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<p>The Ballroom scene is a distinctive subcultural space where members of the LGBTQIA+ community gather to engage, compete, and celebrate through the dramaturgic creation of identity. This multifaceted environment consists of various House communities that provide different forms and levels of support. Members participate through processes of group self-incorporation—affinity, affiliation, and signification—striving to demonstrate authentic engagement by embodying social roles within the scene. Walking (competing) in specific Ball categories allows LGBTQIA+ members of the Ballroom community to establish queer spaces that counteract their exclusion from and marginalization within public and private areas. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the study combines a Multinomial Logit Model—applied to the primary survey sample—to identify the sociodemographic characteristics most strongly associated with walking in specific categories, with a textual analysis of structured interviews conducted on a subsample. This integrated design enables the exploration of how participation in the Ballroom scene and engagement in particular categories shape the personal and social dimensions of community members’ lives, especially in relation to the intersectional oppression that they suffer, based on their race, class, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Findings show that participation in the Ballroom scene offers marginalized individuals a platform to express their identities, challenge societal norms, and create transformative queer spaces, while also highlighting notable differences between the Italian and American contexts. The research underscores Ballroom’s enduring role as a site of resistance, identity negotiation, and community-building.</p>

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Walking identities: a mixed-methods analysis of Ballroom culture across Italy and USA

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月16日

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  • Giorgio Cecchi,
  • Francesco Cavari

摘要

The Ballroom scene is a distinctive subcultural space where members of the LGBTQIA+ community gather to engage, compete, and celebrate through the dramaturgic creation of identity. This multifaceted environment consists of various House communities that provide different forms and levels of support. Members participate through processes of group self-incorporation—affinity, affiliation, and signification—striving to demonstrate authentic engagement by embodying social roles within the scene. Walking (competing) in specific Ball categories allows LGBTQIA+ members of the Ballroom community to establish queer spaces that counteract their exclusion from and marginalization within public and private areas. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the study combines a Multinomial Logit Model—applied to the primary survey sample—to identify the sociodemographic characteristics most strongly associated with walking in specific categories, with a textual analysis of structured interviews conducted on a subsample. This integrated design enables the exploration of how participation in the Ballroom scene and engagement in particular categories shape the personal and social dimensions of community members’ lives, especially in relation to the intersectional oppression that they suffer, based on their race, class, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Findings show that participation in the Ballroom scene offers marginalized individuals a platform to express their identities, challenge societal norms, and create transformative queer spaces, while also highlighting notable differences between the Italian and American contexts. The research underscores Ballroom’s enduring role as a site of resistance, identity negotiation, and community-building.