Members of House Lives Matter & faculty at NYU | Steinhardt came together to host FQ Honors, an exclusive affair created by Legendary NYC Mother Jonovia Lanvin & Dr. Shamari Reid. The goal of the evening was to celebrate a distinguished group of intergenerational Fem Queens for their contributions to Ballroom Culture, and popular culture.
Contributions of Black people to pop culture are obvious, but they often go uncredited, in particular the impact Fem Queens / Black Transwomen almost always goes unacknowledged for their innovation in music, fashion, art, language, and trends.
Unfortunately, though we have seen growth regarding inclusion, celebration, and exploration of femme queens a la popular media such as Rihanna’s Savage X show, Nike’s Be True Campaign, and HBO Max’s Legendary, often these moments do not intentionally engage with how femme queens and Black people more generally have contributed to every facet of popular culture. This absence of the contributions of femme queens to pop culture and history is particularly wanting in the current socio-political climate in which messages about the disposability of Black trans lives are pervasive, the suicide rates of Black trans youth are steadily increasing, the rise in anti-Tran legislation, and the epidemic of Black trans women being murdered. Thus, to avoid presenting this group of beautiful people in myopic and victimizing ways and recognize their contributions to pop culture and history in general, our event seeks to critically transform the stories we tell to and about femme queens and their participation in the creation of pop culture.
TENz was on the scene to capture and document these industry shakers and boundary breakers as we have to give these women their flowers while they are still here.
Photos: Sailey Williams | Photo Assist: Jonathan Saldana, Mateo Roska, Kari Akin | Photo Series supported by Impulse NYC
(To download: click photo, click the (i) icon, then “View Full Size”) | tag @tenzmag
