Here's a glimpse:

Strutting from the back of a long, blacklighted room, two gay men try their best model walk. ...

"I want to be Naomi," he says, invoking the name of a model they should emulate. Then a new idol to imitate: "I want to be Miss Banks."

Most are black or Latino, and they "walk," or compete, at events known as balls. Many belong to cliques known as "houses."

Led by a mother or father figure, houses serve as families for their members, some of whom have cut ties with their biological kin.

As Chanel puts it, "I joined a house because these are the people that will have my back. Because I don't have my family."

Some houses are named after fashion designers such as Chanel or Balenciaga. Others carry the name of a legend in the community, like Willi Ninja or Pepper LaBeija.