The Appropriation Of Showgirls:
The Music Industry’s Obsession With Burlesque Aesthetic
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend … but burlesque costuming is the music industry’s go-to aesthetic. During the Golden Age of Hollywood and the gradual decline of burlesque in the ‘40s and ‘50s, the movie industry was obsessed with Showgirls and their glamorous costumes. With movies such as Gilda, Ladies of Burlesque, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Gypsy, Hollywood loved featuring PG versions of burlesque and showgirls.
After the Golden Age ended and modern strip clubs flourished, stories centred around burlesque declined. The music industry then seized the moment and began borrowing the iconic showgirl look for their own. From artists such as Madonna to Kylie Minogue and the painfully inaccurate movie Burlesque, pop singers have been borrowing the Showgirl Aesthetic without honouring artists or the political nuance of Burlesque for decades.
Burlesque is a parody performance combined with the art of striptease; a seductive, female-dominated industry featuring a semi-nude striptease that challenges gender norms. Simply put, neo-burlesque is empowering entertainment for the girls, gays, and they’s.
During the classic age of American burlesque (early-mid 20th century), burlesque performers were the era’s strippers; facing legal issues, public scrutiny, and slut-shaming, as modern sex workers still experience. And while burlesque artists today are no longer sex workers for performing burlesque, nor do they experience the same danger, legal concerns, or adversity that sex workers currently face, burlesque artists do experience slut-shaming, censorship, and legitimacy concerns which are not generally present in the music industry. Burlesque is innately political and controversial; being a female-dominated, feminist, queer, independent subculture that challenges the status-patriarchal-quo. So when music industry giants snatch aesthetics from Burlesque, it is less appreciative, more appropriative, and definitely dismissive.
The glamorous and gorgeous costuming aesthetics and performance style of Burlesque have been appropriated by some of the world’s biggest pop stars and I am personally still waiting for my royalties cheque. Lady Gaga and her Vegas residency showcases stunning vintage and showgirl inspired costuming while offering no compensation to Burlesque artists or the community.
Iggy Azalea, known for her appropriation, borrowed heavily from Burlesque and Showgirl aesthetic in her music video ‘Change Your Life’, a tribute to the movie Showgirls (1995). Katy Perry recreated an iconic Burlesque look, a Peacock costume, as seen and done better with fire tassels by European artist Misty Lotus.
Compared to Cardi B, a former Stripper herself, who has utilized Burlesque costuming in many of her music videos, reinvested back into Burlesque. For her Hustler’s pasties, Cardi B commissioned Burlesque costumer Irena of Canova Studio, providing a large platform, but more importantly, a paycheque. The Queen Bey herself has borrowed from Burlesque more than once in her career. Beyoncé’s music video ‘Naughty Girl’ featured striptease, ‘40s style supper club, and a martini glass bath which was rumoured to be rented from Dita Von Teese, another (potential) reinvestment into burlesque. Burlesque may be a subculture struggling to legitimize itself as an art form, but aesthetic exposure, unfortunately, does not pay the bills.
Burlesque and fashion are both public sphere art forms and inevitably offer inspiration to artists across disciplines. This exchange of creative ideas is part of the beauty of art. However, when multi-million dollar artists borrow burlesque aesthetics without the politics, striptease, or historical respect, it reduces the costuming to accessories, rather than a feminist and queer statement.
Regardless of what type of burlesque style is being performed, or the intention of the artist, Neo or Modern (post ‘90s) burlesque remains to be a political parody and a glamorous rejection of patriarchal gender norms.
Where to follow artists on Instagram:
Misty Lotus: @mistylotus
Violette Coquette: @violettecoquette
Canova Studio: @canova_studio
Moscato Extatique: @moscatoextatique
Miss Paige: @misspaigeofficial
Burlesque Legends: @burlesquehall