It seems like there has been a series of articles in the UK that are very critical about Burlesque and its ability to empower women?- Do you think Burlesque is empowering?
I thought this article was intensely stupid and underinformed
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1340939/Burlesque-Penny-Wark-visits-artistic-clubs-sleaze-tease.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
And that final sentence is contrived and melodramatic. I've never seen any such moment backstage at a burlesque show, it's moronic.
It is empowering to be able to create performances for which you, the performer, create the character, design the costumes, choose the music, and invent the choreography. You don't have to be predigested and approved by a magazine editor or television agency to be allowed to do this. The low threshold of entry may mean that some bad art gets through, but that's the case with most art anyway.
The comments below the article that are so judgmental actually demonstrate the need for a place where performers who don't fit disgestible mainstream standards can go. The comments are so cruel and inane that it's clear the people in them are not speaking from a place of joy, as many performers and audience members who describe burlesque as empowering are.
