Ball Culture

Ball culture, the house system, the ballroom community and similar terms describe an underground LGBT subculture in the United States in which people "walk" (i.e., compete) for trophies and prizes at events known as balls. Some who walk also dance; others compete in drag genres, trying to pass as a gender and social class. Most participants in ball culture belong to groups known as "houses".

Houses, also called "families", are LGBTQ groups which band together under a "house mother" (sometimes a drag queen or transgender person) or "house father".

According to Bailey (2013), the gender system is a collection of gender and sexual subjectivities that extend beyond the binary categories of dominant society such as male/female, gay/lesbian, man/woman etc. A member chooses to identify with a certain category based on their walk (performance). This system includes six categories: Butch Queens, Femme Queens, Butch Queens up in Drag, Butches, Women, Men and house parents. Those in the women category are primarily straight, feminine lesbians or queer. Overall, the gender system does not completely break from the hegemonic norms of sex, gender and sexuality, but it offers more gender and sexual identities from which to choose.The gender system specially serves to define what role members play in the house. According to Arnold & Bailey (2009), in Ballroom culture, houses are kinship structures that are configured socially rather than biologically. The purpose is to provide a home or gathering place for members. In these houses, such members serve as 'mothers' or 'fathers,' in other words, house parents. The purpose of house parents is to provide guidance for their 'children' of various ages, race, and ethnic background. For example, house mothers perform some of the same 'motherly qualities' such as cooking, cleaning, and being nurturing. On the other hand, house fathers typically serve as the mentors of their 'children.' They provide guidance, uphold the house reputation, and serve as authority figures. For the most part, the division of labor for house parents is very much alike to heteronormative gender roles

Houses across the United States are similar to each other, with most in major cities on the East Coast, the Midwest and the South (House Of Infiniti, House of Mizrahi, House of Aviance and House of Overness).

Other LGBTQ-based families which use the term "house" in their community are neither ball nor pageant houses. Some were created under the Imperial Court System (ICS, founded in California in 1965 with chapters throughout North America), ranging from royal-dynasty-based families (such as the House of St. James) to non-denominational houses (such as the Imperial House of Black, with headquarters in Virginia and chapters throughout the US, Canada, South Africa, Asia and Europe.)

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