Pose is a television drama series set in 1980s to 1990s New York City ball culture. Pose premiered June 3, 2018, on the premium cable channel FX. The series quickly gained critical acclaim for, among other things, featuring the largest cast of out transgender series regulars ever seen on television. This entry aims to situate the series in the history of trans representation and articulate the uniqueness of its contribution to the contemporary trans mediascape.

In 1990, Jennie Livingston’s documentary Paris Is Burning opened up the world of 1980s New York City ball culture to previously unknowing audiences—queer, trans, straight, and cis. Ball culture (or “ballroom”) is a Black and Latinx queer culture, started in 1920s New York City and now a global phenomenon, where Houses ...