Who runs the world? Girls! NOOO... Its the kids!

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the overall Ball scene. Do not use these opinions as a rule of thumb; edit them as you see fit for your experience. Thank you.

Recently, I was asked to write a blog about mothers and what their role and success for a house should be.

I guess I should explain hierarchy in a house (according to my beliefs) in order to better explain my opinion.

Top Rank is Overall Parent. This person is in charge of the overall movement of the entire house. They consult with the regional/chapter parents to ensure that the focus of the house is being met.

Next is Regional Parent. They are told what to execute by the Overall Parents and make sure that the Chapter Parents are doing their job in each chapter.

Next is Chapter Parent. They deal with the everyday running of the house. They are the backbone of the house dealing with the needs and wants of the kids in their chapter.

Some houses have executive boards or “royal courts”. These people have “royalty” ranks such as queen, king, prince, princess, empress, dutchess and duke. They are brought in to execute non-ball related matters. They consult with Regional and Overall Parents to ensure that the house brand is being properly used and uplifted.

Chapter Mothers are the ones who hold the heaviest crown. They are the ones you call when you need ball effects, rehearsals and training. They organize chapter meetings, collect dues, arrange community service, gather the kids for important outings and maintain local buzz about the house. They recruit new members, act as a liaison between other houses and keep the morale up.

Regional Parents should be the ones making sure Chapter Parents have a woo-sah moment every once in a while. Much like the Chapter Parent for the kids, the Regional Parents should be ensuring that the Chapter Parents are running things smoothly. They should be removing members, updating rosters, keeping tabs on house wins and house history.

Overall Parents are not as “involved” in the day to day functions. They are the spokespersons for the house. They make sure that the house or its members are not being taken advantage of. They ensure that the legacy of the house is being fulfilled. They are the brand ambassadors and should be the ones who promote parents or recruit new free agents. They are the face of the house.

The ranks I’ve held were Queen, Regional Mother & Chapter Mother and in much of my former house life, I held all three titles simultaneously. Regardless of the rank, the terms of success range differently. Chapter Parents should be aiming toward ensuring their kids are polished in their category and storming and earning “star” or “statement” status. Regional Parents should be aiming towards getting “as a house” statement status. Overall Parents should be focused on how they can earn “house of the year” and how they can get their statements to become Legends. Not every house or even every house parent has that goal in mind. You would need to consult your parents to find out their thought process and execution plan.

With that being said, why aren’t more houses pushing towards this?

Don’t always blame house parents because the ones who have much to prove and run the show are always the kids! If you have a house of 50 and only 3 walk clearly Regional & Overall Parents can’t focus on their goals. The kids must push to earn their own status in order help the parents to do their jobs.

Now don’t get me wrong, Parents hold a ton of weight in promoting unity within the house. They enforce rules, standards and traditions and their presence, support and encouragement help keep kids motivated, focused and excited to do better on the runway.

Long story short, kids are the blue collar workers and Parents are the white collar bosses… Everyone’s aim should be longevity and until that holds true for every member of the house… It won’t happen.

Any questions?

Xoxo
Roxi

The Iman Time Machine Ball Recap

NYC Pride marks the coming of the House of Iman annual ball and once again Overall Mother Aisha Iman gathered the bigwigs of community health organizations to sponsor a beautiful venue in order to throw the ball. Free HIV testing provided by H.E.A.T. with support from Hetrick-Martin Institute and GMHC women's program.

My disappointment started first with seeing the lack of support from not only the womens houses and walkers but from the mainstream and kiki scene. No ball will ever be a hit if a minimal amount of people show up or walk. Then it was elevated when seeing how many people showed up so many hours late. I, myself was late due to preparing for my sister's graduation party later on that night but the majority of people arrived at least 4-5 hours late and some even complained that the few categoris that were left were taking too long b/c they wanted to run off to attend a club event that night. If people would have arrived on time, the ball couldnt ended within enough time for all of them to go home, bathe, rest and get dressed to be at the club at a good time.

Ultimately, a ball us only as good as the support, participation and respect from the community is.

