http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Workers'_Art_Show (think it originated in the pacific northwest)
I have to be honest, initally I was more than a little intrigued by the burlesque scene. Kind of hard to explain how and why but I watched what they did from afar, with great interest. I'm embarassed to admit that as one that was not well versed in feminism, I bought into a lot of the bs they put out about it being "empowering." (yes, I've since woken up and no longer buy into this--lol).
One day I was showing a friend one of the "performances" on-line, to see if they would be interested in seeing such a show with me. My friend looked completely disgusted and said "...why should we call that art instead of what it really is--glorified stripping? Just because she isn't lap dancing or taking tips doesn't mean she is any less objectified." That made me think. I started seeking out feminist blogs and reading here more.
Coincidentally, I learned about the negative experiences of some women of color in the scene, through the blog entries of a few performers of color. Apparently, they were attacked (by other performers and some 'fans') for speaking out, so these entries are no longer available, or I would try to share some of them here.)
Apparently, the burly-q scene is almost predominately caucasian. As it's grown more women of color have entered it and perform regularly.
Some of the (caucasian) performers took to dressing as various ethnic/racial stereotypes, for their acts. :eyes:
The few people of color in the scene were offended to see caucasian women (and some men) dressed and performing as "stereotypes" they considered hurtful. (i.e. indian "squaws", geishas, black face, "mexican hat dances", etc.) I guess some ran out of other "creative costumes" to remove--so they started mining racial stereotypes :shrug:
(note--I sincerely hope this is coherent--as I'm typing this while a bit out of it.)