[3] Houses serve as alternative families, primarily for gay, gender nonconforming and transgender youth and others who feel ostracized from conventional support systems.[4]. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Royal House of LaBeija is a prominent drag family founded by Crystal LaBeija and Lottie LaBeija in 1972. The Los Angeles Times called it “a nuanced exploration of the gender-bending figures, insider lingo and significant milestones in queer history to which the show owes its existence.” The Washington Post said it “arrives at just the right time … because the world needs authenticity in its stories. “Schitt’s Creek” Stars Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy for Hudson’s Bay Holiday Campaign, Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Dayan on the Set of “Simply Halston”, Heidi Klum and Paz Vega at the Georges Hobeika Virtual Fashion Show, “Come Play” Star Gillian Jacobs in Isabel Marant on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, WERQ From Home: Amanda Seyfried Promotes “Mank” in Miu Miu, Beyoncé Covers British Vogue’s December Issue, “Bridgerton” Could Be Your Holiday Escape Hatch, Crystal LaBeija: Queen of Shade, Mother of the Ball, Cathy Cambridge Gets Her Sparkle On at the Action on Addiction Dinner, “Shaft” Star Regina Hall in L’Agence at BUILD Series, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” Taught Entire Generations to Embrace Queer Expression. Crystal LaBeija died in 1982 of liver failure. The ballroom scene as we know it today coalesced around Crystal’s actions and anger and is now a worldwide scene with its own forms of art and expression, centering the voices, movements and experiences of people of color worldwide. film/documentary, Peppa LaBeija and the House of LaBeija Presents: "The Royal House of Sunshine Balls", Tommie LaBeija Presents: "The House of LaBeija Ball", Tommie LaBeija Presents: "The Labeija Ball Honoring Peppa LaBeija, This page was last edited on 7 October 2020, at 20:40. Today, the House of LaBeija still stands as one of the iconic houses of the ball scene. The drag pageant system of the 1960s was – no surprises here – extremely tilted toward white participants and most queens of color were ignored by the judges. The Royal House of LaBeija is a prominent drag family founded by Crystal LaBeija and Lottie LaBeija in 1972. And just like that, the first House of the ball scene was formed and Crystal was designated the first mother. The gay “masquerade balls” of Harlem date back to the latter 19th Century and like so much of 20th Century New York social scenes, had always been dominated and organized by white people.
The pageant crown went to a pretty, blonde, realness-serving queen named Harlow and Crystal felt that her win had been a given from the start and that all the rest of the queens were being passed by for another pretty white girl. After all, what is a legendary read but a form of drag manifesto?
The difference was, she could do something about the ball world. ArtsEverywhere", "Is 'RuPaul's Drag Race' the Most Radical Show on TV?
Today, the House of LaBeija still stands as one of the iconic houses of the ball scene. "[1] This is thought to be the birth of house culture within the ballroom scene—as it is known today. Home » Legendary » Crystal LaBeija: Queen of Shade, Mother of the... As we noted in our piece on Stormé DeLarverie, so much of queer history and the development of queer culture went unrecorded and unexamined by historians, journalists, and even queer contemporaries. Like other drag families, the House of LaBeija is structured like a family, with a house “mother” and “father” who oversee and direct the group. The cameras followed Crystal as she gracefully walked off the stage of the Miss All-American Camp pageant.
Crystal LaBeija was a Manhattan trans woman and drag queen who founded the House of LaBeija in 1977.
The pageant was being recorded (HIGHLY unusual for any drag or queer event at the time) for a documentary about the pageant specifically and drag queens generally called The Queen, which would premiere at Cannes the following year (before mostly dropping out of sight and becoming a cult classic in the video age).
", "Why 'The Queen' Documentary Is an Essential Queer Time Capsule", "The Iconic Drag Queen Behind Frank Ocean's 'Endless, "National LGBTQ Wall of Honor unveiled at Stonewall Inn", "National LGBTQ Wall of Honor to be unveiled at historic Stonewall Inn", "Groups seek names for Stonewall 50 honor wall", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crystal_LaBeija&oldid=983300491, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 October 2020, at 13:10. Crystal LaBeija died in 1982 of liver failure. Crystal and Lottie established the House of LaBeija in response to the racially oppressive drag pageant system of 1960s America. Children, we proudly present to you one of the earliest – and still one of the finest – legendary reading sessions ever recorded: Now. This is largely true of the legend of Crystal LaBeija, although there was just enough of an historical record left behind for us to piece together just how revolutionary and far-reaching her actions were. They printed a flyer: “Crystal & Lottie LaBeija presents the first annual House of LaBeija Ball at Up the Downstairs Case.”. Thank you! Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. She wasn’t just mad in that moment; she was clearly mad and fed up about being marginalized for years and years, until she finally said “To hell with it, I’ll throw my own goddamn ball.” That’s often how revolution works. Crystal, like a lot of competitive queens in the drag world of the time, bounced back and forth between both arenas in her career and she was no less pissed off by her struggles for recognition in the ball world than she was in the pageant world.
