By George Gallardo, Staff Reporter
In the 1970s, the underground ballroom dance scene was where people who identified as LGBTQ could express themselves freely and find community. At a time when LGBTQ identities were highly scrutinized and stigmatized, the scene provided space for people to share their struggles and voice their truth through song and dance.
Last month, the Queer Cultural Resource Center invited students to experience the scene for themselves during the second annual “House of Toro Ball.” Featuring drag performances and a pink catwalk for students to strut their stuff, the event on Oct. 29 capped off the QCRC’s commemoration of LGBT History Month. QCRC program director Edwin Bodney told The Bulletin the ball was an opportunity for Toros to tap into the legacy of LGBTQ culture and activism, especially at CSUDH.
“We know that we come from a long line of trans folks of color, of drag queens, of queer folks who have been so instrumental in liberation that we even have access to today,” Bodney said. “They’ve just been in this fight with us for many decades.”
Taking cues from the New York City ballroom scene, attendees could participate in five competitions: It’s Giving Scream Queen, Elite Employees, Brat Summer, Femininomenon, and lip-sync. Third-year English education major Gray Borders was one of the contestants. As a transfer student, Borders said events like Toro Ball are helpful to new students who may be unfamiliar with the CSUDH campus community
“I don’t have a lot of queer people in my life,” Borders said. “I like getting involved in that culture, and getting to know more about the history of it was really important to me.”
Theatre arts student Charlie Galvan, who competed in the “It’s Giving Scream Queen” event, experienced “a burst of energy” on the catwalk.
“You’re going to do this thing with a community of people who understand what you’re doing. It shows that we are here and we just want to have fun,” Galvan said. “We want to share this type of event with our community no matter how small or big it is here at CSUDH.”
Fourth-year art student and contestant Art Roberts said Toro Ball provided a platform for students to be themselves. “People have different ways of looking and personalities, but we all are united by one common thing, and that’s something to celebrate.”
Bodney said creating spaces where students feel comfortable expressing themselves is central to the QCRC’s mission.
“I do my best to ensure that the space we have here on campus, the QCRC, is as safe as it possibly can to hold students and to keep them,” Bodney said. “To honor who they are and to listen to their stories and to support them where they need it.”
