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Word Count: 2541

Micaela Martinez

Anna Amundson

AMH 2097

November 4, 2016

Interplay Between Race, Gender, and Class

In the ancient past, people used to be treated unfairly based on the gender, race and

classes. These three aspects were interrelated to one another and were accorded with different

responsibilities. In each group, people acquired some benefits that could not be received by any

other individual who do not belong to that group. This brought about social differences and

conflicts. Basically, there existed a great interplay between, race and class in the society. The

interplay was based on the treatment of people in each respective class as they were treated in

different manner.

According to Chang (107) with connection to the documentary Paris is Burning directed

and produced by Jennie Livingston (1991), gender is termed as set style of the body or a repeated

set of acts bound in a frame that combine together for given period of time to yield the feminine

or masculine. These films basically capitalize on issues that relate to drags that describe early

trans-genders’ and transsexuals. Due to this diversity, females severed a lot over their gender

since they had no voice on what was happening to them. This mainly reflects on the black gays

who had deemed females as creatures that should not be listened to. For instance, in some

African communities, females were treated as young ones in a manner that they had no access to
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any job opportunity (Hickel 104). Their job was to give birth and take care of the children back

at home. For a case of her husband passing away, the married female was supposed to serve as a

wife for the young brother of his husband (Strings & Long 828). This kind of behavior was

contrasting with heterosexist norms. This kind of discrimination resulted to racism. The word

racism refers to the discrimination against a specific group of people based on their race. Racism

was an important tool in determining the degree of performance in any balls competition (Chang

107).

In accordance with critical race theory under the documentary Paris is burning, directed

and produced by Jennie Livingston, it has clearly been quoted that people were judged according

to their race (Ratner et al 766). For instance, individuals in this area who were treated as slaves

were generally discriminated in accordance with the skin color. People of different color could

not interact at any given time. The social facilities were established for each race. For instance,

there were toilets, hotels and schools for different races. Black skinned individual was not

supposed at any given time to enter either of these areas that were specifically made for the white

skinned color individual. This depicted high level of discrimination but nothing could be done to

change the situation (Chang 110). Similarly, worshiping was also done based on the race. Black

people were not supposed to worship at the thrones of the whiteness despite the kind of worship.

The worship demands led to black gay living in partial self-hate rate, stealing, lying, others could

go hungry and others even move to an extend of dying in the process of their persuasion. They

entirely lived in this situation for a long period of time simply because they had no say at all thus

they could only remain hopelessly.

With reference to the above information, it is clear that race and gender are related in a

manner that they apply the same criterion of discriminating individuals. At the same time the two
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aspects led to distinctive classes with which individuals in each group had some similarities and

perform their duties in accordance to the group. In addition, their arguments are based on these

aspects where they give a lee-way on how to make judgment concerning different issues.

However, these two aspects had some difference in their content (Ratner et al 767). With gender,

the groups were based on sex. On the other hand, racism bases its categorization on the skin of

color but not familiarity and muscularity on grouping. In conclusion, gender and racism are the

related to each other.

Class refers to the system of ordering a society in which people are divided into sets

based on perceived social or economic status. People were categorized into three distinctive

classes. These classes were upper class, middle class and lower class. The above classes were as

a result of social status. The upper class entirely was made of only colonies; middle class

consisted of the African elected officials in the colony’s government whereas lower class entirely

was made of only Africans who were previously termed as slaves (Chang 108). On the bases of

economic status, there were only two classes. Keenly looking at the classes that were created, it

is clear that in most cases, grouping was based on gender and race of individuals. Thus, in

conclusion the three terms interplayed even though the classes created were different.

According to the documentary Paris is burning, the status of a person can be determined

into many ways. Someone can earn his status by personal achievements. Like any other person,

white or black will have their social status respected when they have gained economic stability

this is what is termed as achieved status others can gain this by inheritance. These kinds of

people will straight away benefit from the states ideas regardless of their race, class status and

gender identity. Status is the kind of relative rank a person holds this always includes attendant

rights, duties and the lifestyle in any social hierarchy based on honor or prestige. Status will
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always be accompanied with what is achieved and prescribed (Moore 17). When someone has a

higher status than the other, the treatment he gets from others are special for example, when

someone in ball teams either a player or any stakeholder of either of the teams belonging to the

black teams, the discrimination from the whites will be minimized. For instance, if a white

powerful personality of the United States of America supports a team with people of certain race

for instance the black American the other whites will be confused and will withdraw their

negativity of racism towards this team.

