flyandfamousblackgirls:

Black Trans History: Ballroom Legend/Muse/Singer, Octavia St. Laurent.

Many people were introduced to her through the documentary films Paris Is Burning and How Do I Look, and if you peruse YouTube you can still see her lovely visage in some of the uploaded video from ballroom competitions of the 90’s and 2k’s.

Octavia, just like the popular transgender, Amiyah Scott, wasn’t shy about acknowledging the fact that she was assigned male. Octavia, unlike many transgender women, also shared her childhood pictures publicly. Additionally, Octavia acknowledged her birth name; Jeffrey. When Octavia started walking balls in 1982, she became a part of a community that descended from the Harlem Drag Scene. That era was heavily populated by white men dressed in women’s garb. They are the ones who received the trophies, cash and accolades for their on stage performances. Blacks weren’t given the credit or fair opportunities to showcase their talents and stand center stage as the winner or top prize recipient during these years. As a result, Legendary Mother, Crystal Labeija, started the House Of Labeija; opening the door for young, black transgender women like Octavia to exist in the spotlight.

“Gays have rights, lesbians have rights, men have rights, women have rights, even animals have rights. How many of us have to die before the community recognizes that we are not expendable?” – Octavia St. Laurent