Thread: Fetish Burlesque

Hi folks,
Wondering if anyone can help me fathom the murky depths that are fetish performance/fetish burlesque.

It seems an idea has dropped into my lap - and quite neatly formed at that - for a new act. Something a hundred miles from my Jackalope (which is exactly what I will need by the time this is over).
The question is, is it workable? The concept I have in mind is downright fetishistic and fetish is absolutley not my area of expertise.
I have seen quite a few acts over the years that the artiste has described as 'fetish' but which, to me, looked like a straight down the middle burlesque/cabaret or performance art act that simply borrowed from fetish with either leather/latex/bondage clothing or a quite alty soundtrack. But, as fetish is not something I am overly familiar with, it's hard to know whether a fetish audience would view these acts as fetish or not. I'm not sure where the line is. I wouldn't want to go around doing an act that I though was fetishistic but audiences just felt was creepy or worse, crappy.

The other question is, how sexual does a fetish act have to be? By its very nature fetish is related to sexuality in a way that my burlesque performances never are. Yes, I may wear skimpy costumes and show bosoms but sexual thoughts are the last thing I hope to inspire in my audience. Does a fetish act have to be arousing? Or, because it is performed in a burlesque context does it become more about studying and questioning the particular fetish - even burlesquing it? And if it is about burlesquing it, parodying it - is it appropriate for one to perform an act about a fetish one doesn't personally hold?

Finally, in the performances I currently do my body type is not a hinderance. It adds to the humour in a couple of my acts and is often disguised by a corset in the ones where it doesn't. I associate fetish performance with women of a traditionally desirable body type, unless of course the fetish is related to the body directly. Would a non-body related fetish performance be more coherent from someone with a more conventionally attractive body? Would a less conventionally attractive body distract from the theme and mix messages? (NB - I have not mentioned the body part to ask for anyone to validate me or compliment my figure. I am what I am and I only worry [usually] about my body in a burlesque context in relation to whether it would detract from what I am trying to say in my narrative.)

Anyway, these are all things I am wondering as an outsider looking into fetish and wondering whether to dip a toe in the water for the sake of a fun act idea. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatfully received as would links/names of any good fetish acts/performers.

Hugs to all
x
Emerald

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give me a pm on facespace love, we will have a chatty chat x

Hey hunni!

I think that fetish is such a broad term - I mean my squirrel act borrows heavily from fetish as it is inspired by and a tribute to fursuiters and yet I'm not bleeding or gyrating in latex...

I also think that you have a gorgeous body that would suit any type of fetish - apart from maybe something pro-ana but then that wouldn't appeal to a wide audience.

My only concern would be that it could be very different to what are known for although this could in turn widen your appeal to different nights...

I guess really the best advice I could give would be - if you love this act idea, then go for it. Any kinks can be worked out to suit you.

I'm sure you will do it fabulously well - after all who else could pull off being an octopus that eats herself in such a sexy and funny way!

xxx

Dear Emerald

Goodness me, you raise so many interesting points I don't know where to start - but maybe with my main point, which is that I think you are worrying over nothing : if you have a good idea for an act - or more importantly, if you have a good act, end of - then it doesn't matter which 'box' you put it into. Fetish burlesque, political burlesque, feminist burlesque, post-modern burlesque - what on earth does it matter, as long as it is witty, entertaining and titillating?

Technically speaking, of course, one can have a fetish about anything - even squirrels or octopi, but I'm sure you're referring to the traditional fetish club scene, typically featuring any or all of the following : rubber, pvc, leather, piercing, tattoos, cross-dressing, tight-lacing, bondage, sado-masochistic practices etc. I just wanted to share a few thoughts based on my experience of the London fetish scene - admittedly some years ago.

I started off at Skin Two's Rubber Ball, because a friend's partner was modelling there; he wanted to go but needed someone to accompany him. I'm not into tight-lacing myself, but put on a corset I had made, and off I went, not really knowing what to expect. And I had such a great time! I have a very similar shape to you - if anything, I'm even curvier - and I had got so fed-up over the years at all the conversations conducted with my chest that I had taken refuge in baggy tops, which made me look twice the size I actually was. It was wonderful to go out for the evening dressed to kill and to have people come up and complement me on my figure or my outfit without them leering down my cleavage and trying to cop a sneaky feel. It felt like a celebration - sadly there was no way on earth I could have gone out for the evening anywhere else dressed as I was without being molested or arrested.
So I took to the scene like a duck to water - Rubber Nipple, Torture Garden etc etc