Fitzgerald and Marquez deliver that, giving readers an insight into the important but overlooked people who made our current moment possible.” Paper Magazine said to “think of it as the queer education you didn’t get in public school” and The Associated Press said it was “delightful and important” and “a history well told, one that is approachable and enjoyable for all.”. Aja did a pitch-perfect Crystal impersonation for the Snatch Game in season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars: A remastered version of The Queen is being released in theaters later this month: “Our book Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life is on sale now!
[2] Their first event was called "Crystal & Lottie LaBeija presents the first annual House of Labeija Ball at Up the Downstairs Case on West 115th Street & 5th Avenue in Harlem, NY. That first LaBeija Ball must’ve been a hell of a success, because in rapid succession, legendary houses with legendary mothers and fathers sprung up soon after: The House of Dupree, the House of Xtravaganza, the House of Corey, the House of Ninja and so on, all the way up to the present day. We won’t sit here and analyze every word of this legendary read and explain why it’s the urtext of drag (that’s what the book’s for). Crystal made quite an impression in the film when, after being called as the third-runner up in the pageant, she simply walked off the stage, in full view of the judges (one of whom was Andy Warhol), the entire audience, and thankfully, the cameras.
Crystal’s choice to form her own house and throw her own ball casts her earlier reading session into context. But like all great revolutionary thinkers and rebels, Crystal turned her anger into action and that action changed the world. What we are left with most often when talking about our queer forebears in the pre-Stonewall era are myths and legends. [1] Crystal and Lottie established the House of LaBeija in response to the racially oppressive drag pageant system of 1960s America. In 1977, she and her friend Lottie (who, legend has it, worked with Crystal at the welfare office) were fed up with letting white people run the balls and decided to throw one of their own, specifically for queer people of color, at a Harlem bar called Up the Downstairs Case. Aja did a pitch-perfect Crystal impersonation for the Snatch Game in season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars: When she was asked to give her thoughts on what just went down, Crystal, clearly fed up with a racist system that constantly pushed her and her sisters aside, was all too happy to give them.
She was striking and glamorous and as we’ll see in a minute, she had nerve and charisma to spare. If things had ended here, if Crystal had done nothing else of note in her life, these few minutes of pure drag queen shade (at a time when no one even knew the word “shade” existed for what she was doing) might not even have been remembered. Believe it or not, the drag ballroom scene depicted in Paris is Burning and recreated in Pose was also largely white-oriented and white-centered at this time, with trophies and praise routinely showering down on the white queens while the queens of color stood on the sidelines. Drag queens don’t need manifestos. That is also not such a surprise when you see the few remaining pictures of her. Legendary Children Autographed Bookplate Offer! "Crystal LaBeija: Legendary House Mother", "The Iconic Drag Queen Behind Frank Ocean's 'Endless, "A GIF Guide to Voguing (+ Short History)", "The Underside of Glamour: An Interview of Kia LaBeija", "Kia LaBeija Is Remodeling One of Ballroom's Legendary Houses For the Future", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_LaBeija&oldid=982388504, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Performed against Avis Pendavis and Dorian Corey at "Legends Statements and Stars Part 1: Mother vs Mother", Emceed "Paris Is Burning Ball" and "Avis Pendavis Presents: Autumn in the Fall," both in 1984, Founded the House of Mizrahi with Heidi Allure in 1992, Attended "Legends, Statements, and Stars Part 2: Club Red Zone in 1990, "Peppa LaBeija, Portia LaBeija McQueen and John Moschino yo McQueen Ball" held in 2000, Appeared on "The Star and Buc Wild Radio Show" in 2005 to promote "How Do I Look?" People don’t necessarily write manifestos to affect change; they simply get pissed off enough to do something about it. The House is often credited as starting the house system in ball culture for homeless LGBTQ youth, she became a mother figure giving love, support and relief … Despite the constant racism she faced in the pageant world, Crystal was known to have racked up quite a few wins over the years. Crystal was a pageant queen formerly known as “Crystal LaAsia” who eventually switched it to LaBeija because LatinX queens kept calling her “la belleza.” In 1967, with a Miss Manhattan sash to her name (among other wins), she participated in the Miss All-American Camp Pageant in New York.