Category Is: — INQYR

Category Is: A Study of Ballroom, Black Excellence, & Anti-Black Racism in Canada

Background

Gerard Dee and Keith Adamson have been friends for many years, and often speak about the challenges they face as Black men in the Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ community. They’ve also acknowledged that younger generations experience the same obstacles as they do, and face new challenges presented by social media and dating apps. In due course, they began discussing how they could make a difference for Black 2SLGBTQ+ young adults.

Guided by these conversations, this project aims to understand the challenges that 2SLGBTQ+ Black young adults face in clubs, over social media, and through dating apps. By listening to the ballroom community, we will begin addressing how racism impacts the inclusion and participation of 2SLGBTQ+ Black young adults in today’s mainstream queer culture.

The purpose of this study is to learn how 2SLGBTQ+ Black adults in the Kiki-Ballroom scene of Montreal and Toronto are challenged and impacted by racism in both physical and virtual worlds and how the Kiki-Ballroom scene supports you.

With your help, this project can be as relevant, and useful as possible for Black 2SLGBTQ+ young adults involved in Kiki and Ballroom. This study is not just about Ballroom; it is for Ballroom.

Your collaboration will assist us in working towards a Canada where Blackness fully belongs in the queer community and where racist and homophobic practices are identified and eradicated

Keith Adamson

Gerard Dee

How the study works

This study will be conducted in three phases. You can participate in as many of them as you like.

For the first stage of Category Is:, we aim to interview twenty young people who meet the following criteria:

. Identify as a Black 2SLGBTQ+ person.
. Aged 18-29 years old.
. Living in Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver.
. Self-identifying as participants in the Kiki and/or Ballroom scenes.
. Able to do the interview in either English or French.
. Able to complete an interview online or in-person.

The interviews will last 60-90-minutes and we will ask about:
. Your experiences of racism in 2SLGBTQ+ spaces, in both physical (e.g., bars) and online spaces (e.g., dating apps).
. How and why you came to Ballroom.
. Which supports you need more of on social media, from governmental/financial bodies, and 2SLGBTQ+ community members.
You will receive a $100 cash honorarium for being interviewed. We will also be conducting shorter follow-up interview to check that our analysis accurately reflects what you told us. If you are invited for a follow-up interview, you will receive an additional $25 cash honorarium.
In the second stage, the Category Is: research team will present their analysis of the interviews to Ballroom community leaders in either a Zoom or in-person gathering. Our goal is to work with community organizers to put on a Ball(s) with Categories that represent the themes of the interviews.
We encourage the participants that we have interviewed to compete in the Ball!
The performances will be recorded and photographed, which we will analyze to understand how you chose to meet the Categories. All consenting participants in the Ball(s) will receive these professional photos and videos of their performance after the ball as well.
We currently have $2000 for ball expenses, plus expenses for photography and videography. With help from the community, we aim to secure more funds to pay for the Ball(s), potentially through grants or corporate sponsorships
After the ball, competitors will be invited to participate in an in-person focus group lasting 90 minutes to discuss your experience of being in the Ball(s) and participating in our study. Videos and photos from the Ball(s) will be discussed in groups of about 5 and you will have an opportunity to react to the categories you and the other participants walked in, reflect on what the Ball meant to you, and discuss what you brought to each performance category.
You will receive a $60 cash honorarium as thanks for participating in the focus group. We will also provide refreshments at the focus group.

If you would like to take part in this study, please email the Category Is: research assistant, Martin Austin, at martin.austin@mail.utoronto.ca

** Invitation for collaboration** We are looking for help from trusted community leaders in the Kiki/Ballroom scenes in Toronto and Montreal to support recruitment and planning the ball(s) . Additional information can be found in our Info Packet and we encourage those interested to contact Martin.

CATEGORY IS: INFO PACKET