realness

Realness is the quality of being real, genuine, or authentic. It denotes verisimilitude, credibility, or fidelity to actual conditions. In everyday use the term describes something that convincingly reflects reality or a particular way of life.

In ballroom and LGBTQ+ contexts, realness is a performance goal and category. Contestants aim to resemble real-life social roles—typically gender, class, or occupational identities—so closely that audiences perceive them as authentic within those roles. The concept has roots in Harlem and New York ball culture and has given rise to categories such as Femme Realness, Butch Realness, and Executive Realness, which emphasize dress, deportment, and mannerisms.

In wider culture, realness is used to discuss authenticity in media, fashion, and online content. It can signal truthful representation or unvarnished exposure, but it also intersects with debates on performativity and power, including the way social categories are policed or celebrated under the banner of 'realness.'