Community-Engaged Research to Identify House Parent Perspectives on Support and Risk Within the House and Ball Scene

Abstract

This article describes a community-engaged study with the Los Angeles House and Ball scene in which the perspectives of the leaders of these communities are captured to better understand how the House and Ball communities may protect or increase its members' risks for HIV infection. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with House parents (N = 26). This study identified key features of both support (e.g., family and support, acceptance, and validation and recognition) and risk (e.g., members' struggles to maintain status in the Ballroom scene, sex work, substance use, danger of becoming too involved in the Ball community, and perception and stigma of the Ballroom scene within the larger gay community) within these communities. Findings are discussed in relation to framing how to leverage the supportive aspects of the House and Ball communities to design relevant HIV-prevention interventions.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health (Grant No. RO1 DA22968). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors, and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health. We acknowledge the contributions of the staff members who contributed to collection, management, analysis, and review of these data: Veronica Abernathy, Teela Davis, Deandre Ellison, Judith Grout, Cody Haight, Nefe Iredia, Tattiya Kliengklom, Sylvia Lambrechts, Donna Luebbe, Griselda Monroy, Heather Reyes, Marcia Reyes, Luis Salazar, Sheree Schrager, Milton Smith, Flor Vindel, and Carolyn Wong. We also acknowledge the insightful and practical commentary of the members of the P3 Advisory Board; the mothers and fathers from the House of Allure, House of Chanel, House of Ebony, House of Escada, House of Etro Galliano, House of Herrera, House of Garcon, House of Gotti, House of Lauren van Cartier, House of Mizarahi, House of Miyake Mugler, House of Revlon, House of Rodeo, and the House of Ultra Omni. We are especially grateful to all of the parents, leaders, and members of the Los Angeles House and Ball communities for their commitment and willingness to share their diverse and often profound personal experiences, as well as welcoming us into a part of their lives.

Notes

¹“Stars, Statements, and Legends” is held before every Ball to recognize significant figures in the House and Ball community.

²Chopped indicates that a competitor does not meet the category's standards, and is eliminated from the competition.

³“Get your tens” refers to a competitor meeting a category's standards and moving to the next level of competition or “battle.”