Comparing Call Her Ganda And Paris Is Burning

Both Call Her Ganda and Paris Is Burning show the transgender community in two different locations and two different points in time. In the documentary Paris Is Burning, the trans community is part of a larger community that makes up the ball culture. During their balls, they dress in drag and portray members of a group or members of another gender and are judged on their “realness.” Despite making a community for themselves in New York, the ugliness of homophobia and racism is ever present. During the documentary, viewers find out that Venus, a trans woman, is found dead. Venus had become a sex worker in order to support herself, but when a client becomes aware that she is transgender, death is a reality that the community has to face. A similar

Venus's murder was just another example of the constant threats that the queer community had to face and become one more person and reason to fight. The opposite is said for the murder of Jennifer Laude. Like Venus, Jennifer was a trans woman and sex worker who was murdered by an American soldier. What Jennifers murder truly exposed was how prevalent not only a heteronormative perspective of gender was in the United States, but also how another country reacts to it. What made the ball culture a safe space for the queer community that was present in New York City was because it allowed an escape from constant threats. As Bridgers states, the queer community created their own “modes of communication in repressive societies have always taken place under the radar” which usually comprised of subtle nods and cultural references (118). The queer community had to establish these subtle ways of communication with each other as media depictions of queer characters were punished. Being queer was a “perceived violation of religious prohibitions and of the nuclear family order” (Bridges 128). However, this cannot be said in a country that had a past where being queer was not as heavily looked down on. Jennifers murder sparked movement and massive protests that combined the treatment of trans women and the imperialist influence of the United States. Unlike many victims, Jennifers murderer was found guilty. However, the United States government stepped in and derailed the entire process. Instead of going to a Filipino prison, Jennifers murderer was placed under American custody, which was met with massive backlash. The documentary then shows some of the American responses when the story ran in American media. One such response was the continued heteronormative structure of thinking about