What I discovered what that there are all sorts of people on the scene. All ages, all shapes and sizes, all sexualities. Some were lovely ( I remember standing in the queue for the ladies with a tranny, both of us complaining about how our feet were killing us and we were desperate to go home, take off our stilletos and make a cup of tea. We swapped telephone numbers : I had a call later saying ' Hi, it's Martin, I think you know me as Martina', to which my immediate response was 'Oh yes, you were the red-head with the fabulous boots'), and some were downright sleazy ( the white socks, grey slip-on shoes, rubber jock and gimp-mask brigade, who looked like your classic 'flasher'). You could get out of it as much or as little as you wanted to. Sure, at some clubs there were 'playrooms', or dodgy home-made 'Art' videos featuring out-of-focus self-mutilation, neither of which float my boat. But there was no compulsion, and there were other rooms.

What I loved was the whole getting-dressed-up thing before-hand, dancing, having great chats and knowing - and being told - I looked fabulous, without having to fend off some horny 19-year-old lager-lout who fancied his chances. And then going home alone to a cup of tea and a choccy biccy. Other people, I'm sure, did not, and went there looking for other things. But that was the great thing - it was all about doing what YOU wanted to do/ wearing what YOU wanted to. There really were no rules - except that there was a much greater respect for ones' personal space and preferences than in any trad club. I found it very liberating, that something that looked apparently so debauched was in actual fact much safer than your average Saturday night down the pub.

So my advice would be not to worry at all about the 'fetish scene' if that's where you plan to look for bookings - to qualify as 'fetish' you don't have to start smearing yourself with your own blood, or be overtly sexual; I was never 'aroused' by the whole thing - unless maybe by myself. I just had fun.

There are only two things you might need to think about when planning your act :
Regarding the 'trad fetish scene' point of view - the music was terrible! Horrid electronic nasty stuff, for the main part. Just because I liked to put on rubber tights and a silver leather corset didn't mean I suddenly subscribed to that musical genre. What I wouldn't have given for some '30s dance band, or a bit of Peggy Lee......... But it would seem that either most people into that scene are into that style of music, or else it has to go with the territory.

Regarding the 'non-fetish scene' - people will make their own assumptions. I don't quite know why there s a difference between a corset made of pink silk and a corset made of black pvc, but somehow there is. Black and shiny is seen as more 'hard-core'. Daft, I know, but maybe worth bearing in mind. Wear the costume that is appropriate to your act, by all means, but don't bill it specifically as a 'fetish' act for a 'non-fetish' club.

I think it's down to marketing. If you want to get bookings specifically from 'fetish' venues, then play up whatever the particular slant of the act you are planning that you think will appeal to that market. If it's a 'vanilla' club, then don't. Just make sure the act stands on its' own merits, and it doesn't matter what you call it.

Hope this helps.

Love Viva x

Hey,

@Miss Diamond and Ms Belvoir, I agree with you totally.

There's also no reason why you can't do with your size in fetish burlesque what you would in burlesque. Just make sure you mean whatever you're doing on stage and shape shouldn't matter one bit.

Thanks for the thoughts ladies.

Ditzy, your input is particularly interesting because of your squirrell act. As far as I know (do correct me if I'm wrong!) you are not a furry gal in reality - it was more a fun concept you wanted to explore. This would be the same for me - the theme I am interested in looking at is not something I am personally 'into' (in reality I don't know if anyone in the fetish scene is actually into it, it seems more like a mythological fetish that only a tiny minority probably have, but lots of people have heard of) but the concept and imagery is interesting and the track I want to work with describes the fetish in both lyric and aural qualities in a way that is almost fetishistic in and of itself.

How did you reconcile performing an act based around a fetish you are intersted in but don't actively share? The ettiquette of the scene is a bit of a mystery to me and the mind of a fetish audience is something I know little about. I wouldn't want it to seem like I was mocking the fetish or those who hold it, nor would I want to seem like I was promoting it per se as the theme I have in mind is pretty extreme (in my book anyway). I was kind of aiming for gentle parodic play with the theme - sexy perhaps but not directly sexual. Perhaps trying to portray the theme (which outside of the fetish is sexually neutral) in a sexual light to see what people's response to it is. Basically - in hearing the track I want to use, I suddenly saw the sexual element of something that up until that point was not there in my eyes and I like the idea of playing with what is sexy and using something that to most people would find sexually neutral (or more likely sexually repulsive) and show it in an erotic light - most likely through play and parody as I think a straight sexy act is not an area I feel confident or comfortable in.