I would love to read some feedback from those who attended but for those who haven't attended... watch the following videos and "You Be The Judge"!


Best Dressed


Womens Face


Womens Sex Siren


Womens Body


Shoe & Bag


OTA Runway


Butch Realness



SOOOOOOO "You Be The Judge"...

In Memory of Legendary Jennifer Banks Evisu

Legendary Jennifer Banks Evisu, Reigning Miss Gay Caribbean USA, Face & Realness Diva, Hair Stylist Extraordinaire, performer and LGBT activist passed away this week due to medical complications. This post is to honor her memory and her legacy. I usually would write on and on about her life, her accomplishments and her contributions but her actions speak louder than any words I could type. (Click here to read her NY Daily News Article) So I leave it to Jennifer to showcase what makes her such a loved, appreciated and well-respected woman in the ballroom/pageant/LGBT scene...

I present to you...
LEGENDARY JENNIFER BANKS EVISU
Pageantry




Stage Performance


Ballroom






Picture Montage of
The Many Faces of Jennifer Banks Evisu
(made lovingly by Grandmother Susan Mizrahi)


Myself and the 'Getting My Life' staff send our condolences to Jennifer's Family and Friends. She was an inspiration and shall be missed.





xoxo
Roxi

More Ass? Less Class? Same Sass? - FQ Sex Siren

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion or position of the ball promoters or hosts.

Female Figure Sex Siren - one of the two most popular categories has changed over the last ten years significantly. Much like the evolution of societal views of the sexual image, the category has grown exceedingly explicit which begs to question: Has the video vixen image distorted the respect we have for our female figures? Is it possible to remain classy while parading all your 'ass'ets?

In a previous post regarding the Body category (Let's Get Physical) it was discussed that Body is shaking what your mama gave you, which leads to the assumption of being next to nude but does sex siren NEED to lead to the same assumption?

Our sex kitten icons from the 1950s who sold small doses of sensuality have now been replaced with images of spread eagle vixens alluring their audience with much more than a set of bedroom eyes.



Personally, I idolize a classier sex siren entrance much like Legendary Mother Sinia Ebony...



Now sex sirens resort to less clothes...

Shannon Ex-Khan


And now also contain sexual explicit actions (i.e. dancer moves)...

Icon Overall Mother Angel Revlon


Now don't get me wrong, Revlons and Angel fans, I am sooooo not judging her! I'm one of her BIGGEST fans (and no I don't mean big as in wide haha)! As a matter of fact, she's brought back the sensual sex siren walk recently at the Evisu Ball 2010 and I applaud her and think she looked AMAZING!



So now that you've seen both ends of the Sex Siren spectrum... what do YOU think?

Ball Schmall! This Is The Greatest Show On Earth!

A Ball is a competition where teams of people known as "houses" compete against each other in various categories based on fashion, realness, hair, dance and costume effects just to name a few.

To be honest, a Ball is nothing more than a big show and the judges are forced to choose which house gave the better show. Elaborate costumes, grand entrances, skits and self-confident people displaying their skills and/or talents is what makes a Ball so great.

A Ball is a form of entertainment for those who compete as well as for those who spectate. For competitors, it's showcasing themselves and earning their "oscar" in less than ten minutes. They are fueled on anxiety and confidence that this time they will win. For spectators, its about viewing the outlandish antics, choosing your own winner and hoping that your choice wins.

Many reality tv shows that we watch currently are based on the ideal behind a ball. Our runway categories are mimiced by "America's Next Top Model". Our fashion categories are mimiced by "Project Runway". Our dance categories are mimiced by "America's Best Dance Crew" and "So You Think You Dance". You can find traces of the ball scene in a lot of the competition based shows. Even our couple categories can be traced to the reality dating shows.

A Ball is synonymous with the LGBTQ community but is open to all genders, races, creeds and sexual preferences. Below is a video of the 2010 "Fashion Revolution" Ball presented by GMHC's Latex Project. If you aren't intrigued to see more after viewing this video then you aren't living! (just a joke... I'm pretty sure you're still breathing)