June 2, 2024 • 20 mins
Venus Xtravaganza was an up and coming performer in New York City's underground ballroom community. She had landed a spotlight in Jennie Livingston's Documentary 'Paris is Burning' highlighting New York City's drag scene and some of the challenges members of the community faced. On December 21, 1988, Venus' life would be cut short when she was strangled and left under a bed in room 113 of New York City's Duchess Hotel. Her murder is still unsolved. This episode we talk about the life and legacy of Venus, the challenges that members of the LGBTQ+ community face in the 1980's that still exist today, as well as the history and evolution of the underground ballroom community, voguing, and House Xtravaganza.
Episode Transcript
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Around 9:00 AM on December 25th,1988, a housekeeper at the
Duchess Hotel in New York City would make a startling discovery
under the bed of Room 113. There, on the floor, was the
strangled body of a young transgender woman who, in the
words of Giselle Alicia, a modeland mother of the house
extravaganza, inspired and influenced a whole culture and a
(00:21):
generation. Her life was cruelly taken from
her in a case that remains unsolved.
I'm Amanda Morgan and this is New York's dark side.
(00:58):
Hello everyone, Happy June and happy Pride Month.
I'm going to keep this brief, but I wanted to address my
absence from releasing content over the last couple of months.
I've mentioned this before, but every so often I've just had to
take a step back from releasing content altogether because as
much as I love true crime and itis a huge part of my life,
(01:20):
sometimes it can be really difficult to dive into a case
and it really weighs on me. In addition to that, April is
just a very difficult month for me personally following the loss
of a very important person in mylife.
And that loss hit me really hardthis year.
So much harder than I was anticipating.
(01:40):
And I've been working hard over the last several weeks on
self-care and getting myself back into the headspace that I
need to be in to build this content.
My goal was actually to start back up a few weeks ago with
episodes and then chaos erupted in my work life.
All I have to say on that, just thank your healthcare workers,
(02:01):
especially if any of them were impacted by the recent large
scale cyber attack at a major healthcare network because they
are really going through it right now and all they want to
do is deliver care safely for the month of June.
In honor of Pride Month, I'd like to highlight some of the
tragedies that have been suffered by the LGBTQ community
(02:21):
and also talk about some of the very real challenges that
members of this community who are just trying to live life as
their authentic selves encounter.
Today. I'm starting out with one of the
still unsolved murders and that is of Venus Pelagatti
Extravaganza. Venus was a vibrant, genuine
transgender performer with a dream of becoming an actress and
(02:44):
model whose life was cruelly taken from her in a seedy hotel
in New York City on December 21st, 1988, and her body would
be found four days later. This episode will discuss many
topics that may be a current reality to some of our
listeners, such as housing instability, domestic violence,
and sexual assault. I'll be discussing some
(03:05):
available resources at the end of this episode if any of these
situations apply to you or someone you know, and they will
all be LinkedIn the show notes as well.
For those of you that have listened to past episodes, you
know that I love some rabbit holes.
So we'll also be diving into some of the history and
evolution of the LGBTQ ballroom community.
So let's dive right in. Born Thomas Pelligotti on May
(03:30):
22nd, 1965 to Italian American and Puerto Rican parents in
Jersey City, NJ, Venus was one of five children in the home.
She loved music, her favorite colors were yellow and blue, and
she excelled at school. Her favorite subjects were math
and geography, while I couldn't find it recorded anywhere in the
source material. Exactly when Venus knew that she
(03:52):
was different from her siblings and that she was not meant to be
born a male. In the documentary Paris Is
Burning, released after Venus's death in 1990 and directed by
Jenny Livingston, Venus would describe how she started going
by the name Venus in secret around the age of 13 or 14, and
she would experiment with dressing up.
This didn't stay a secret for long, and she moved out of her
(04:15):
family home as a teenager, leaving New Jersey for the
lights and vibrancy of New York City in 1980.
She would say in the documentarythat she moved out because she
didn't want to embarrass her family.
Before moving on with the story,I think it's important to share
some important statistics that might be a little bit shocking.
I mentioned the documentary Paris is Burning, which is a
(04:36):
source for this episode. The documentary focused on the
lives and challenges of people in the New York City drag scene
in the 1980s, especially those that are persons of color.
