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A little peak of my new act called “the Rooster” + little blurb about it:
The act/costume is inspired by an old Rene Gruau Moulin Rouge poster. I was so excited by this look.

 I love the old showgirl imagery but as a Tr-ns person today many of us look at that era of art & feel the weight of never seeing ourselves. Many still associate brlsqxe with the cishet white thin woman, and there have & will continue to be many times where I am treated like an oddity for my tr-ns body on & off stage. Art & media reflect so much of what ppl come to expect before they’ve even entered a venue.

There’s this question asked often in the community- whats the story or narrative of an act? Many artists honor more classic styles where the narrative is the style, is the sparkle, and thats it. Often as a Tr-ns person I am expected to go beyond for folks to bypass my body, or to make art about my identity in order to be deemed worth showcasing. But Ive been out for over 10 yrs! when so much of my life is already about my identity, I don’t think ppl realize how exhausting of an expectation that is. There is a double standard of who can do less on stage and still be applauded for it.

When I saw this showgirl poster I wanted to put it through a tr-ns filter. What if I do the same showgirl style but in a cocky tr-ns twink sort of way? Cocky as if I was the standard and not the outlier? 

My participation in brlsqe is often about rewriting a narrative where tr-nsness was not allowed. I aim to bring tr-ns glamour to the front, creating celebration and visuals we have historically been left out of. Im always still learning about this art form & its depth, I inhale it with such fervor. I look at the past, but also ask myself what is the future I want to create within this? 

When you don’t see yourself reflected in history, have to fight to exist & live in an age where systems are trying to actively remove you now, the narrative of my work is all that has led me to be on that stage despite the barriers. Normalizing Tr-ns ppl doing whatever they want, being the example of what we can do so others might know they can too. Sometimes the story is my life, but the act is the turning of the page
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