayed different gender or sexual expression were rejected in the communities which made them join the houses as a way to have a sense of belonging. Those who acted as father and mother of those children assisted them in being part of the communities where they were involved in ball system. The houses competed against each other which led to the enhanced social connection among the people in different families. Different houses competed for different games, and they aimed to get a good position within the hierarchy. Each of the house was associated with different characters where they were involved in different games and dances. An example is the house of Ninja that was known to have double-jointed dancers. Different talents were developed within those houses, and some of the members of these houses are known for their talents like dancing, singing and various games to date.
The competition between these houses was real such that some of them got physical involving violence. This is where a house became violent after losing a game because there were presents given to every winning house as well as the position that was assigned to the winning houses. In those houses, there were different categories of genders which included Butches, women, queens and femme queens. All these houses competed against one another in balls, voguing and other games which strengthened the social relationship of these houses. By the end of the 1980s, balls were not considered as the most important games facilitating culture as there were more activities beyond culture. Other games and songs such as hip-hop emerged which also created a baseline for competition among the different houses.
Conclusion
In the Ballroom culture, houses were referred to as kinship structures where families were involved. The structures of those houses were more based on social structure factors rather than the biological structure. This is because most of the members in those houses were not connected by blood, but they were the groups that were rejected socially in the communities. In the houses, both figures of mother and father were available where the one who acted as a mother took the role of cooking, nurturing and cleaning while the fathers acted as mentors to these children. Different houses were given names according to their attributes, and the major reason for forming the houses was to guide these children and create a place they could feel a sense of belonging.