The challenges they describe include not being accepted for
who they are, being unhoused anddisowned from their birth
families, fear of being attackedin the streets, and these are
(04:57):
all still very real challenges now, 34 years after the
documentary was released. According to the National
Network for Youth, there is 120%higher risk of housing
instability or becoming unhousedfor youth that identify as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or who questioned
their status. Of the 4.2 million unhoused
(05:18):
youth, 40% of them identify as being part of the LGBTQ
community. They're also more likely to
experience assault, trauma, depression, and suicide.
These factors, like so many other social risk factors,
increase for those who are persons of color.
The primary cause of housing instability for the LGBTQ plus
(05:39):
community is due to their families conflict with their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
There's also a significantly higher risk of exposure to
domestic abuse. These statistics are based on
data from the United States, a country that literally was built
on the dream of freedom from oppression, of life, liberty and
justice for all. Unless you don't meet the
(05:59):
narrative of the majority, this is, in my opinion, a travesty
for a developed country in 2024.Don't get me wrong and please
hear me out. There are times I feel very
privileged to have been born in the United States.
But the injustice and inequalityof this country is just
staggering and appalling. And I say that knowing full well
(06:19):
that I am a cisgender, straight,white woman who has far more
privilege and equality than so many others.
I've not felt the pain and anxiety of not identifying with
the gender I was born and the fear of not being accepted to
come out as one's true self. I've not felt the stigma,
racism, and injustice that befalls Americans who are
persons of color. But I've watched it happen
(06:40):
around me, and it pains me that it still happens.
And while we've made progress over the decades, it's very slow
progress. And it infuriates me that so
many of our politicians claim usto be the greatest nation in the
world. There are so many ways that we
could be doing better as a nation for our citizens.
All of them. Back to Venus for a moment
(07:01):
before I go down my next rabbit hole.
Shortly after arriving in New York, she would meet Hector Vale
and Angie Extravaganza, the mother and father of House
Extravaganza. She would later describe Hector
as the first gay man she ever met.
At this point she was 15. This meeting would change
Venus's life because in Hector and Angie she found acceptance
(07:23):
for who she was and they introduced her to New York's
underground ball community. They told her that generally, in
order to enter the House Extravaganza, she would need to
enter a ball and win a trophy, but they let her in without
doing that. She joined House Extravaganza as
one of the earliest members, andas we'll discuss later, the
House will eventually grow to bea predominant house in ballroom
(07:44):
culture and have a global presence today.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the ball
community, and I'll be honest that I really wasn't and I loved
researching this, the underground ballroom community
has been around and evolved for the last few 100 years and it
started out slowly as a safe space for members of the LGBT
community to express themselves as who they are.
(08:07):
They would have competitions with categories for prizes such
as best or slinkiest gown or forthose who look the most
feminine. In the documentary Paris is
Burning, they call that last category realness and defined it
as being undetectable in the community.
Those that could blend in to thecommunity dressed in drag
(08:27):
without being detected and quotebeing able to come home with all
of their clothes without blood running off their bodies.
They are the femme realness Queens.
Members of the LGBT community that were persons of color found
the community challenging because white performers first
could often afford better costumes than they could for
(08:48):
competitions. But in order to stand a chance
in placing in those competitions, persons of color
would have to lighten their faces to hide their skin tone.
In 1967, a queen of color named Crystal Labeija would emerge
like a phoenix to change that for her community.
She participated in the Miss AllAmerica Camp Beauty competition
(09:10):
and was awarded third runner up.And she was pissed.
She was so angry that she left the stage before the winner, a
white blonde performer, was announced.
Crystal was no stranger to the stage.
She had been one of only a few Queens of color who had been
awarded Queen of the Ball at thetime at a white organized
pageant. She believed that the pageant
was rigged by the organizers to favor the queen that had won
(09:33):
backstage after leaving the competition.
Before it was over, Crystal was confronted by some of the racism
of the time. When they told her that she was
quote, showing her color and that it was in bad taste,
Crystal fired back telling them,quote, I have a right to show my
color. I am beautiful darling, and I
know that I am beautiful. And she was.
This event, along with many others like it that had happened
(09:56):
before, LED Crystal to decide tochange things for members of the
LGBT community of color. She, along with her friend
Lottie, decided to host a ball. They marketed it as Crystal and
Lottie present the house La Beige of All, and they invited
members of the LGBT community ofcolor and it was a hit and
inspired others to start their own houses and host their own
(10:17):
balls. Houses become like family units.
