Monday, August 10, 2009

Sex Work IS Work

I've mentioned this topic before: Sex Work IS Work. Don't sleep on the fact that we live in a capitalist society, that gender is a performance, and that women's work can be seen in just about everything!

Guest writer, Adele Nieves, shares with VivirLatino
her interview with Latina burlesque performer La Cholita. She shares with Adele that:

This is my full-time job, I’m a professional, and I put hours and hours into designing all the costumes, the choreography, the music, and everything, and get paid to do it. But I always have faith that the cream rises to the top, and people will see my show is a lot different than someone else’s....

For me, Latinas have always represented certain things. I was surrounded by them growing up; they’re very powerful, sexual, fiery, passionate women, so when there weren’t any Latinas, it seemed kind of crazy to me....

All of my burlesque performances, and the photos I take as a model, I think of as love letters to what has inspired me, and a big part of that has been my culture and my upbringing....

A lot of the feedback I’ve gotten from people is that they view what I’m doing as porn, and I’m like “well, Vida Guerra is on the cover of everything, and she posed naked for Playboy.” It isn’t just about how others view Latinas, but how Latinas view themselves.


That's just a taste of what La Cholita shared with Adele. Go read the full interview!

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