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The article on Millie Dollar I linked a few posts back sparked a bit of a controversy among readers, one of whom said, 'It is mostly men who attend these shows and they are quite happy to ogle the women and treat them as nothing more than sex objects.'

Sadly, the other letters intended to respond to that statement were quite inadequate as arguments. While I realize not everyone has studied philosophy, I didn't find myself admiring the persuasiveness of ANY of the letter writers.

Fortunately, this article makes quite a bit more sense:
'The phenomenal rise of burlesque over the past years has been propelled by its popularity among women. There were men in the room, but mostly they were under the protective wing of female friends. It was girls’ night. ... 'There is a growing industry supporting the increasing popularity of burlesque. As satirical as it may be, it remains happily within the world of erotica. It is a fun and sophisticated branch of erotica, however, that encourages women to participate as consumers and producers and relegates the male eye to a secondary place while playing with what attracts it.'

I love a thinker who actually thinks.

'It isn't what I do, but how I do it. It isn't what I say, but how I say it, and how I look when I do it and say it.'
Mae West

View This Article @ Burlesque Daily

Well, even if everyone WERE just going to gawp and ogle (I have only ever been to one burlesque night where there were more men than women, and never to one where anyone was at all impolite to the dancers), 'degrading' still implies it's a bad thing to be gawped and ogled AT! If the performers couldn't take a bit of staring then they wouldn't be performers!

Actually I think a lot of women attend burlesque shows and really enjoy it!

I have spoken to a lot of women who really enjoy the glamour, cheeckyness andjust watching another women get on stage and knock em dead!

Ofcourse men will "ogle" or stare but eho says thats neccessarly a bad thing!

Personally I enjoy performing and do not feel degraded at all.


Lily saint sin x

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Clio Gayton

It's not degrading at all. At the shows I performed the majority of audience were women and the audience was always friendly and very respectful.

Of course we expect them to make some noise otherwise you might as well perform in front of an aquarium.

Aargh! These uniformed, narrow-minded and nasty comments get me so angry!
I was having a look at Millie's myspace a few days ago and I read the two letters she had posted in her blog. If they weren't so horrible, I think they would be funny, as they are just so far off the mark!
The first letter, from a reader in Glasgow, contained a couple of interesting points:

"Burlesque dancing is as sleazy and as demeaning to women as stripping."

I don't want to get into the old burlesque / stripping debate again, but as both my parents and my sister have all been to see me perform, I have a really hard time understanding how people can still always make the assumption that burlesque is sleazy.

"It is mostly men who attend these shows and they are quite happy to ogle the women and treat them as nothing more than sex objects."

Um, yeah, ok. Just wondering, how many burlsque shows this person has actually been to? Hmm?

The second letter, I found even more amusing, I particularly love this quote:

"The only women who would love to be thought of as sex objects are those of lower intelligence."

Oh my goodness! Is this person serious? Don't they realise how much time, effort and imagination goes into putting together a show? Many performers have university educations, Gypsy Charms is currently working on a PhD, Missy Malone graduated from art college etc... there are many more of course. I myself have 9 higher grades, am just finishing a university degree and have an IQ of 142, so I must really be abusing my intelligence!

I also found the following pretty amusing:

"Burlesque dancing isn't art, it's just a fancy name to make stripping appear more classy... If a woman is so money hungry she has to strip for it, there's only one word for that."

Yes, I mean clearly we are all in this for the money.
Enough said.
Peace out.
xx

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Bizarre / MoB Battle of Burlesque Winner (2008)
MoB Awards Finalist - Best Newcomer (2007)

It might just be me being daft, but I can't find a link to the original article on Millie Dollar...anyone have it?

I love the final quote - gave me a real chuckle. And I'd like to read the original article too - link for the lazy anyone?

On a slighty different angle, but maybe linked to what has been said - last night I watched the talented and beautiful Miss Cherry Scorn performing in not very much, and I enjoyed looking from my position by the door at the back of the room. Cherry stayed at my house after her performance. In the morning I was sitting in the front room with Cherry when she slid out of her sleeping bag slightly and I was faced with a very attractive but very naked leg, and I averted my eyes.

On a similar bent, the Compere from my show, Tassel Times very own Decadent Gent, needed to speak to my wife last night whilst she was getting ready to perform. Angel answered the changing room door wearing only a bra on her top half, prompting the DG to avert his eyes despite watching her perform on stage in far far less.

The actions of DG and myself give me the impression that despite us enjoying the sight of virtually naked women on stage we stil have social boundaries. We men are not turned into drooling rapsists or chauvanistic objectifiers by the sight of Millie Dollars bottom or the boobs of Leyla Rose.

In another interesting moment I have found out that extreme feminist charliegrrl has retired from running her life as an extreme feminist. She once campaigned against a festival because it featured Burlesque.

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Silk Stocking Striptease Show

Oh my! This burlesque scene these readers referred to in James' original post is not one that I am wholly familiar with!

Is the reader who says that mostly men attend thse shows implying that burlesque shows attract men who like to dress as women? For I have not noticed any ladies with adams apples at the burlesque show I have frequented....???

High five! Scratch that, make it ten. x

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"Star attraction" - News of the World
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How wonderful - women into Burlesque are only in it for the money. I guess this means that Burlesque is actually Lapdancing!

Sorry - but unless you're very talented, very lucky and very savy you're going to struggle to make lots of money in this business, unlike a Lapdancing club in which all you need to do is have lots of men around with enough money in their wallets and beer in their bellies.

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Silk Stocking Striptease Show