Miss Darby Doll
Miss Darby Doll
Occupation: Burlesque Entertainer and Costume Designer
Location: Ashland, Oregon, United States
The Sex In My Business: The art of burlesque involves performances meant to arouse and often emulate sexual acts. It’s nothing like the movie Burlesque (2010) though! My job is different from that of a stripper in that I do not work in a club, lap dance, or pole dance. At shows we often have to explain these differences to the audience and instruct them not to touch the dancers or try to shove tips on them. As a costume designer, my job is to create provocative costumes to attract and hold the attention of an audience. This often includes using rhinestoned pasties and G-strings to accentuate genitalia and erotic zones of the human body.
A Typical Day: As a show producer, I am responsible for advertising, stage management, booking talent, and working with the venues. My burlesque persona has several social media platforms that I manage, so my day begins with a social media check-in. Then I move on to costume construction, either for myself or clients. If I am booked in or producing a show, this may mean I am traveling or working on acts.
The Best Part: My favorite part of the job is performing. Being in front of an audience is very empowering and I often get turned on as well, especially if the energy is good. I also love meeting other performers and visiting new cities and venues.
The Worst Part: I really dislike dealing with ageism and body issues. Burlesque is a type of performance where you see a lot of diversity and representation of all body types. But there continue to be barriers, and being a middle-aged, curvy showgirl is still not the standard.
How I Got Here: I started watching old reels of hoochie coochie dancers and was inspired by Mae West, an American actress and sex symbol in the early 20th century who pioneered changes to some of the Blue Laws, which restricted activities on Sundays. At the time, I was belly dancing and costume designing. Often my belly dance sisters critiqued me, saying I was too sexual in my dancing or showed too much skin! I sought out burlesque because the artform better suited my sensuality, and I fell in love with the empowering and sexually freeing idea of doing a striptease.
"Performing at amBi’s Bi Revolution party"
What Society Thinks: Burlesque has a long history, so generally people understand what I do. My family is supportive and my husband regularly attends shows, but I keep what I do private from my older relatives and in-laws. I recently had religious protestors outside of some of my shows, which was unnerving and a bit scary, but most people tell me that I empower and inspire other women my age.
This attitude keeps me doing this work, because I want to reduce shame around sexual professions and want people to know it’s OK to express themselves.
When I’m Not At Work: I love spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy being in nature, traveling, and seeing live music.
Published in Issue VIII: Art