“Ballroom is Here!” Or is it? A study on the portrayal of the Ballroom and LGBTQ+ community in the Netflix series Pose, through the entertainment-education strategy approach

The media through which we are constantly staying informed and learning new things has increased significantly, whether it’s through watching television series or scrolling through social media applications. While being entertained through television series, we can also gain knowledge on various topics and issues. This is an example of the entertainment-education strategy. In recent years, series like ‘Pose’ ‘One Day at a Time’, and ‘Elite’ have been introduced to the streaming platform Netflix. A common topic that these series focus on is LGBTQ+ issues. A unique topic that Pose focuses on is Ballroom culture. Ballroom is considered to be a safe space for Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals made by them and for them. Within the culture, members of the community host functions where they come together to celebrate each other and compete for trophies. During these functions, participants walk different categories like ‘Vogue Femme’ and ‘Old Way’. Considering that Pose discusses and educates audiences on Ballroom and its culture, it is interesting to understand how members of the LGBTQ+ community and the Ballroom scene are being represented in the series Pose and how do members of this community value and identify with these representations. To answer this question, in-depth interviews were carried out with individuals part of the LGBTQ+ and Dutch Ballroom community, who are between the ages of 20 to 40 years old. During the interview, 6 visual probes were shown to the respondents. These visual probes consisted of different scenes from the series Pose, which focused on topics like the deeming ceremony, HIV, transphobia, and housing within the community. Data gathered from the interviews were then analyzed through thematic analysis and divided into 4 main themes: an introduction of ballroom, support, sexual health and sex work, and queer identity. Based on the findings, it was evident that Pose is informative on the history of Ballroom but is not entirely representative of the community and its culture. In addition to watching Pose, to understand Ballroom and its culture, it is important for individuals to communicate with members part of the community and watch documentaries like ‘Paris is Burning’ and ‘Kiki’.