Consensual Objectification
JOANNA POULTON
I was thrilled to be asked to participate in Pupin deVert’s The Gorgeous Show, held in its spiritual home, The Crown House in St Leonards. Pupin is a burlesque queen, producing and hosting classic burlesque as well as drag and cabaret.
Burlesque isn’t everybody’s cup of cha, but its fusion of theatre, song, and erotica has always pushed my buttons, whether I’m in the audience or on stage. On this occasion, I was so very happy to feast my senses from the floor, with a flutter on stage assisting my friend and performer Medea Le Strange.
My boyfriend accompanied me for the evening. I was aware it was his first Burlesque ‘outing’ and I hoped he would feel comfortable, not only in my world of irreverent and colourful ‘thespy-types’ but also to witness empowered female erotica.
The acts offered a scope of unapologetic sexual expression, from innocent and beguiling, to disdainful to bloodthirsty. Turned out he was fine. He later said it was refreshing to be given context and rules for enjoying the female form. Of course we can enjoy other humans visually – we do it all the time knowingly or not. For me the question is not of objectification but of consent.
Burlesque is celebratory. The performers participate consensually: they are paid, and they refine their craft in the same way as any actor dancer or musician. The performer doesn’t necessarily consent to the audience member getting to know them, speaking with them or buying them a drink, but the performer does consent to being viewed whilst using their bodies to dance and perform. This is consensual objectification. Here is my body, here is how I move it, here is how I express myself.
The sexual landscape can be confusing for many of us, and in our huge melting pot of uniqueness, we are all navigating how to accept each other for who we are. Add to this the shame that millennia of oppression has created around the subject of ‘what we look like, how we like to behave and with whom’, there is a lot to unpick. The only guide: is it legal, is it consensual, is it non-exploitative, and on an individual level, does it feel pleasurable? This is the modern context, and these are the rules.
In a world where shame can create negative and harmful behaviour, events such as The Gorgeous Show are a gift from consensual heaven. How wonderful that women such as Pupin de Vert and all such performers feel empowered to lead the way in non-exploitative erotic entertainment.
There is no shame in celebrating the diverse human form, there is no shame in pleasure, and there is certainly no shame in enjoyment and appreciation from the audience, whoever you are and however you identify.
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