The documentary Paris is burning is about Balls, which are a form of a fashion show in the LGBT community in New York City. Their Race and sexual orientation makes them the torment of society. At the very beginning, Notable Ball legend, Pepper Labeja, gives a very distinctive quote from his father about Race in America. His father told him that he was born with three strikes against him, because he was male, gay and black. This automatically puts him at a lower position in society, then someone who does not carry these traits. In addition, in this documentary many members talk about how they could be professional businessmen and women, if they were born with a different color of skin. That is also one of the reasons that they created these balls in the first place, in order to create the illusion of being rich, illustrious and sadly, white.
As far as seeing themselves fitting into society, they see it very little or almost not at all. The death of Venus Xtravaganza, helps illustrate this point brilliantly. Because of her Trans sexuality, she was murdered. When talking about Venus’s death at the end of the movie, Angie Xtravaganza talks about how living, as a Gay Man in Society can be treacherous. Death by murder is something that is very real and could happen at any moment. Another example of how they do not fit into dominant culture is the scene where Pepper is talking about the confrontations he had with his mother. His mother was disgraced at the fact that her son did not fit the stereotype for “normal”, and in turn, spited him by burning his mink coat right in front of him as he watched and cried. Finally, to illustrate how they did not fit into society, they created the balls. They established the balls so they could feel like they did fit into dominant culture. They dressed themselves up in traditional clothing (such as suits and other attire) in order to