They're run by a house mother orfather and people are invited to
join them. The houses often become places
that are havens for displaced use of the LGBTQ community
because they become discarded bytheir own family or displaced
for other reasons, they give them a home structure and
acceptance. Houses are named after either
(10:40):
their founders or some are namedafter high fashion lines like
Chanel or Dior. Voguing started in the 1960s as
well, but it exploded in the 1980s.
Voguing takes its name from Vogue Fashion magazine, and
Vogue dance moves are meant to mimic the moves of high fashion
models. Voguing in the underground
(11:00):
ballroom communities of New YorkCity became a safe space for
members of the LGBT community toexpress themselves, especially
for members that were persons ofcolor.
Voguing is far more about self-expression and acceptance
than it is about the dance move,and there are elements of
ballet, gymnastics and martial arts and voguing as well.
(11:21):
Venus was well known in the New York ballroom scene and was a
celebrated drag performer. Angie, her house mother, would
describe Venus as her right handin the house.
In 1986, she was invited to participate in the documentary
Paris is Burning and she was excited for the opportunity,
hoping that it would help pave the way for her towards the life
that she was seeking, being a performer, actress and high
(11:44):
fashion model. But she would also say in an
interview in the documentary that she wanted the simple
things in life as well. A car to be with a man that she
loved, that she would marry in achurch in white, a nice home
away from New York where no one knows her, and that she wanted
her sex change to be a complete woman.
To save up for her sex change, Venus engaged in sex work.
(12:06):
She would talk about this in thedocumentary as well, describing
one night where she was with a John who discovered that she
still had male genitalia. He became enraged, accusing her
of trying to give him AIDS, and told her that he should kill
her. She was so terrified of him that
she ended up jumping out the window to escape him.
She said she didn't like to hustle after that, and she was
also fearful of contracting AIDS, so she tried to be
(12:29):
careful. I'm not going to go down the
whole rabbit hole of the AIDS epidemic in this episode, though
I will point out that we don't know.
Being that this murder is unsolved, It's a fear ignited in
the community of which New York City was an epicenter,
contributed in any way to Venus's death.
There was a lot of violence against members of the LGBTQ
community in New York City at the time.
(12:50):
On December 21st, 1988, Venus was strangled and stuffed under
a bed at the Duchess Hotel in New York City.
Angie Extravaganza, her house mother would say in the
documentary Paris is Burning that she found out on Christmas
Day from police about Venus's death.
When they came to her with a picture of her body, she said
they told her that they were preparing to cremate her because
(13:11):
no one had come to claim her. She would go on to say that she
always said to Venus, quote, you're too wild with people in
the streets, something's going to happen to you.
But that was Venus. She always took a chance.
She always went into strangers cars.
She always did what she wanted to get what she wanted.
What happened to Venus was a tragedy.
She was just working to become her authentic self.
(13:35):
I liken what happened to her as to what happened to O'Shea
Sibley last year. A 28 year old professional
dancer and choreographer who waskilled at a gas station while
voguing to Beyoncé as they were waiting for their car to fill up
with gas. Just being his authentic self
and she would be left to inform Venus's birth family of her
(13:56):
death. There was never an arrest made
for Venus's death, and I couldn't find that there was
ever even a suspect in the reporting.
An article from 2023 and The Advocate said that they had
reached out for NYPD for commentabout the status of Venus's case
and they didn't receive a response.
Was Venus just killed by a John?Was she one of the many
(14:16):
unfortunate victims of a hate crime in the time period fueled
by fear at the height of the AIDS epidemic?
I'm not sure we'll ever know. After the documentary Paris's
Burning was released, Venus became a legend in the LGBTQ
community. She's become immortalized in
other ways which keeps her legacy alive.
Some examples include her interview in the Paris's Burning
(14:39):
documentary were discussed in context to gender theory and
transgender identity in a book titled Bodies That Matter on the
Discursive Limits of Sex by Judith Butler, a feminist
scholar. In 2013, a theater group in New
York City presented a murder mystery play on the
fictionalized account of her murder that was not endorsed by
her birth family or by house extravaganza in Ru Paul's Drag
(15:03):
Race. You may hear lines that allude
to the documentary Paris Is Burning, including one episode
where a competitor, William Belly, refers to the opposing
team as a bunch of overgrown orangutans, an insult that Venus
used in the documentary. In another documentary, How Do I
Look, an award in Venus's name is given to contestant Jasmine
Givenchy. On the Trans Day of Visibility
(15:25):
on March 31st, 2023, Jersey City, NJ designated the
Pellagotti family home on 343 1/2 8th St. as a historic
landmark in Venus's honor. Her brother John Pellagotti
would. State of Venus quote.
