Jennie Livingston, director of the 1990 documentary film, Paris is Burning, challenges the public to revisit their judgments on race, gender, and sexuality as she provocatively attempts to unravel the dynamic world of “ball culture” in New York City “and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it.” It was Livingston’s investigation that affirmed the link I was uncovering between the gender performance popularly described as “Drag” and spirit possession. The act
The Term “Queer” and Its Strange, Odd, Peculiar, Gay Definitions The revival of the term “queer” as used in LGBT spaces has been puzzling for many. Today, the word is still controversial; who uses queer, in what contexts, and why, can be elusive subjects, especially for those outside the LGBT community. Queer, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means “differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal.” Dictionary.com provides its informal meaning, as well. It defines queer as “disparaging and offensive”
an analysis regarding the origins of such attitudes and what influenced their development through personal and societal components. The aspects covered include societal, individual, additive and subtractive bilingualism. The second part of this essay discusses the relationship between these attitudes and language and maintenance shift by showing the contribution of Diglossia, status, and demographic and institutional support factors Various attitudes are expressed by de Bres, his family, and others