This California ballot proposition and state constitutional amendment, informally known as Prop 8, was intended to ban same-sex marriage in the state of California. The proposition was created by opponents of same-sex marriage in advance of the California Supreme Court's May 2008 appeal ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state; Proposition 8 was voted on in November of 2008 and passed, reversing the previous ruling. The amendment stood for two years before a judge ruled it unconstitutional and in 2013 same-sex marriage was fully legalized in California again.

Prop 8 received widespread media coverage due to the Yes on 8 campaign and No to H8 counter campaign. A 2010 documentary, 8: The Mormon Proposition, explored the influence that the LDS church had on the passage of Proposition 8 and the controversy that arose in relation to the Church's donations and funding.

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP,  is an international,  grassroots  group working to end the AIDS  pandemic.  Founded in March 1987, the group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, and working to change legislation and public policies. Throughout the years different chapters have organized sit-ins, "die-ins", protests, marches, and programs. They are also known for coining the phrase Silence = Death in relation to the stigma surrounding AIDS. 

The idea for the AIDS Memorial Quilt came in November 1985, by AIDS activist Cleve Jones during the annual candlelight march, in remembrance of the 1978 assassinations of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. For the march, Jones had people write the names of loved ones that were lost to AIDS-related causes on signs, and then they taped the signs to the old San Francisco Federal Building. All the signs taped to the building looked like an enormous patchwork quilt to Jones, and he was inspired to create an actual quilt.

At the time most people who died of AIDS-related causes did not receive funerals, due to the social stigma of AIDS and that many funeral homes and cemeteries refused to handle the remains. The Quilt was often the only opportunity survivors had to remember and celebrate their loved ones' lives.  The first showing of The Quilt took place on October 11, 1987 on the National Mall in Washington, DC, as part of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights. An interactive version of the Quilt is available online for viewing. 

Ball culture can trace its history back to the 1800s when The Hamilton Lodge no. 710, a club for well-to-do African Americans, started hosting an annual gala where people of all races, gender, and sex would attend in drag. The ball grew in popularity and despite being interracial, the focus of (and winners) of the competitions were primarily on white, female impersonators.

This started to change during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, when Black performers were able to express themselves and their culture more freely.

By the early 1970s, Black and Latinx gay, trans, and queer people had developed a thriving subculture where they could safely express their marginalized identities and creativity. This subculture was called ballrooms, or balls or house culture, and involved "elaborate performances incorporating and commenting on race, class, and gender" (Brathwaite, 2020). Contestants would compete for trophies, prizes, and the reputation of their 'house family' by walking categories, vogue battling, and more.

House/House Family: Groups who perform in the ballroom or drag scene. Houses are frequently, but not always, named after famous fashion houses (Balenciaga, Valentino, etc.) and members will all take on the house name as their stage surname (i.e. Asia Balenciaga, Tamiyah Mugler, Venus Extravaganza). Houses provided replacement families for many in the community who were socially marginalized either by gender, sexuality, and/or race (Schijen 2019). Houses can perform together in groups or solo.

Walking Categories: Participants “walk” or “compete” on a stage or runway for prizes while dressed and performing a persona for various categories (Buckner; Schijen 2019; Brathwaite, 2020). The performances consist of walking, strutting, dancing, singing or lip-synching, and spoken word (Buckner; Schijen 2019; Brathwaite, 2020). Judges would make their decisions based on fashion, appearance, and performance.

"One common category is “Realness,” where participants in drag are judged on their ability to “pass” as heterosexual males or females. Other common categories include business executive, best dressed, and butch queens in pumps" (Buckner).

Vogue Battling: See Voguing

The Daughters of Bilitis (pronounced Bill-E-tis) was the first lesbian rights group in the United States, founded in San Francisco in 1955. It was seen as an alternative to lesbian bars and placed a large focus on members who were unable to safely come out. The group published The Ladder, which was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and once every other month in 1971 and 1972. The last chapter of the organization closed in 1995. 

A dip* is one of the five elements of the Vogue Fem dance style that is often used in ballroom and drag performances. It is the most recognizable feat in Vogue Fem and is described as a ground-level stunt.  A dip can be executed by spiraling down to the floor with one leg tucked in and the other extended creating the illusion that one's head has touched the floor. The move is to be executed on what is called the HA! (a loud metallic crash in the music or verbal "HA!" heard throughout the music) to accent this specific move (Vogue (dance) 2022). 

*It is also known as a death drop or a shablam, though these two terms originated on the TV show RuPaul's Drag Race and are controversial in the drag and ballroom scenes. 

Founded in 1980, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest LGBTQIA+ advocacy group in the United States. They mostly focus on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQIA+ people and has helped with several legislative initiatives. Each year HRC also gives out awards to notable people who are Visibility Award winners and Allies for Equality winners. 

Click HERE to access the Utah - HRC webpage to learn more or find ways to get involved.

It Gets Better is a nonprofit organization with a mission to "uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe."  The foundation started in 2010 when over 70,000 LGBTQ+ people and their allies created a social media campaign of shared stories about how it gets better. The It Gets Better Project is now a global non-profit that reaches millions of young people each year through inspiring media programming, education resources, international affiliates in 19 countries, and access to an arsenal of community based service providers.

