No, really, it's actually fun?

Taken me a while to post this because I finally got around to reading it: The New York Times' latest article on burlesque. Every, oh, 2-3 years or so the Times discovers this new thing that people are doing called burlesque. the article's not bad at all (and some nice shout outs for some of my favorite people--and I love that they name-check Oberlin College talking about Julie), and has an international angle that's seen less often, but it's the same litany of gender studies and feminist art that every serious journalistic approach to the subject focuses on. All of those things are absolutely true of burlesque! But this article makes it sound like going to a burlesque show is like watching a doctoral dissertation on performance art. Actually, believe it or not? It's fucking entertainment! Like, first and foremost. The beauty of burlesque is that it can embody all of those deep and beautiful empowering things in the context of a kick-ass night of sexy, funny, outrageous fun that's like nothing else you've ever seen.

Man, I have been on a soap box lately! Sorry. Carry on.