Burlesque? Am I just out of touch?

If the women at the WI loved it then it is not just about attracting men in the most basic way possible. More about some men and women like it and some men and women don't.

Every WI is different of course and this is in one of those 'best places to live in the UK' (yawn) and is a relatively new WI with a much larger proportion of younger women than I have experienced elsewhere.

Dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Burlesque is an erotic performance art form, very controlled, quite provocative and very different from stripping.
I watched television clips of Dita von Teese performing, definitely very artistic, and also someone I knew who was persuaded to perform for a hen do among friends. (she also learned line dancing and go-jo, mo-jo (?) or something similar.
We were invited to have a go at learning basic moves and it was good fun; I can understand the WI enjoying it. I think I was mid-fifties at the time and won approval from my much younger colleagues at the time.

It is possible to be a feminist and erotic at the same time, but rather sad that people condemn it without have ever seen it.
Still, each to each her own.

As you didn’t go to the meeting you’re imagining what happened based on some internet searches, I’d have gone and then formed an opinion. I like experiencing new things and being educated, there’s always an option of walking away if something isn’t to one’s liking.

Exactly Jaxjacky.
Incidentally, the moves did not involve any removal of clothes, just interesting ways of wearing a feather boa.

OK ok enough said, we're going down the fuddy duddy route, mea culpa, let it all hang out, there, time for a cup of tea or perhaps that should be, is it prosecco, or is that out of date too. 5

Several years ago my friend took me to see a burlesque show. He loved it but I felt uncomfortable and hated every minute of it.

Allira

^My ideal of female empowerment was the work of the Air Auxiliary women in WW2 who flew all types of aircraft with little preparation and just a book of instructions. I would rather have listened to them than watch a burlesque performer.^

HelterSkelter Well said.

Wow! Wish I had done that.......😊😊

Why does it have to be either or?
Quite possible to do both.

Jackiest

If the women at the WI loved it then it is not just about attracting men in the most basic way possible. More about some men and women like it and some men and women don't.

And if it's of no interest whatsoever then that doesn't make you an old fuddy-duddy in the slightest.

eazybee

Why does it have to be either or?
Quite possible to do both.

What - burlesque dancing whilst flying a plane you've never flown before?

Could be disastrous.

Allira

Jackiest

If the women at the WI loved it then it is not just about attracting men in the most basic way possible. More about some men and women like it and some men and women don't.

And if it's of no interest whatsoever then that doesn't make you an old fuddy-duddy in the slightest.

Why would you think it did?

Jackiest

Allira

Jackiest

If the women at the WI loved it then it is not just about attracting men in the most basic way possible. More about some men and women like it and some men and women don't.

And if it's of no interest whatsoever then that doesn't make you an old fuddy-duddy in the slightest.

Why would you think it did?

See QuoteGranatlast007 Fri 14-Nov-25 14:17:15 where she mentions fuddy-duddy

Thanks OldFrill

Oh nothing to do with my post, That's why I was confused.

There was someone on the Sewing Bee who did burlesque dancing - anyone remember her? I think she helped make the costumes and headresses too. She loved the dancing and had a lot of fun with it. I suspect it's much like people learning belly dancing - no one is trying to attract the sultan but they are having fun and a damn good workout.

A friend of mine used to do pole dancing as exercise, also trapeze. She was incredibly fit and ended up very confident. That's why these things are empowering. They give people confidence in themselves and their bodies.

Ugh! I hate that type of stuff and anything similar!

I wouldn't have attended, either!

WI didn't work for me. Nothing to do with sex. More to do with bags on seats and " My sister sits there"

I think it's a bit rich of all the people saying how dreadful burlesque is when they didn't go to the talk and, therefore, are speaking from a position of prejudice not knowledge.

I wonder if the woman on Sewing Bee was the same one who took part in Come Dine with Me some years ago.
She also designed costumes, can’t remember if she also made them.
She was a very attractive buxom lady.

Just pointing something out in passing

Pole dance is completely different from pole fitness or exercise which is being considered as an Olympic gymnastics vertical component.

Interesting set of comments. It's more than possible these days to thoroughly research something online rather than turn up in person, especially if it's something that you realise you might not be keen on.

Maybe it's dressing up, maybe you're not someone whose dearest wish has been to wrap yourself in a feather boa. In the 1960s there was something called Women's Liberation, it was about being able to reject the expectations of men and a repressive, patriarchal society. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that's not the same as prejudice. As these posts show, at least some are willing to look a little wider and to answer respectfully when someone asks a question.

It just seems like something that belongs in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and should have been left behind when Women's Liberation began.

Allira

It just seems like something that belongs in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and should have been left behind when Women's Liberation began.

But women's liberation was all about women getting to choose how they live their lives. And that means other women don't get to choose for them either.

If people were talking about burlesque at the WI then I doubt it was very risque - it will just be a dress up and dance routine. Probably far more 'proper' than most dance routines done by 16 year old girls.

We don't get to choose but we do get to analyse whether it is a feminist choice. The same nonsense is said about all sorts of things S & M,
prostitution, etc. The thing about choices is they are rarely done in a vacuum.