This is a burlesquer called " World Famous *BOB*", she is known to be one of the first on the burlesque revival scene. Although this act doesn't seem very subversive, it can be considered as consciously exposing the objectifying patterns or gendered norms (in reference to rsrcher comment) " but with a lively sense of play rather than dry analytic critique".
I was intrigued by a small interaction between *BOB* (as ponypinup) and a fan (asy4) in the comment section following the video:
ponypinup (il y a 1 an) - Hi Ponies!!!! It is me The World Famous *BOB* and I LOVE this video!!!! Yes, I lost 43 lbs. and yes- I was in a corner but the party was planned to be fabulous everywhere you turned so I wasn't offended at all. This was in Miami at a party organized by the fabulous Susanne Bartsch. I want to thank ALL of you for your concern (and flattering camera angles)- it feels good to know that people have my back!!! Love, World Famous *BOB* NYC
asy4 (il y a 1 an) - Don't lose too much weight, *BOB*! We need more sexy, curvy female role models! Mary Kate Olsen doing this number would just be TOO pathetic!
Is the fact of being a curvy girl acting with the sexy confidence and sense of entitlement of a norm-corresponding girl, subversive at all? At least, it seems very "empowering" and refreshing for those who don't feel like they fit (and would like to) in the model of sexiness perpetuated by the media.
Further than consciously exposing,I believe World Famous *BOB* is amplifying and (and thus a bit mocking) the gender norms. This is being exemplifyed by the following quote by Michelle Baldwin (quoting *BOB*)from the book Burlesque and the New Bump-n-Grind (p.99), where the work of *BOB* is being paralleled or "perpendiculared" with that of drag artists.
*BOB* is a larger-than-life, female-female impersonator, "so basically I'm a drag queen, but I'm a girl, I impersonate myself and different aspects of blonde bombshells that I love." When she was fifteen, *BOB* decided she wanted to be a drag queen and left home when she was sixteen. Raised by the gay community in Hollywood, she finally announced that her dream was to be a drag queen. They all kind of looked at me confused and said, 'Well you can't really do that because you're a girl.' Not that I think they were trying to limit me, but they had never seen it done, and it kind of challenged the identity of a drag queen, or the definition of it." At the end, especially as she started incorporating joking sexuality into her performance such as mixing a martini with her F-cup bra, what she was doing was better defined by the new term, burlesque. In a way, most neo-burlesque is female-female impersonation. Burlesque performers, like drag queens, are more woman than the average woman. Both wrap themselves in corsets and stockings, jewels and fabrics, wigs or coiffed hair, and stage makeup - he trappings of stereotypical feminity.
Michelle Baldwin - the writer - is, as well, a burlesque performer. She highlights the over performing of gender in neo-burlesque, as well as its link with the drag queen universe. Back in the days, Mae West was also a female-female impersonator, mimicking the manners of female impersonators such as Julian Eltinge. You can find some of her very interesting quotes here, such as "I believe that it's better to be looked over than it is to be overlooked."
I'll come back to the link between burlesque and drag after reading Gender Trouble (Butler) (are drag performances challenging or consolidating the feminine gendered norms???).
In the meantime, I found a very interesting conference in line with my research topic, and this, by investigating further the link between burlesque, drag performance and queer theories...
Monday, April 6
Tease n’ Tell: The Body Politics of Burlesque
Seminars in the City
3rd Seminar
From the seedy Blue Angel Cabaret to the CWTV’s Gossip Girl, in the past decade burlesque has infiltrated the mainstream yet manages to remain a transgressive art form. While it flirts with popularity burlesque at its best does not compromise its subversive origins, erotic themes, and defiant ideals. It naturally lends itself to promoting queer philosophy and values without necessarily calling attention to its inherent queerness.
Contemporary burlesque, often known as neo burlesque, borrows from various genres including dance, drag, performance art, theatre, and, of course, traditional burlesque. It is a hybrid art form that mixes traditions, flaunts rules and standardizations in order to remain provocatively entertaining.
The seminars will invite some of the leading neo burlesque performers in New York to perform as well as provide the theoretical and historical context for their work. The seminar participants will have the opportunity to read about, observe, and engage with this unique form of performance art that advances the artistic expression by constantly challenging the political and cultural authorities.
Seminar Facilitator: Jasmina Sinanovic
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
208 West 13th Street
Room 101
New York. NY 10011
Additional Tease n' Tell Seminars
Monday 5/4
That's it, I'm going! :)
1 comments:
I am still delirious. Thanks for sharing this.
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