She was always out in the streets dancing with her
friends. She was voguing before voguing
was out. End Quote for me.
(15:47):
Venus comes across so genuine inher interviews, so authentic and
happy. Had she been given more time in
this world, who knows where her life would have taken her.
Despite an article coming out from the New York Times in 1993
after Angie Extravaganza passed at the age of 27 from
complications of AIDS, stating that the ballroom community had
burned and was no longer relevant, is still very much
(16:09):
alive. House Extravaganza remains one
of the most predominant houses with a global presence.
In fact, you've probably seen members in a variety of outlets.
They've worked with music icons like Madonna and Katy Perry.
They've been huge ambassadors for the ballroom scene, helping
expand it across the globe. They've been featured in a
number of television and streaming services, as well as
(16:31):
feature films such as The Pose, Saturday Church, How Do I Look
and The Get Down on Netflix. Current House mother Giselle
Alicia Extravaganza, along with other members of House
Extravaganza, maintain a relationship with the members of
the biological family of Venus. And one thing I found out late
in my research into this episodeis that this June, a spotlight
(16:53):
documentary is set to be released at the Tribeca Film
Festival called I'm Your Venus. Directed by Kim Reed.
The documentary is about Venus'sstill unsolved murder and puts
the spotlight on unity between the two families of Venus and
wanting to know the truth of what happened to her and honor
her legacy. I can't wait to check that out
when I'm able, and I hope you will too.
(17:13):
It may seem as though I spoke very little of Venus in this
episode, and you're right because there's very little
information out there about her murder and more information
about her legacy and how she helped inspire countless others
who saw her in the documentary Paris Is Burning.
As we are currently in a big election year in the United
States, it would be remiss of menot to bring this up given the
(17:34):
very real challenges that I havespoke about already in this
episode. While I'm not going to use my
platform to endorse one candidate over another, I will
say that I think it's very important for anyone who is
listening of voting age in the United States, regardless of
where you fall on party lines, to really take your time and
research the candidates on your ballot this year.
Do their actions, past and present, match the words that
(17:56):
they are speaking? Have they in the past and do
they currently back legislation that will truly move this
country forward? Do they endorse equal rights and
protections for the citizens that they will be sworn in to
office to serve? I know there are a lot of people
out there that may be torn on which way to vote this election
year, and that may mean having to vote across party line, which
(18:17):
can be very difficult. But your vote is important this
and every election year, even ifit doesn't always feel like it
matters. On that note, I mentioned at the
top of the episode that I wantedto share some resources that are
available. So the Human Rights Campaign has
a ton of resources and a varietyof topics from issues around
coming out. Or maybe you are a parent who is
(18:41):
supporting a child that has comeout or is currently navigating
challenges in different areas such as college or the
workplace. Or maybe they're unsure about
their gender identity. You can find some specific
resources around this and other topics at the Human Rights
Campaign website at hrc.org. Another resource and source of
(19:04):
support for members of the LGBTQcommunity is the Movement
Advancement Project, and their mission is to advance policies,
communication, and collaborationin a way that brings true
equality. You can check their website out
at lgbtmap.org. The Rape, Abuse and Incest
National Network or RAIN is another resource I wanted to
(19:25):
share and they are the nation's largest anti sexual violence
resource and run the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
you can call 1-800-656-4273 for help and support or you can
download their mobile app or visit rainrainn.org.
(19:46):
And finally, if you or someone you know is struggling with your
mental health, you can check outthe National Institute of Mental
Health for resources and for help finding a care provider in
your area. If you're having thoughts of
self harm or suicide, you can also reach out to a specialized
LGBTQI plus affirming counselor by texting Q, the letter Q to
(20:09):
988 or by calling 988 and pressing option three.
With that, I'm excited to be back in action and just want to
thank you for your patience while I've dealt with life.
Just a quick reminder, if you haven't already done so, please
make sure you're following the show on your podcast platform of
choice for updates on one new episode.
