The Rebirth of Venus: Paris Is Burning 57

Layout & IlluStration by Mikey Duffy Written By Mikey Duffy

“I would like to be a spoiled, rich, white girl. Because they get what they want, whenever they want,” says Venus Xtravaganza in Jennie Livingston’s 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning. Before contemporary shows like POSE and RuPaul’s Drag Race, Paris Is Burning introduced society to the queer culture of reading, voguing, and chosen families. The film documented queer people of color in New York City and was a lexicon for the ‘80s drag ball scene. It taught us mopping (shoplifting) and reading— the art form of an insult. However, it also gave us lovable characters like Pepper LaBeija, Octavia St. Laurent, and my favorite, Venus Xtravaganza. I’ve always felt drawn to the story of Venus, a Puerto Rican trans woman who left her family to pursue her dream life. In the film, she desires to undergo a sex-change operation and get married in a church while wearing a beautiful white dress. As viewers, we watch and admire Venus because of her charisma, style, and memorability. We remember her lesson on reading and the iconic moment when she called her friend an “overgrown orangutan.” She delves into her previous life as a sex worker or “hustler”— as she calls it—and the perils that queer sex workers face. Livingston lets us fall in love with Venus and then concludes the film’s last few minutes with the news of Venus’s death when she was found strangled and left under a bed in a hotel. Although never stated, it’s implied that Venus was with a man who had discovered she was transgender and killed her for it. Venus’s death is quickly brushed over, except for a few minutes of her drag mother speaking about their friendship. However, the lack of attention given to Venus’s death leaves me disappointed after every viewing. I wonder if the film’s creators truly cared for Venus or if they simply used her death for shock value. This is an injustice to Venus—her story of longing is something we, as queer people, relate to because we all desire normalcy in our lives. Paris Is Burning provides us with memorable stories of queer people of color in New York City; however, Venus’s story stands out because it’s timeless, cementing her in queer history for decades to come.