What is Love, anyway?
Question everything and explore your interests. Love yourself. Learn to accept who you are and what you desire.
Love is blind
Love has many definitions and can be expressed in a multitude of ways. The couples from this video look truly happy. Isn't that all that matters?
Despite what society says, there's another option to heterosexuality. Heteronormativity3 is an oppressive way for society to control you.
Why are we so afraid of burlesque?
Burlesque has never been an easy art to define. It could even be considered a form of communication, as body language. The world of burlesque is amusing and exciting to audiences, but it could also be viewed as threatening. Traditionally, any subject was fair game for the comedic barbs of burlesque performers and they often took sharp aim at social conventions, especially questioning accepted ideas of the proper place of women.
“It has its origins in ancient Greek satirical plays, and incorporates aspects of many theatrical traditions and styles, including music, dance, and parody. From [Lydia] Thompson’s time (the first American burlesque dancer) to the present day, what most varieties of burlesque have in common is their comedic social commentary, often deliberately turning social mores on their heads, and their sexualized display of the female form.”4
The early days of American burlesque saw the differentiation between burlesque: the art form’ and ‘burlesque: the striptease’. In the 1930s, Prohibition and the religious cultural shift may have lead to our distasteful look at burlesque.
“In Europe, people were allowed to drink to their heart’s content, and women mostly kept their clothes on. In America, where alcohol and too much leg were both deemed illegal, they developed the art of the striptease. Call me crazy, but the connection is obvious.”5
As our American “values” shifted, the burlesque became associated with tawdry vulgarities. As such, burlesque theaters housed the cultural trifecta of ‘bad’ social norms as we know it: loose women, alcohol and (the provocation of) sex.
In the eyes of society, these women were engaging in sex work, which is inadvertently discussed in Marxist theory and the politics of consumption. Commodification is the transformation of goods and services, as well as ideas or other entities that normally may not be considered goods, into a commodity.6 The commodification of sex has caused us to fear anything sexual and the burlesque performers have been ceaselessly chastised for it.
Nadia Kamil, a writer/actor/comedian, modernizes and satirizes the ‘traditional’ burlesque in her stand-up act. Instead of revealing more skin, she reveals feminist phrases:
“Equal pay”, “Leave my womb alone”, “Stop looking at my bum, you sexists!”, “Pubes are normal”, “Stop asking are women funny & do some proper journalism”, and
“100% of rapes are the fault of the rapist.”
The humorously true phrases reveal her stance on sexuality: women are people, too. Without fail, we are scrutinized by society for superficial things: beauty, fitness, humor, and (perceived) morality. We aren’t wholly responsible for all of this! Kamil even jokes about the male gaze: it is the reason burlesque cannot be enjoyed by feminists. Unfortunately, women are sexualized and objectified in every context. However, we should not make our decisions nor live our lives according to a “typical” heterosexual man’s perspective, so forget about the male gaze!
Your views on burlesque and sexuality are yours to decide, whether you lean towards sexologists Califia or Dworkin.