Drop. I'd also greatly appreciate if
you would consider giving the show a rating or a share so that
(20:32):
our dark side community can continue to grow.
I'm always amazed at this community and just so
appreciative to the support the show has gotten.
I hope you all have a great weekahead, and I hope you stay
curious.
Around 9:00 AM on December 25th,1988, a housekeeper at the
Duchess Hotel in New York City would make a startling discovery
under the bed of Room 113. There, on the floor, was the
strangled body of a young transgender woman who, in the
words of Giselle Alicia, a modeland mother of the house
extravaganza, inspired and influenced a whole culture and a
(00:21):
generation. Her life was cruelly taken from
her in a case that remains unsolved.
I'm Amanda Morgan and this is New York's dark side.
(00:58):
Hello everyone, Happy June and happy Pride Month.
I'm going to keep this brief, but I wanted to address my
absence from releasing content over the last couple of months.
I've mentioned this before, but every so often I've just had to
take a step back from releasing content altogether because as
much as I love true crime and itis a huge part of my life,
(01:20):
sometimes it can be really difficult to dive into a case
and it really weighs on me. In addition to that, April is
just a very difficult month for me personally following the loss
of a very important person in mylife.
And that loss hit me really hardthis year.
So much harder than I was anticipating.
(01:40):
And I've been working hard over the last several weeks on
self-care and getting myself back into the headspace that I
need to be in to build this content.
My goal was actually to start back up a few weeks ago with
episodes and then chaos erupted in my work life.
All I have to say on that, just thank your healthcare workers,
(02:01):
especially if any of them were impacted by the recent large
scale cyber attack at a major healthcare network because they
are really going through it right now and all they want to
do is deliver care safely for the month of June.
In honor of Pride Month, I'd like to highlight some of the
tragedies that have been suffered by the LGBTQ community
(02:21):
and also talk about some of the very real challenges that
members of this community who are just trying to live life as
their authentic selves encounter.
Today. I'm starting out with one of the
still unsolved murders and that is of Venus Pelagatti
Extravaganza. Venus was a vibrant, genuine
transgender performer with a dream of becoming an actress and
(02:44):
model whose life was cruelly taken from her in a seedy hotel
in New York City on December 21st, 1988, and her body would
be found four days later. This episode will discuss many
topics that may be a current reality to some of our
listeners, such as housing instability, domestic violence,
and sexual assault. I'll be discussing some
(03:05):
available resources at the end of this episode if any of these
situations apply to you or someone you know, and they will
all be LinkedIn the show notes as well.
For those of you that have listened to past episodes, you
know that I love some rabbit holes.
So we'll also be diving into some of the history and
evolution of the LGBTQ ballroom community.
So let's dive right in. Born Thomas Pelligotti on May
(03:30):
22nd, 1965 to Italian American and Puerto Rican parents in
Jersey City, NJ, Venus was one of five children in the home.
She loved music, her favorite colors were yellow and blue, and
she excelled at school. Her favorite subjects were math
and geography, while I couldn't find it recorded anywhere in the
source material. Exactly when Venus knew that she
(03:52):
was different from her siblings and that she was not meant to be
born a male. In the documentary Paris Is
Burning, released after Venus's death in 1990 and directed by
Jenny Livingston, Venus would describe how she started going
by the name Venus in secret around the age of 13 or 14, and
she would experiment with dressing up.
This didn't stay a secret for long, and she moved out of her
(04:15):
family home as a teenager, leaving New Jersey for the
lights and vibrancy of New York City in 1980.
She would say in the documentarythat she moved out because she
didn't want to embarrass her family.
Before moving on with the story,I think it's important to share
some important statistics that might be a little bit shocking.
I mentioned the documentary Paris is Burning, which is a
(04:36):
source for this episode. The documentary focused on the
lives and challenges of people in the New York City drag scene
in the 1980s, especially those that are persons of color.
The challenges they describe include not being accepted for
who they are, being unhoused anddisowned from their birth
families, fear of being attackedin the streets, and these are
(04:57):
all still very real challenges now, 34 years after the
documentary was released. According to the National
Network for Youth, there is 120%higher risk of housing
instability or becoming unhousedfor youth that identify as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or who questioned
their status. Of the 4.2 million unhoused
(05:18):
youth, 40% of them identify as being part of the LGBTQ
community. They're also more likely to
experience assault, trauma, depression, and suicide.