I have to admit, I would be very nervous performing anything (but especially an act with a fetish as its starting point) infront of a fetish audience. Although I have heard a lot about how fetish events are very friendly and accepting - as an outsider looking in fetish seems to have the same problems as burlesque with people misinterpreting what it is really about, getting some of the aesthetic but none of the spirit. As a long-ish standing burly gal it can be frustrating to see people who feel (and worse try to perpetuate in others) that burlesque is about red and black, feather boas, Dita worship (not that there's anything wrong with Dita, per se), slagging off thin women, the dreaded 'E' word, and all that poo-na-na whilst completely missing the creativity, imagination, performance skills, workmanship, history (both modern and recent) that is the real bedrock of the artform we love. I would hate to walk into a fetish club feeling I was missing the point in the same way.

On the more positive side, as my act is not related to fetish or bondage wear it would be relatively simple and inexpensive to costume and put together and the idea itself is already fairly neatly formed so perhaps if I went away and researched my theme thoroughly I could put the act out and trial it, see how people respond in burlesque clubs and take it from there. If the act bombed, and people hated it (worst case scenario) or if I hated performing it I could always retire it. It might be a small fun project after the huge project that my Jackalope has become. And if people hated it, didn't get it or whatever - no harm no foul. I think I need to follow Viva's advice to worry less and do more.

I'll keep you all posted if it gets past the thought process stage and if anyone else would like to add their tuppenceworth please do, I am keen to hear what everyone has to say on the subject.

Hugs
xxx

PS. Thanks for the kind words and compliments, I am blushing as we speak! x

Emerald - may I suggest that the first thing you do is get yourself along to a fetish event and have a look at what's going on for yourself. That way you get first hand experience of what the scene is like. If you'd be looking to perform this act at certain venues, then go along to those shows and see what the perfromances already there are like. I know I'm biased, but I'd say going to the next Heresy'n'Heelz event in Brum might be a good idea - it's burlesque and cabaret, but with a fetish edge. Gets you familiar with the feel of things without dropping you in at the deep end. You might be surprised at the type of acts you see that will go down well with the audience there - for example, I have only once consciously used fetish imagery in an act, and that act was a long time ago, but I perform regularly with the Heresy team and the lack of rubber in my wardrobe does me no harm at all ^_^

Research the particular fetish you are hoping to perform, find a forum and ask some real fetishist where their fetish comes from . . .

foot fetish / balloon fetish / . . . many of them have nothing to do with wearing black pvc . . you don't have to call it a fetish act . . .

i wish you weren't so secretive !!

x x x

Dear Emerald

Originally Posted by Fleur du Mal

Emerald - may I suggest that the first thing you do is get yourself along to a fetish event and have a look at what's going on for yourself. That way you get first hand experience of what the scene is like. If you'd be looking to perform this act at certain venues, then go along to those shows and see what the perfromances already there are like. I know I'm biased, but I'd say going to the next Heresy'n'Heelz event in Brum might be a good idea - it's burlesque and cabaret, but with a fetish edge. Gets you familiar with the feel of things without dropping you in at the deep end. You might be surprised at the type of acts you see that will go down well with the audience there - for example, I have only once consciously used fetish imagery in an act, and that act was a long time ago, but I perform regularly with the Heresy team and the lack of rubber in my wardrobe does me no harm at all ^_^

Absolutely. It's honestly not scary, and will help to put your mind at rest. The 'fetish scene' is incredibly diverse - much less hide-bound ( forgive any possible pun) than any other 'scene'. I'm not sure where you are based, but if you are near London I'll happily go with you, even though I haven't been for ages; if not, then I'm sure if you post on the forum asking for an intro then lots of people will be happy to take you along for an evening.

I agree with Red Sarah, too - it sounds as though you are not planning anything 'trad', but without knowing exactly what fetish your act is about it's a bit hard to help. If you watch too much of Channels 4 or 5 ( as I do, sadly!) then you may get the idea that there are a whole load of people out there who think they are in love with the Eiffel Tower, or get sexually aroused by doughnuts, or dressing up as - oh, I don't know, Gordon Brown, for example - but if my experience is anything to go by your chances of meeting them at a club are pretty minimal. So please stop worrying about offending them! Just make it a good act!

Love Viva x

P.S.

I just read what you wrote again, and I wanted to add: Think for a moment about some of the classic burlesque cliches - feather boas, gloves, stiletto shoes, stockings, red'n'black etc etc. Aren't they all fetishistic objects, too?

Really, don't be worried about walking in to a fetish club and 'not getting it', because there is such diversity that you really can choose what to 'get' and what 'not to get'. I do think the only way to work through your dilemma is to go along and have a look-see - and then you'll see there really is no problem at all.

Vx