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Spectacles of Agency and Desire: Dance Histories and the Burlesque StageMain MenuKatherine Greerfc295a655478c83ef28fbc5d88f44e832ee8ba0bLilianna Kanec453f3fcecc1717732f04f989f34f22e5a4d4903Maddie Leonard-Rose7795fc6919b777a978ec7bda4587e47146d4272eMargaret Morrison70f833738ab191151c82af514f5ee008e3ec05e1Claire Staveskifd4448269ba1d9180643996c497c3b954e2e9635Rachel Sigrid Freeburg19a18a24de8629654b230af3d38b9d4e018fd92aNena Couch011ed4d85d026b7c015f3ceb81e22a57b29b69c6Harmony Bench0272c6dce71da71c341d0dca5e4d21947d1ad231
Eliza DeLite's full length BBC Interview - Nov 2013
12015-11-29T16:36:31-08:00Margaret Morrison70f833738ab191151c82af514f5ee008e3ec05e159772In the autumn of 2013, the BBC created a feature looking at the state of burlesque in the east midlands (UK). It's main focus was to look at the debate of whether burlesque is "demeaning" to women. However during this full interview with Eliza, a whole host of other questions about her personal journey in burlesque were answered.plain2015-11-29T16:37:49-08:00Margaret Morrison70f833738ab191151c82af514f5ee008e3ec05e1
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1media/Burlesque Audience.jpg2015-11-16T14:58:35-08:00Margaret Morrison70f833738ab191151c82af514f5ee008e3ec05e1Confidence or Disrespect?Harmony Bench25Discusses the debate about if Burlesque empowers women or demeans them.plain2015-12-12T08:04:36-08:00Harmony Bench0272c6dce71da71c341d0dca5e4d21947d1ad231
1media/Burlesque Audience.jpg2015-11-16T14:58:35-08:00Confidence or Disrespect?14Discusses the debate about if Burlesque empowers women or demeans them.plain2015-11-30T14:49:04-08:00Throughout Burlesque's history, the art form has been seen as a female performance art focused on the entertainment of a male audience. There has been a constant debate about the merit of Burlesque and in particular women's differing views on fellow females performing. Performers and some female viewers feel that Burlesque is an empowering art form. Performers are celebrating and taking control their bodies. They are raising their self-confidence and also inspiring female viewers to be proud of their bodies, movement, and ideas. In a BBC article about Burlesque empowering women, Scarlett Daggers, a performer in London states, "That's inspired many women to feel more comfortable in their own skin. And it makes women feel good about themselves."(Hess).
Contrastingly, some women feel that Burlesque is demeaning and disrespectful to the female gender. Those women against Burlesque, feel that performers are allowing men to focus on the female's body rather than the intellect she has to offer. Burlesque is not only centered on the female body and the pleasure of a man.
In the Charles H. McCaghy collection, anonymous performers were interviewed about all aspects of the Burlesque profession. Many performers revealed that they have gained confidence throughout their years as performers. They enjoy the control they have over their body and the impact performers can make on the audience members through their movement and voice. In a 2014 BBC article, Elize Delite, a rising international Burlesque performer, states "It's about what you are NOT showing, and teasing the audience with fabric and costumes." (Hess). The art form is not centered on becoming naked but more the power and process of removing clothing. Many performers do not get completely nude until the last scene of an act or performance. Since the beginning of Burlesque, comedy has been the foundation of Burlesque, not stripping. An Article in the Los Angeles Times in 1967 quotes Ann Corio, a performer credited with the revival of Burlesque, stating ""Comedy,"...always has been the heart of Burlesque, a highly respectable form of entertainment a hundred years ago. The stripping came later" (Coe). The foundation of Burlesque is in the voice of the performer and the comedy throughout the show and acts, not the stripping aspect.
In the McCaghy collection, roughly 50% of the performers interviewed shared their career with their family, friends, and significant others with support. They are not ashamed to talk about their career choices and do not feel there is anything morally wrong with being a Burlesque performer. In the interviews many of the anonymous performers discuss that they are able to make a lot more money being in show business than they would working other female typical jobs (factory worker, secretary, teacher, etc.). The performers stated making $250-$500 a week depending on their skill level, experience, and location. These women performers feel that they are pursuing a career to provide for themselves and their families.
Some women feel that Burlesque is a demeaning art form that poorly portrays the female gender. From their point of view, Burlesque was for the pleasure of men. Promotional activity was presented primarily to the male audience through magazines, and tobacco cards. The promotional pictures portray females in revealing clothing that would catch the male gaze. Many women felt that Burlesque dancer's did not support their woman equality messages because these women were making money off their body and nudity only. Women against Burlesque felt dancers did not need their brain or intellect to be a Burlesque performer. They did not see Burlesque as an art form that took training, skill, or knowledge. Burlesque was often associated with prostitution and making money with the body.