These factors, like so many other social risk factors,
increase for those who are persons of color.
The primary cause of housing instability for the LGBTQ plus
(05:39):
community is due to their families conflict with their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
There's also a significantly higher risk of exposure to
domestic abuse. These statistics are based on
data from the United States, a country that literally was built
on the dream of freedom from oppression, of life, liberty and
justice for all. Unless you don't meet the
(05:59):
narrative of the majority, this is, in my opinion, a travesty
for a developed country in 2024.Don't get me wrong and please
hear me out. There are times I feel very
privileged to have been born in the United States.
But the injustice and inequalityof this country is just
staggering and appalling. And I say that knowing full well
(06:19):
that I am a cisgender, straight,white woman who has far more
privilege and equality than so many others.
I've not felt the pain and anxiety of not identifying with
the gender I was born and the fear of not being accepted to
come out as one's true self. I've not felt the stigma,
racism, and injustice that befalls Americans who are
persons of color. But I've watched it happen
(06:40):
around me, and it pains me that it still happens.
And while we've made progress over the decades, it's very slow
progress. And it infuriates me that so
many of our politicians claim usto be the greatest nation in the
world. There are so many ways that we
could be doing better as a nation for our citizens.
All of them. Back to Venus for a moment
(07:01):
before I go down my next rabbit hole.
Shortly after arriving in New York, she would meet Hector Vale
and Angie Extravaganza, the mother and father of House
Extravaganza. She would later describe Hector
as the first gay man she ever met.
At this point she was 15. This meeting would change
Venus's life because in Hector and Angie she found acceptance
(07:23):
for who she was and they introduced her to New York's
underground ball community. They told her that generally, in
order to enter the House Extravaganza, she would need to
enter a ball and win a trophy, but they let her in without
doing that. She joined House Extravaganza as
one of the earliest members, andas we'll discuss later, the
House will eventually grow to bea predominant house in ballroom
(07:44):
culture and have a global presence today.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the ball
community, and I'll be honest that I really wasn't and I loved
researching this, the underground ballroom community
has been around and evolved for the last few 100 years and it
started out slowly as a safe space for members of the LGBT
community to express themselves as who they are.
(08:07):
They would have competitions with categories for prizes such
as best or slinkiest gown or forthose who look the most
feminine. In the documentary Paris is
Burning, they call that last category realness and defined it
as being undetectable in the community.
Those that could blend in to thecommunity dressed in drag
(08:27):
without being detected and quotebeing able to come home with all
of their clothes without blood running off their bodies.
They are the femme realness Queens.
Members of the LGBT community that were persons of color found
the community challenging because white performers first
could often afford better costumes than they could for
(08:48):
competitions. But in order to stand a chance
in placing in those competitions, persons of color
would have to lighten their faces to hide their skin tone.
In 1967, a queen of color named Crystal Labeija would emerge
like a phoenix to change that for her community.
She participated in the Miss AllAmerica Camp Beauty competition
(09:10):
and was awarded third runner up.And she was pissed.
She was so angry that she left the stage before the winner, a
white blonde performer, was announced.
Crystal was no stranger to the stage.
She had been one of only a few Queens of color who had been
awarded Queen of the Ball at thetime at a white organized
pageant. She believed that the pageant
was rigged by the organizers to favor the queen that had won
(09:33):
backstage after leaving the competition.
Before it was over, Crystal was confronted by some of the racism
of the time. When they told her that she was
quote, showing her color and that it was in bad taste,
Crystal fired back telling them,quote, I have a right to show my
color. I am beautiful darling, and I
know that I am beautiful. And she was.
This event, along with many others like it that had happened
(09:56):
before, LED Crystal to decide tochange things for members of the
LGBT community of color. She, along with her friend
Lottie, decided to host a ball. They marketed it as Crystal and
Lottie present the house La Beige of All, and they invited
members of the LGBT community ofcolor and it was a hit and
inspired others to start their own houses and host their own
(10:17):
balls. Houses become like family units.
They're run by a house mother orfather and people are invited to
join them. The houses often become places
that are havens for displaced use of the LGBTQ community
because they become discarded bytheir own family or displaced
for other reasons, they give them a home structure and
acceptance. Houses are named after either
(10:40):
their founders or some are namedafter high fashion lines like
Chanel or Dior. Voguing started in the 1960s as
well, but it exploded in the 1980s.
