Ms. Lepore’s outsize presence has not always been embraced by fellow travelers on the night life circuit, who sometimes wonder aloud how a person with no discernible talent has managed to remain in the public consciousness for so long.

Unlike Honey Dijon, a transgender D.J. who sits at the intersection of music and fashion, Ms. Lepore cannot match beats. And unlike Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio, she is neither a ferociously funny comedian or a commanding stage performer.

“I guess she sings,” said Mr. Valenti, “I don’t know. Have you heard her?”

L.G.B.T. activists have different gripes. A person who parades around the global party scene in rhinestone-encrusted outfits that show off her heavily augmented figure can seem like an inconvenient spokesmodel, especially at a time when President Trump has rescinded protections for transgender students, and feminists have argued that transgender celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner are reducing women to “hoary stereotypes.”

Denise Norris, a trans activist who served on the board of Marriage Equality USA and founded the Association for Transgender Professionals, said Ms. Lepore deserves credit for “fearlessly expressing” herself decades before the topic of gender diversity became a central cultural debate. At the same time, she added, Ms. Lepore can seem like a Dorian Gray figure who draws unwanted attention to the “pressure” trans women face to “conform gender expression to societal norms” without showing much regard for coming off as “intelligent and articulate.”

“The only way we can judge Amanda is through the eyes of 1987,” Ms. Norris said. “Doing that, she becomes a bookmark to how much we’ve changed in 30 years.”

Nevertheless, as Ms. Bartsch points out, Ms. Lepore remains extremely popular with nightclub audiences. “Every time she takes off that dress, people love it,” she said. “Roaring. Screaming. And I think that’s an art. She’s the ultimate sex symbol. Move over everybody.”