Related Groups
Many court members are involved with other LGBT groups, especially non-profit groups that provide charitable services directly rather than providing the funds for such services as IICS does. Besides these, two specific spheres of activity have relevance to IICS history:
Competitive pageantry: Some court members have also been involved with competitive pageantry, especially drag pageants and the various leather competitions through which people may qualify for International Mister Leather. Like the IICS, these competitions provide an opportunity to garner titles while showcasing one's appearance and talents. Some court chapters grew out of the sphere of competitive pageantry and some courts conduct annual competitive "Mr. Gay. .." and "Miss Gay. .." (or similarly named) pageants as part of their fundraising schedule.
Ball culture: Less frequently, the Imperial Court has had overlapping membership and joint ventures with drag houses of the type documented in Paris is Burning. For example, during the 1990s the annual "Snow Ball" in Hartford was both a coronation and a competition in which contestants did "walks" in various specific categories in order to win trophies. The IICS has innumerable "houses" within its ranks as mentioned above. However, unlike drag houses such as the House of Xtravaganza and House of Labeija, houses within the IICS are not an important means of organization within the group and there is no limit to the number of houses to which a person can belong.
Read more about this topic: Imperial Court System
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