So why do we take our clothes off?

This is something I ask on occasion. And sure, we don't necessarily do take our clothes off, but usually we do. What is the purpose of it. Mostly it seems to be to show off our sexuality. We are stripping, and stripping is a display of skin and sex. If we are paying homage to the "classic burlesque", then we are basically emulating an art form, that from the 1890s, the performer became an "object of male scopic pleasure." These women were doing it for the money, and when you need money, who really has the power? The watched, or the watcher, or maybe the producer behind the scenes? It is really is sex work.

So it is odd to me that neo-feminists latched on this art form as a way to apparently reclaim their sexuality. Have they really conquered the objectification. Where do they retain their power and how do they communicate their message? Especially when you don't have a voice with which to more easily communicate it? Speaking as a dude, often I really don't care what the message is, as long as I get to see boobies. It's easy, as a man, to fall into that mode. But often a lot of performers are just happy to mimic the muted beauties of the past, and just be sexy, and basically to be treated as a sex object. Not that there is necessarily wrong with that, but it seems they could be so much more. While you have their attention, why not fuck with them some, do something a little subversive. Stop being so god damn pretty, and do something funny, or perhaps just wrong. Use that nudity for protest! It's a damn easy way to get someone's attention, but rather than just feeding your vanity or stroke your ego or validate your body image, you should use your brain. How can you be a feminist and just be a cute little baby doll on stage? Come on sister, have some pride.

Of course, things are little more complex than just male-female objectification. We have a lot of gay performers. You could be being objectified by women, men, or something in between. You know sometimes I wonder if some of these feminists rail against the patriarchy just to have the privilege to sexually objectify their sisters just as men did in the past. And that is oh so much better isn't it? Granted, we are all sexual creatures and often we become victim to our lower instincts. That is just the nature of things, for better or for worse. I think my point is that objectification, is objectification, is objectification, it doesn't really matter where it is coming from does it? If it is unwelcome, it's source is irrelevant. It ain't just men that's doing it anymore.

Burlesque started out being a comedic, transgressive form where women could act like men on stage. There wasn't stripping back in 1869, and before then women would even really allowed to say anything on stage, at least here in America. After 1890, came the cooch, and then slowly stripping was introduced with gyrating hips in a progression to maintain the attention of the audience. You always have to keep them coming back for more, so burlesque was doomed to become stripping, as society morals loosened and audience became bored or inured with what they were seeing. They needed to see more, and for a buck, there was always some girl there ready to provide that. So that is what our disrobing comes from. I don't think it's a bad thing, but I think people ought to honest with themselves, know their history, and not try to view it through rose colored lenses. People like fill in the gaps with romantic notions, but it's just fantasy.

Now why do I strip? That's a damn good question. I don't if I have a good answer anymore, more than monkey see, monkey do. I guess it's just funny. Who in hell expects a fat dude to take his clothes off on stage. I'm comic relief, and perhaps, I provide some momentary alternative to excessive sexiness on stage. I'm sure not trying to show off my six pack abs, because I sure don't have them.

Eh, anyway. We are all just trying to have fun, right? And I'm prone to over thinking these things.