Voguing takes its name from Vogue Fashion magazine, and
Vogue dance moves are meant to mimic the moves of high fashion
models. Voguing in the underground
(11:00):
ballroom communities of New YorkCity became a safe space for
members of the LGBT community toexpress themselves, especially
for members that were persons ofcolor.
Voguing is far more about self-expression and acceptance
than it is about the dance move,and there are elements of
ballet, gymnastics and martial arts and voguing as well.
(11:21):
Venus was well known in the New York ballroom scene and was a
celebrated drag performer. Angie, her house mother, would
describe Venus as her right handin the house.
In 1986, she was invited to participate in the documentary
Paris is Burning and she was excited for the opportunity,
hoping that it would help pave the way for her towards the life
that she was seeking, being a performer, actress and high
(11:44):
fashion model. But she would also say in an
interview in the documentary that she wanted the simple
things in life as well. A car to be with a man that she
loved, that she would marry in achurch in white, a nice home
away from New York where no one knows her, and that she wanted
her sex change to be a complete woman.
To save up for her sex change, Venus engaged in sex work.
(12:06):
She would talk about this in thedocumentary as well, describing
one night where she was with a John who discovered that she
still had male genitalia. He became enraged, accusing her
of trying to give him AIDS, and told her that he should kill
her. She was so terrified of him that
she ended up jumping out the window to escape him.
She said she didn't like to hustle after that, and she was
also fearful of contracting AIDS, so she tried to be
(12:29):
careful. I'm not going to go down the
whole rabbit hole of the AIDS epidemic in this episode, though
I will point out that we don't know.
Being that this murder is unsolved, It's a fear ignited in
the community of which New York City was an epicenter,
contributed in any way to Venus's death.
There was a lot of violence against members of the LGBTQ
community in New York City at the time.
(12:50):
On December 21st, 1988, Venus was strangled and stuffed under
a bed at the Duchess Hotel in New York City.
Angie Extravaganza, her house mother would say in the
documentary Paris is Burning that she found out on Christmas
Day from police about Venus's death.
When they came to her with a picture of her body, she said
they told her that they were preparing to cremate her because
(13:11):
no one had come to claim her. She would go on to say that she
always said to Venus, quote, you're too wild with people in
the streets, something's going to happen to you.
But that was Venus. She always took a chance.
She always went into strangers cars.
She always did what she wanted to get what she wanted.
What happened to Venus was a tragedy.
She was just working to become her authentic self.
(13:35):
I liken what happened to her as to what happened to O'Shea
Sibley last year. A 28 year old professional
dancer and choreographer who waskilled at a gas station while
voguing to Beyoncé as they were waiting for their car to fill up
with gas. Just being his authentic self
and she would be left to inform Venus's birth family of her
(13:56):
death. There was never an arrest made
for Venus's death, and I couldn't find that there was
ever even a suspect in the reporting.
An article from 2023 and The Advocate said that they had
reached out for NYPD for commentabout the status of Venus's case
and they didn't receive a response.
Was Venus just killed by a John?Was she one of the many
(14:16):
unfortunate victims of a hate crime in the time period fueled
by fear at the height of the AIDS epidemic?
I'm not sure we'll ever know. After the documentary Paris's
Burning was released, Venus became a legend in the LGBTQ
community. She's become immortalized in
other ways which keeps her legacy alive.
Some examples include her interview in the Paris's Burning
(14:39):
documentary were discussed in context to gender theory and
transgender identity in a book titled Bodies That Matter on the
Discursive Limits of Sex by Judith Butler, a feminist
scholar. In 2013, a theater group in New
York City presented a murder mystery play on the
fictionalized account of her murder that was not endorsed by
her birth family or by house extravaganza in Ru Paul's Drag
(15:03):
Race. You may hear lines that allude
to the documentary Paris Is Burning, including one episode
where a competitor, William Belly, refers to the opposing
team as a bunch of overgrown orangutans, an insult that Venus
used in the documentary. In another documentary, How Do I
Look, an award in Venus's name is given to contestant Jasmine
Givenchy. On the Trans Day of Visibility
(15:25):
on March 31st, 2023, Jersey City, NJ designated the
Pellagotti family home on 343 1/2 8th St. as a historic
landmark in Venus's honor. Her brother John Pellagotti
would. State of Venus quote.
