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House music was invented by Black and Brown queer people in the 1980’s. Born of struggle, the thumping bass line underscored a metamorphosis, our pain blooming into beauty. At its early aughts, the nightclubs that spun house music were some of the first spaces that lesbians of color felt safe to gather, to dance their liberation, felt a sense of home. Ballroom culture developed in parallel. When Black and Brown LGBTQ+ people were excluded from white Balls, they imagined their own wonderland with events that mixed drag, vogueing, modeling and performance. Out of these ballrooms came performance Houses, i.e. House of Ninja, House of Xtravaganza, complete with House Mothers & Fathers, that serve as a safe haven for disenfranchised youth. In both instances, the house becomes the space to thrive; nightlife, the means for acceptance & safety.

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