When it comes to gender identity there is male, female and the transgender. To say more

on the impact to benefit from the states favors and ideas, Americans have more favors to women

and this degree cannot be compared to men, women will always be favored on opportunities.

Many people will try to get torn on how to treat the transgender but the blacks remain to be the

most neglected group of all people. Talking about the difference between the black, Latin and

white participants leave alone in the balls but in any public event will be quite different.

The sense of unease is very different public setting of blacks, Latin and white participants

due to some discrimination factor on other many aspects. Due to difference of race the whites

will tend to perform better than their counterparts, Latinos and the blacks. This may be partly

attributed to the fact that they are in their own country and the blacks are foreigners who came in

as slaves. The Latinos were less out of place compared to the blacks in the grounds and this had a

better impact on their performance compared to the blacks. The attitude of someone affects their

performance and the blacks will tend to have a negative attitude towards them, and in turn

resulting to poor performance. They will give up early enough compared to the rest of the groups

as far race is concerned. The fanatics in these events will have a great impact on the difference of

performance of different races, Latinos and the white participants of these balls. The attitude of
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the fans is of great impact to the participants as far as the cheering is concerned (Strings & Long

829).

According to the documentary Paris is burning. The white participants will have a great

support and positive noises come from the fans this gives them more energy to do better than the

other. The blacks will only get discouraged by the white and Latin fans and will make them to

perform poorly in the grounds and the events. The Latin will have some support because not

much negative attitude emanates from the fans and this makes their performance to be that of

average. During the balls, very sizeable minorities of blacks had experienced great services

discrimination like the housing discrimination, catering services and other crucial services which

are of much importance to the participants. This affected the performance of the blacks greatly

than the Latinos (Chang 111). But to some extend someone can be discouraged or encouraged by

discrimination since one can strive to try to proof people wrong that their negative attitude is so

wrong.

The main stakeholders of the balls also affect the performance of the three groups greatly.

People who organize the events will have terms and conditions which have discriminative effects

and these may affect the participants negatively. Since many of the stakeholders will try to be in

one side, they will create norms that favor the whites and partially the Latinos but much negative

effect on the blacks and this will greatly affect their performance. There is a great rise of the

issue of discrimination to the transgender but apart from discrimination, it is very tricky to deal

with transgender on balls due to confusion of their sex status and their performance which can

raise issues to the events supporters. The documentary directed by J. Livingston boons life of a

collective cast that comprised of people in drag ball parts produced in the 1980s (Chang 111).
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A subculture situated at a unique crossroads of urban poverty, sidelined Latin and black

communities and unusual identity. The artificial splendor of the ball parts, in which the groups

involved in the games link up in a variety of parts that are themed to be of drag categories, for

example, in the executive and military which are the most remarkable parts in the documentary,

Paris is Burning directed and produced by Jennie Livingston (1991). In this context, the ball was

used to mean a strange mixture of pageant and party and Harlem ball subculture was not all

about glamour (Vaccaro 330). It was mainly subjugated by numerous houses whereby each one

had a known name and was controlled by their parents to their Tran’s wards and in the

association of families to which they had vetoed them in the uninterrupted threat of the aids virus

disaster.