She was always out in the streets dancing with her
friends. She was voguing before voguing
was out. End Quote for me.
(15:47):
Venus comes across so genuine inher interviews, so authentic and
happy. Had she been given more time in
this world, who knows where her life would have taken her.
Despite an article coming out from the New York Times in 1993
after Angie Extravaganza passed at the age of 27 from
complications of AIDS, stating that the ballroom community had
burned and was no longer relevant, is still very much
(16:09):
alive. House Extravaganza remains one
of the most predominant houses with a global presence.
In fact, you've probably seen members in a variety of outlets.
They've worked with music icons like Madonna and Katy Perry.
They've been huge ambassadors for the ballroom scene, helping
expand it across the globe. They've been featured in a
number of television and streaming services, as well as
(16:31):
feature films such as The Pose, Saturday Church, How Do I Look
and The Get Down on Netflix. Current House mother Giselle
Alicia Extravaganza, along with other members of House
Extravaganza, maintain a relationship with the members of
the biological family of Venus. And one thing I found out late
in my research into this episodeis that this June, a spotlight
(16:53):
documentary is set to be released at the Tribeca Film
Festival called I'm Your Venus. Directed by Kim Reed.
The documentary is about Venus'sstill unsolved murder and puts
the spotlight on unity between the two families of Venus and
wanting to know the truth of what happened to her and honor
her legacy. I can't wait to check that out
when I'm able, and I hope you will too.
(17:13):
It may seem as though I spoke very little of Venus in this
episode, and you're right because there's very little
information out there about her murder and more information
about her legacy and how she helped inspire countless others
who saw her in the documentary Paris Is Burning.
As we are currently in a big election year in the United
States, it would be remiss of menot to bring this up given the
(17:34):
very real challenges that I havespoke about already in this
episode. While I'm not going to use my
platform to endorse one candidate over another, I will
say that I think it's very important for anyone who is
listening of voting age in the United States, regardless of
where you fall on party lines, to really take your time and
research the candidates on your ballot this year.
Do their actions, past and present, match the words that
(17:56):
they are speaking? Have they in the past and do
they currently back legislation that will truly move this
country forward? Do they endorse equal rights and
protections for the citizens that they will be sworn in to
office to serve? I know there are a lot of people
out there that may be torn on which way to vote this election
year, and that may mean having to vote across party line, which
(18:17):
can be very difficult. But your vote is important this
and every election year, even ifit doesn't always feel like it
matters. On that note, I mentioned at the
top of the episode that I wantedto share some resources that are
available. So the Human Rights Campaign has
a ton of resources and a varietyof topics from issues around
coming out. Or maybe you are a parent who is
(18:41):
supporting a child that has comeout or is currently navigating
challenges in different areas such as college or the
workplace. Or maybe they're unsure about
their gender identity. You can find some specific
resources around this and other topics at the Human Rights
Campaign website at hrc.org. Another resource and source of
(19:04):
support for members of the LGBTQcommunity is the Movement
Advancement Project, and their mission is to advance policies,
communication, and collaborationin a way that brings true
equality. You can check their website out
at lgbtmap.org. The Rape, Abuse and Incest
National Network or RAIN is another resource I wanted to
(19:25):
share and they are the nation's largest anti sexual violence
resource and run the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
you can call 1-800-656-4273 for help and support or you can
download their mobile app or visit rainrainn.org.
(19:46):
And finally, if you or someone you know is struggling with your
mental health, you can check outthe National Institute of Mental
Health for resources and for help finding a care provider in
your area. If you're having thoughts of
self harm or suicide, you can also reach out to a specialized
LGBTQI plus affirming counselor by texting Q, the letter Q to
(20:09):
988 or by calling 988 and pressing option three.
With that, I'm excited to be back in action and just want to
thank you for your patience while I've dealt with life.
Just a quick reminder, if you haven't already done so, please
make sure you're following the show on your podcast platform of
choice for updates on one new episode.
Drop. I'd also greatly appreciate if
you would consider giving the show a rating or a share so that
(20:32):
our dark side community can continue to grow.
I'm always amazed at this community and just so
appreciative to the support the show has gotten.
I hope you all have a great weekahead, and I hope you stay
curious.
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