The Black Queer Community’s Impact on The Culture
Throughout history, the Black Queer community has given us some of the largest cultural movements and trends of our time. For Pride Month this year, let’s take a look at how the Black Queer community has shifted popular culture.
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Dance and Music
The strength of the Black Queer community shines through in its significant contributions to Black culture. (Talk about an influence, right?) This influence is especially evident in the various forms of self-expression embraced by Black Queer people, such as fashion, music, dance, and art. In New York, specifically Harlem, one of the most popular forms of this expression emerged: Ballroom Culture.
During the Harlem Renaissance, clubs and balls served as spaces of freedom and expression, allowing Black and Latinx Queer people to connect, showcase their creativity, and dress in ways that made them feel confident. These venues became the birthplace of drag performance and voguing, a now mainstream form of dance that highlights the vibrancy of Black Queer culture.
Today, ballroom culture has evolved into a dynamic scene where balls host vogue battles and drag competitions featuring various "Houses," which act as families of dancers. (If you’ve ever watched Pose, then you’re already hip to this vibrant world.) House music, synonymous with ballroom culture, provides the pulsating backdrop for these events. Artists like Madonna, Beyoncé, and Teyana Taylor have further pushed vogue into the mainstream by regularly incorporating elements of the style into their performances.
Beyoncé, in particular, has taken many influences from Black Queer culture, most apparent in her seventh solo album, RENAISSANCE, a house and dance music genre project featuring Big Freedia, a gender-fluid New Orleans Bounce music icon. This underscores how Queer culture started a movement that the biggest names in music use today.
But Black Queer music isn’t limited to house music and voguing. Black Queer musicians exist in a league of their own, constantly dominating in their respective genres. Artists like Kehlani, Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Janelle Monáe, and Honey Dijon are just a few of many creatives revolutionizing the way we engage with music through their unique stories.
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Language
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Outside of dance and music, the Black Queer community has heavily influenced how we speak; let’s talk about it! Ever heard someone being nasty or “throwing shade”? That's queer language. How about someone looking amazing or “serving cunt”? Also Queer language.
Many of the phrases and sayings we now call "slang" originate from ballroom culture and it’s time to give credit where it’s due.
Black Queer language, particularly through the ballroom scene, has introduced a rich lexicon that has permeated mainstream culture. Terms like “queen,” "werk," "slay," and "read" have roots in ballroom culture, often used to describe performances and personas that embody authenticity, confidence, and excellence. The use of "throwing shade" and "reading" are forms of playful insult or critique originating from the witty and sharp verbal sparring seen in ballroom competitions.
Now, of course, when something becomes mainstream, everyone wants to claim it as their own. Terms originating from the Black Queer community have been appropriated by the broader Queer community, with some even alleging that a majority of white gay men are guilty of adopting the personality and mannerisms of Queer Black individuals and labeling it as "Queer Culture." Luckily, the misappropriation of these terms is now noticed and called out much more than it was years ago.
As Queer culture becomes more mainstream, it’s important to recognize how deeply integrated Black culture is within it.
Fashion
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Black Queer folk have been taking up space in the fashion world for decades, from designers to content creators who have developed a space for Black Queer creatives to thrive. Brands like Telfar and Brandon Blackwood have become staples in the Black community for their creative styles, and clever, modern marketing campaigns. This unique understanding of what the culture wants, and who it wants to see, has allowed these brands to expand beyond popularity in just Black spaces.
Black Queer culture has also been at the center of many fashion trends, from the camp aesthetic to long, acrylic nails. Without the boldness of Black queer creatives, many fashion boundaries might have never been pushed. Take, for instance, the legendary André Leon Talley, a pioneering Black Queer figure in the fashion industry known for his influential work as a fashion journalist, editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, and his iconic sense of style.
The social impact of Black queerness is visible everywhere and has been, for a long time. Black Queer people constantly battle social norms and always come out on top, advancing creative expressions of all kinds. These developments are only possible because of the efforts of trailblazers originating from Harlem.