Emerging in Harlem during the late 1960s and 1970s, the ballroom community was created by Black and Latine queer people who faced racism within established drag pageants. Led by trans icons like Crystal LaBeija, ballroom evolved into a highly structured subculture where participants "walked" in various categories to compete for trophies. The House System
The first brick thrown? That’s up for debate. But the people who fought back hardest against the police that night—and on the nights that followed—were street trans women, drag queens, and homeless queer youth. , a self-identified transvestite and gay liberation activist, and Sylvia Rivera , a Latina trans woman and co-founder of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), were on the front lines. shemalevids