Rose La Rose and Kittens
1 2015-10-19T13:37:57-07:00 Katherine Greer fc295a655478c83ef28fbc5d88f44e832ee8ba0b 5977 1 Rose la Rose - The Queen of Burlesque: vintage 7x9 news service photo dated 13 April 1951. The photo shows Rose on stage, at an unknown burlesque venue, co-starring in a comedy skit with an adorable litter of kittens. plain 2015-10-19T13:37:57-07:00 Katherine Greer fc295a655478c83ef28fbc5d88f44e832ee8ba0bThis page is referenced by:
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How Rose La Rose Influenced Her Own Image
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In an interview for the Sunday Daily in 1969 by Bill Lavely, Rose La Rose explains that there is not one type of stripper. “They all do it because they love it. I don’t approve of the ones that do it just for the money” (Lavely). While this statement only refers to dancers she associated with, it contradicts many other opinions in the industry. Along with this, it is also self-contradictory due to the fact that she used her burlesque career to advance into stage management which led her to making more money. This bold statement is one of many that Rose La Rose used to shape how the public views Burlesque dance and stripping. She was constantly establishing an ideal image for burlesque women whether she was speaking as a representative and defending strippers at that time or making a generalization to benefit her own image. However, it is clear that by her only approving of women who are in the business for the love of the “art” she is holding herself and her career and to a higher standard.
In another interview for the Byline Newspaper titled “There is a Business in Beauty”, Rose La Rose explains how burlesque dancers “put in 4-6 hours each day, 7 days per week, on the stage plus rehearsals” (Shoup). She explains that “of all show people, those in burlesque must work the hardest, with the New York City Rocketts chorus girls holding a close second” (Shoup). Rose La Rose worked to elevate the stigma of the Burlesque profession and explain to the general public how hard the dancers work to do what they do. This works well as a rhetorical strategy because when a reader learns that a dancer spends hours of hard work behind one performance their credibility as working professionals elevates. To someone who may not understand a performing career, it is logical to associate hard work and long hours with merit.
An Ohio newspaper article on the death of Rose La Rose explains how throughout her career she was friends and colleagues with newspapermen and editors. It reads “She was a friend of many newspapermen and once helped editor Irving Leibowitz of The Journal write a column Indianapolis about sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. She called Kinsey a “dirty old man” and accused him of conducting an immoral and unscientific poll of women who yearn to divulge their sex lives and myths” (The Journal 1972). Not only did Rose La Rose advocate for burlesque dancers through the press but also for average women who were proud of their sexuality. She worked with this journalist to expose someone who was allegedly misrepresenting women and their sexuality, which at that time would have been extremely controversial. Overall, there are many newspaper articles and photos before and after her death that show how much of an influence she had on her own image, the press, as well as the publics’ perception of burlesque dance as a respectable profession.
Works CitedLavely, Bill. “Strippers are Really Extroverts” (March 1969). Sunday Daily. Newspaper Clipping. Series 5, Box 1, Folder 5. Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theater Research Institute, Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, OH. 2 Dec. 2015.
Shout, Paula. “There is a Business in Beauty.” Byline Newspaper. (Holland,OH) Clipping. Series 5, Box 1, Folder 5. Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theater Research Institute, Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, OH. 2 Dec. 2015.
“Rose La Rose, A Queen, Dies” (July 1972). The Journal. (Loraine, OH) Newspaper Clipping. Series 5, Box 1, Folder 5. Charles H. McCaghy Collection of Exotic Dance from Burlesque to Clubs. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theater Research Institute, Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, OH. 2 Dec. 2015.
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Burlesque Images and Magazines
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Rose La Rose smiles blushingly and sits on a bar stool in the middle of a crowded room. Exposing herself in a revealing top and crossing her legs in her mini skirt, the paparazzi surrounds her from all sides. She poses as the flashes of camera lights submerge her in light, looking extravagant and regal with a large white boa draped around her neck. The paparazzi appears to be in awe of her and she seems to have complete control of the room. In another photograph, Rose La Rose sits in her dressing room after a show holding up a sequined g-string to one of her adoring fans. Other less candid photographs of Rose la Rose show her alone; similarly posing with extravagant clothing, sets, and facial expressions. These images were sold and distributed amongst her followers and show how she was able to have agency in how the public viewed her image without even saying anything. She had control over her image, what that image said about herself as an artist and performer, and how she was mass produced to her fans.
In earlier Burlesque magazines, women are portrayed in very exaggerated ways giving them a strong influence upon the male gaze. A Burten Follies 1925 magazine cover shows the image of a woman dressed as a spider and men as flies getting caught in her web. This creates the assumption that this particular burlesque dancer is a “temptress” and “seductress” and men are simple flies that cannot help but to be caught in her web. When this picture was taken, the woman could have known or not known the way that she was going to be ultimately portrayed. Either way her individual voice is not quoted or mentioned on this cover and her voice is limited to the way that the magazine has portrayed her.
Similarly, a later 1999 Erotica Magazine cover shows a woman in leather with a knife. She is staring straight into the eyes of the reader and the caption reads "Keeping Burlesque Alive with The Velvet Hammer." The front page is flooded with fetish related graphics and whips; feeding into the timeless theme of portraying exotic dancers as predatory. In this case, eroticism is being associated with violence and fetishes. Dramatic and violent images relating to sexuality fill a particular niche in the burlesque dance world that has been explored more today. When women are shown with guns, knives, and whips, items normally associated with violence, there is a sense of eroticism that comes across rather than hostility. These images make a statement that is “loud” but may or may not be coming from the voice of the women themselves. Then and now Burlesque dancers had little known control as to how they were represented in photographs published in magazines and furthermore how they were perceived by their viewers.