Click HERE to access the It Gets Better webpage or HERE to access their educational resources.

The Kinsey scale was developed by Alfred Kinsey in 1948. It has been used in research to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one’s experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to a 6, meaning exclusively homosexual. X is also an option meaning no contacts or reactions (asexual). 

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded by Judy and Dennis Shepard to honor the life and aspirations of their son, Matthew Shepard, who was brutally attacked and left to die in a field outside of Laramie, Wyoming on October 7, 1998. Matthew was attacked because he was openly gay, and his parents initially started the Matthew Shepard Foundation to teach parents to accept and love their LGBTQIA+ children.

Since its formation, the Foundation has been at the forefront of the LGBTQIA+ rights movement. They helped pioneer the country's first federal hate crimes legislation with the passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009;  have provided hate crimes training to 1060 law enforcement officers and 76 prosecutors since 2017; created dialogue about hate and acceptance with communities around the world; and built a robust of collection of resource to support the Laramie Project and other legacy works inspire by Matt's story.

Did you know that the pink triangle was originally a symbol of repression?

During World War II the Nazis would force prisoners in concentration camps to wear "badges" as identifiers for the reason they were imprisoned. Jews were identified by yellow Stars of David while those who were homosexual, bisexual, and transgender were identified by pink triangles (Waxman, 2018).  The pink triangle continued to be a symbol of hate and repression until the 1970s when gay liberation activists repurposed the symbol as one of pride and liberation. Marvin H. Kabakoff wrote during the time that, "Gay people wear the pink triangle today as a reminder of the past and a pledge that history will not repeat itself" (Kabakoff, 1977). The pink triangle was prominently used in 1987 during the height of the AIDS crisis accompanied by the words "Silence = Death" by the advocacy group ACT UP (Molesso & Needham, 2020).

The pink triangle is now used often by LGBTQ2IA+ organizations and events. The pink triangle enclosed  by a green circle is commonly used to identify "safe spaces" and allies, as well.

Reading is the art of insulting someone within the drag and ball communities. It is often done via verbally insulting someone based on their looks, persona, or acts. It allows individuals an opportunity to say things they may have trouble saying outright and is also often seen as a form of defense among those in the queer communities.

Voguing is a dance style inspired by model poses contained in the fashion magazine Vogue, as well as Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and gymnastics moves (Livingston, 1990; Schijen, 2019). The style involves striking a series of swift poses in which arm and leg movements are angular, linear, and rigid. Voguing originated in the ballrooms of 1980s Harlem, New York where it was created by the black and Latinx queer community (Livingston, 1990; Schijen, 2019). Over the years it has evolved, leading to three distinct styles of voguing: Old Way, New Way, and Vogue Fem.

Old Way (pre-1990)

Via Wikipedia:

"Old way is characterized by the formation of lines, symmetry, and precision in the execution of formations with graceful, fluid-like action. Egyptian hieroglyphs and fashion poses serve as the original inspirations for old way voguing. In its purest, historical form, old way vogue is a duel between two rivals. Traditionally, old way rules dictated that one rival must "pin" the other to win the contest. Pinning involved the trapping of an opponent so that they could not execute any movements while the adversary was still in motion (usually voguing movements with the arms and hands called "hand performance" while the opponent was "pinned" against the floor doing "floor exercises" or against a wall)."

New Way (post-1990)

Via Wikipedia:

"New way is characterized by rigid movements coupled with "clicks" (limb contortions at the joints) and "arms control" (hand and wrist illusions, which sometimes includes tutting and locking). New way can also be described as a modified form of mime in which imaginary geometric shapes, such as a box, are introduced during motion and moved progressively around the dancer's body to display the dancer's dexterity and memory. New way involves incredible flexibility."

Vogue Fem (circa 1995)

Via Wikipedia:

"Vogue Fem ("Fem" is derived from the French word femme, meaning "woman") is fluidity at its most extreme with exaggerated feminine movements influenced by ballet, jazz and modern dance. Styles of Vogue Fem performances range from Dramatics (which emphasizes stunts, tricks, and speed) to Soft (which emphasizes a graceful, beautiful, and easy flow continuations between the five elements). There are currently five elements of Vogue Fem:

• Duckwalk: The duck walk receives its name from the appearance the name references (a duck walking) that involves squatting on your heels and kicking your feet out as you move forward on the beat.

• Catwalk: Catwalking is an exaggerated feminine walk where the legs are crossed over each other, the hips are thrust from side to side, and the hands are thrown forward in opposition to the legs.

• Hands: In performance, the hands of the performer often told a story (demonstrated in the category Hand Performance/Arms Control) This is the component of performing used to throw shade. For example, miming an expression of horror at the way the opponents face looks.

• Floorwork: This component demonstrates the competitors' sensuality as they roll, twist, and otherwise move on the ground in such a way as to capture the attention of the judges.

• Spins and Dips: The most recognizable feat in Vogue Fem. Dips can be described as a ground-level stunt. This can be executed by spiraling down to the floor and tucking one leg, while the other is extended and creating the illusion that one’s head has touched the floor. This is to be executed on what is called the HA! a loud metallic crash in the music or verbal “HA!” heard throughout music to accent this specific movement. The dip originated from Pop, Dip, and Spin which is the foundation and base of Old Way."