Voguing

eThe most prized characteristic in a ball performer was ‘realness’, the skill of appearing realistically heterosexual when in drag — the artful masquerade of living in the closet, you could say. A panel of merciless judges and a vocal crowd would award contestants trophies for optimum ‘realness’.
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Vogue queens promenaded down a central catwalk dressed in furs, sequins and pearls. Often they would drop into moves whose athleticism mirrored their straight contemporary counterparts in break dancing. The particular way voguers moved (part walk, part dance; bent knees, all hands) was called ‘catwalking’, though it bore little resemblance to the dour business of the fashion runway.
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The balls were theatre, with distinct queer characters: the Butch, the Femme, the Queen. Categories proliferated — Dramatics, First Time In Drag, and Executive Realness — and acquired a strict set of gestures, flagrant and fabulous, some highly gymnastic. This was voguing. (The spectator)