Enjoying burlesque
is part of female
sexuality,
not a betrayal
of it
By Starla Haze
June 4th, 2009
U.K. GUARDIAN
As a recent newcomer to burlesque,
I read Laurie Penny’s article with
shock and disappointment
(Burlesque laid bare, 15 May)
Shock at the sweeping
conclusions she draws,
and disappointment that she feels
justified in condemning the whole
burlesque community on the basis
of her own particular
negative experiences.
Penny writes:
“Burlesque stripping,
like lap-dancing,
is about performing –
rather than owning –
your sexuality.”
But this seems to be based on
some pretty wooden theory rather
than experience:
how exactly does one “own”
one’s sexuality anyway?
Is she honestly telling me that
because I enjoy performing
burlesque as an active part of my
sexuality I am somehow betraying
a more authentic female
sexual identity?
What Penny does not seem to
have realised is that sexuality is
always performative,
even when conducted in private.
The clumsy application of
half-understood feminist ideas
of “objectification” has oversimplified
men and women to the point where
both sexes are anxious to enter
the bedroom.
The popularity of burlesque
amongst the women and couples
who attend the shows is,
to me,
a clear reaction against this
alienation from sexuality.
Penny also fails to acknowledge
the central role that women have
played in reviving the genre;
and they’re very enterprising,
intelligent and sensitive women,
I might add.
Penny’s assertion that the sexual
performance of burlesque is
“played out in silence” is also
completely erroneous.
In fact the two-way communicative
nature of burlesque contrasts
sharply with the striptease of
lap-dance clubs.
Burlesque performers use diverse
forms of communication with the
their audiences –
interpreting music and lyrics as
well as employing mime to amuse,
berate, titillate, shock, mislead
or educate.
That is why burlesque
is an art form.
Burlesque shows across the UK
incorporate genres as diverse
as ballet, fire performance, opera,
contortionism and aerial acrobatics –
as well as striptease,
which is actually still used
by many performers to parody
sexuality, politics and social values.
In burlesque the
gaze goes both ways,
and this is precisely what I find
subversive about it.
Like most women I have had
my share of body confidence issues,
and it has taken me most of my
20s to develop the confidence to
be comfortable with everything
I am –
intellectually, emotionally,
physically and sexually.
Burlesque has played a positive
role in this process.
Penny claims that
“the sexual tease is always a
substitute for real personal
and political power”.
The same could equally
be said of all art.
It is no substitute for political
power because it is simply something
else altogether and,
like it or not, everyone –
male or female –
needs to feel attractive.
Contrary to the picture
painted by Penny,
burlesque has created a context
in which women can be creative,
performative and sexually
expressive in a way determined
solely by themselves,
irrespective of their age,
shape, size or proportions;
burlesque celebrates the female –
and male – form in all its variety.
For myself and many others,
this inclusiveness is
the real draw.
