Photo courtesy of Janus Films.
The story of Venus Xtravaganza is one marked by a dual reality oftentimes faced by many trans women: fierce ambition and persistent marginalization. But this did not stop Venus from emulating her own spark, it only made her story much more riveting.
In 1988, Venus was found murdered in a New York hotel room, just months before the release of the documentary “Paris Is Burning,” which captured the sphere of the queer underground ballroom scene–one that caught the eye of Venus.
The Jersey City-born performer was 23-years-old when her body was found inside The Fulton Hotel in room 113, under a mattress.
“I feel like she gave women courage,” said Karla Oliva, who works at the Hudson Pride Center, a nonprofit organization championing the dignity and voice of the LGBTQIA+ community. “She was not afraid to go through whatever she needed to go through any trials and tribulations in order to just be herself and to do what she wanted to do with her life.”
Oliva noted the lack of empathy and understanding in society, particularly in political climates hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. The patterns of genocide towards members who identify as transgender has manifested itself in callous acts–with 5,000 murders in the trans community within the last 17 years, according to the Transgender Murder Monitoring Report.
A Place To Call Home
Born on May 5, 1965, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Italian-American and Puerto Rican parents, Venus was the only transgender girl among four brothers. She began calling herself Venus in her early teens, serving as an act of self-definition that would ignite her rise as a trailblazing voice in New York’s vibrant, and often perilous, ballroom scene.
“She never got a chance to see it, but she was just the pioneering type of woman for the trans community,” said brother Joe Pellagatti, who harked on his childhood memories with Venus and her siblings growing up at their grandmother Justina Salcrup’s house on 8th Street near Hamilton Park.
He told Slice of Culture in an interview that growing up in Jersey City back in the 1980s brought its own share of challenges with the AIDS epidemic and rampant drug use. “It was not an easy neighborhood to grow up in, very few people are able to climb out of that and make something of themselves then.”
Inside the home, a memory played through Pellagatti’s head; Venus and his siblings would play on the staircase in a game where you tapped on the hand and if you found the item, you could move a step. The Pellagattis were welcomed with the fresh smells of garlic, gravy cooking and Italian sausages at their grandmother’s home.
“I think my motivation, and our family’s motivation is to show not just the community, but show the world that you, our loved ones, are important to us,” said Louie Pellagatti, the youngest sibling, who told Slice of Culture that sex, religion and race should not stand in the way, “We authentically love and care for the trans community.”
Slice of Culture walked through Venus’ grandmother’s house, where scenes captured in the documentary painted it as a sanctuary for Venus to express her fullest identity.
“Some of them say that we are sick, we are crazy, and some of them think that we are the most gorgeous special things on earth,” said Venus in her grandmother’s home in the documentary.
In these intimate moments, Venus discusses her aspirations, including her desire for gender-affirming surgery and her dreams of becoming a professional model. She also speaks fondly of her grandmother, highlighting the support and acceptance she received from her growing up.
‘Paris Is Burning’ Shows Venus, The Trailblazer
In 1990, director Jennie Livingston released “Paris Is Burning,” a landmark documentary that brought the underground world of New York City’s vogue ball scene into the public eye.
This was at a time when just existing as a gay or transgender Black or Latino person could be life-threatening, and the balls offered a rare space for safety, self-expression and inner community. Set against the backdrop of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the film captures the transformative power of these events: part fashion show, part performance and entirely revolutionary.
Livingston’s documentary documents a vibrant subculture on the brink, just before the AIDS epidemic and gentrification reshaped the city and its queer communities.
Livingston’s documentary illustrates a defining moment in LGBTQ+ history and New York City’s cultural landscape through the artistry of voguing and spotlighting runway icons such as Venus Xtravaganza, Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija and Avis Pendavis.
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LGBTQIA+ Hate Related Crimes And Violence
In 2023, hate crimes targeting transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the United States reached their highest level since federal tracking began over a decade ago.
New data from the FBI revealed 547 incidents were motivated by gender identity bias with 401 of them specifically targeting transgender people, and 146 aimed at those who are gender non-conforming, according to figures by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQIA+ lobbying organization.