For the rest in gay community, especially the discovery in the film comes out of the

attraction to modern drags in which it works working in reverse to the sources. The minority

language and slang, for example, the ball culture had fiddly things when they did thrived and

became ordinary artifacts and their unique context inevitably got lost. The use of yas kwen and

yas queen has been used as slang and has been credited to the heterosexual comedy by the name

broad city in the case of an over excited fan praising a featured character. The slang origin has

been linked to the black and Latino dag culture. While the growth of the language doubles as

unavoidable and possibly harmless, the aftermath effect creates more trouble dillusioned by them

who enriched both white gay and heterosexuals in a more benefit to them. This is a more usual

great disagreement of the heritage of Paris is burning. Nearly all of focuses are now dead. Many

of those who were involved in the casting succumbed to the aids disease hence little value from

their extensively liked performance and the development of the voguing, which is a cultural

dance art from the film scenes repeatedly linked with Madonna.
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According to the documentary Paris is burning (Strings & Long 829). A ball is used to

indicate competition with prizes and other categories whereby the main objective to the

participants is realness. In the documentary and the chronicle, one can be real military man, or a

woman who is real provided that they can be able to convince and address others. This can be

due to the position they hold. However, they can be momentary eliminated from their claimed

poor status. The participants can be male, black, extremely wealthy, and sophisticated in their

own that allows them play in a personified way and they can be proved to be real if one passes.

At the first time in drag at a ball, queen of the butch is unreservedly entertaining one of those

who were involved and was not expected to succeed since it is all about being in a consistency

form. In the other case, being a real one and transiting to the next generation is portrayed as

being attributed by media for the participants of ball and games.

There is an assumption that, if one is a real woman they should be in an evening’s wear

which tends to strengthen certain dualistic ideas in regard to gender. For instance, the queens are

said to be interviewed and observed as they are preparing for and competing in many balls. The

people, the entire environment and the clothes are bizarre. The Latino and the black gay men that

participate in the balls are those people who were disqualified from the conventional possibly by

the criteria of class, sexual orientation and race. However, their entire subculture is used to

copying the same people who reject them, school boys and girls, military men, executives and

models. There is also transitory as hetero sexual which assumes players passing among their

counterparts who are deemed to be straight. For instance, it is about camouflaging with or as the

opposite sex and presence of transgender subjects as seen in the entire documentary. At the very

end of the chronicle the narrator is quoted, “it is really like going back into the clandestine”

(Vaccaro 337).There is an advertising placard that was put out by a health organization that says,
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“Transgender women who are really real. Tran’s women are women who were born without

virginals and this does not make them more or less real as far as I am concerned in this case. In

this case, the usage of real indicates absence of real women (Moore 18). Real is included to show

that there was no women who were real, what exist is, is a group of people born with bodies that

were specific, their productive capacity was centralized and identities of their genders

constructed in the same capability.

This shows that the world has largely evolved considering that, today one can be able to

fit in most of the places around the globe free from racial, color or any other discrimination. At

least, the effects of the same will be minimal compared to times back in the world. In this case,

the world within a world is directly familiar, packed with desires, yearnings and aches that

portray America itself and the ball game activities. Paris is burning is a cherished portrait of

urban community and a world in which the appeal of extraordinary fashion and wealth becomes

a contention of acceptance, love and joy.

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Work cited

Chang, Jerry Yung-Ching. "The Pornoethnography of Boys in the Sand: Fetishisms of Race and

Class in the 1970s Gay Fire Island Pines." WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly 43.3 (2015):

101-115.

Farrier, Stephen. "Playing With Time: Gay Intergenerational Performance Work and the

Productive Possibilities of Queer Temporalities."Journal of homosexuality 62.10 (2015):

1398- 1418.

Moore, Madison. "Walk for Me Postmodern Dance at the House of Harrell." Theater 44.1

(2014): 5-23.

Ratner, Kyle G., Christian Kaul, and Jay J. Van Bavel. "Is race erased? Decoding race from

patterns of neural activity when skin color is not diagnostic of group boundaries." Social

cognitive and affective neuroscience8.7 (2013): 750-755.

Strings, Sabrina, and Long T. Bui. "“She Is Not Acting, She Is” The conflict between gender and

racial realness on RuPaul's Drag Race." Feminist Media Studies 14.5 (2014): 822-836.

Vaccaro, Jeanne. "Queer Threads: Crafting Identity & Community." The Journal of Modern

Craft 7.3 (2014): 325-327.

Paris, is Burning directed and produced by Jennie Livingston (1991).