For this blog post, I have opted to reflect on representations of queer realities in media- examining the intersectional narratives featured in the documentary film Paris Is Burning (Livingston, 1990) and the TV drama Pose (Murphy et al, 2018-2021), while contrasting them to mainstream queer narratives such as depicted in TV dramas such as Will & Grace (Mutchnick et al, 1998-2020) and Transparent (Soloway and Sperling, 2014-2019).

I have selected Paris Is Burning (Livingston, 1990) and Pose (Murphy et al, 2018-2021) as both works engage in intersectional representations of ballroom sub-culture in New York City during the late 1980's. Paris is Burning highlights the first-hand experiences of Black and Latino queer and trans communities participating in the ballroom scene at the time of the AIDS crisis and rapid gentrification of NYC. Pose, which is an episodic TV series heavily influenced by Paris Is Burning, explores similar narratives through its fictionalized characters and exploration of New York ball scene around the same time period.

Both Paris Is Burning (Livingston, 1990) and Pose (Murphy et al, 2018-2021) approach the intersectionality of its characters, both real and fictionalized, by examining their relationships to systems of power in an increasingly gentrified and socially oppressive context. In each instance, the characters participate in the ballroom scene- consisting of organized dance or lip sync competitions while in drag makeup and clothing, while navigating homophobia, transmisogyny, racism and classism. The ballroom scene emerged in response to such oppressive social systems, while providing a space for community and refuge for those at the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, ability, and low socioeconomic status. Given the inherently political origins of ballroom, and the representations depicted in Paris Is Burning and Pose, it would seem that these media examples align with Hill and Bilge's (2016) view that intersectionality goes beyond "the richness of multiple identities that make individuals unique" (p. 89) and considers "the politics of identity and intersectionality as a form of critical inquiry and praxis" (p. 89).