The figures mark a 16 percent rise in anti-transgender hate crimes compared to the previous year, underscoring an upward trend in violence and discrimination.
In tandem with indiscriminate hate, an analysis of the 2022–2023 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) reveals stark disparities in violent victimization across communities.
Transgender individuals were targeted at a rate of 93.7 incidents per 1,000 people—more than four times higher than the 21.1 per 1,000 rate reported among non-LGBT individuals.
The data from the Williams Institute at the University of California, which focuses on sexual orientation and gender related issues, also highlights that Black LGBT individuals experienced the highest rates of victimization overall, pointing to a compounded vulnerability at the intersection of race, gender identity and sexual orientation.
“It is a very harsh reality but it is a very true one,” said Gisele Xtravaganza, who spoke to Slice of Culture on the impact of religion and societal norms on trans acceptance, and added that at times it can do more harm than actual good.
“Religion is extremely powerful, it is one of the most powerful forces to have ever existed in the history of existence, it drives man into madness.”
Despite growing concerns over violence targeting transgender individuals, there remains no comprehensive global dataset tracking killings explicitly motivated by religious beliefs. Still, individual cases point to instances where religion has played a contributing role in anti-trans violence.
In President Donald Trump’s first weeks in office of his second term, he issued a hard pivot on LGBTQIA+ rights by rescinding executive orders and actions issued by the previous Joe Biden administration.
These orders including Executive Order 13988, titled “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,” and Executive Order 14075, “Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals,” directed attention focused on advancing LGBTQ+ equity, according to reporting by KFF–a non-partisan organization focused on health policy.
Almost immediately, his administration issued executive orders that rattled advocates and separated communities alike.
One such order redefined federal recognition of sex to only include “male” and “female,” strictly based on sex assigned at birth—a move critics say erases the identities of transgender and nonbinary Americans.
GLAAD’s 2024 ALERT Desk report tracked 918 anti-LGBTQ incidents in the U.S., averaging 2.5 incidents per day. Of these, 447 incidents (48 percent) specifically targeted transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals.
In a move to preserve LGBTQ+ history, Jersey City designated Venus’s childhood home at 343 1/2 8th Street as a historic landmark in March 2023. This designation is part of a broader initiative to recognize and celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals to the city’s cultural tapestry.
Reclaiming Identity And Making History
Originally laid to rest under her birth name at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, New Jersey, she remained misidentified in death for years. But her family reclaimed her truth in 2023, posthumously changing her name and replacing the tombstone to honor her authentic identity.
“What we did as a family was quite historical, it has never been done before,” said John Pellagati, the eldest brother. “With my brothers and I we legally changed her name, you know, that is who she was.”
The brothers reflected on their journey of acceptance and the ongoing efforts to reopen her case, which remains inconclusive as the DNA remains unmatched with any suspect.
In 2022, the New York City Police Department reopened the case, collaborating with the Trans Doe Task , a nonprofit organization that takes on missing and murdered LGBTQ+ individuals, with a particular focus on unidentified persons who may have been transgender or gender-variant.
TDTF collaborates with law enforcement, forensic professionals and the public to bring attention and resolution to these often-overlooked cases.
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” said Lisa Desire, a forensic DNA specialist who was involved in consulting with Venus’ case. “Just because this person’s DNA is not able to be found at this point, does not mean that person was not there.”
However, specific details about the investigation have not been publicly disclosed like a scarf that was found at the scene where Venus was. Her untimely death in 1988 remains a poignant reminder of the dangers faced by transgender individuals, yet her legacy has inspired generations to live boldly and authentically.
“One of the main things about this film is that we show family and it’s a tragedy that occurred,” said Dominique Jackson, one of the executive producers for “I’m Your Venus,” which pays homage to the life of Venus Xtravaganza, linking her two families: The Pellagatis and The House of Xtravaganzas–both biological and chosen family.
“You know there is that saying, and we have had it wrong for a very long time: blood is thicker than water, but what it actually is, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. And what Venus found out was that she was able to find family in the Xtravaganzas and now posthumously she has connected those two families to become one.”
To find LGBTQIA+ welcoming spaces and resources within Hudson County, you can visit: https://www.visithudson.org/things-to-do/lgbtq-spaces/.
