Vogueing is still in fashion-and so is HIV prevention. Both shared the runway at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) annual House of Latex Ball, in which "houses" competed in 26 dance and fashion categories on August 18 at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. The event raised nearly $28,000. Houses are comprised of mostly black and Latino LGBT members-"the children"-acting together as a surrogate family and support structure, complete with a shared surname, such as Luis Xtravaganza from the House of Xtravaganza. (The 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning captures the essence of the ball and house scene.)
GMHC, an AIDS service organization based in New York City, started its House of Latex in 1989 as an HIV prevention program (one year before Madonna’s "Vogue" struck a pose atop the charts). The annual Latex Ball is considered the largest house ball in the world. More than 2,000 people attended, including Wilhemina models, members of the Imperial Court of New York and fierce nightlife denizens such as Harmonica Sunbeam, Divinity Banks, Foxxjazell, Sir Honey Davenport and Zebra Katz featuring Njena Redd Foxx. In a word: Legendary.
Photos: Kevin Tachman
For additional photos, click here.
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