Some things in life simply are so intimate that few of us are comfortable discussing such things; bodily functions in particular. Pussy farts chief among those taboo subjects. I clearly remember the first time I heard the term 'pussy fart.' I was a young exotic dancer, commonly called a stripper, but I prefer the old fashioned term of burlesque performer. The club where I worked employed a truly unique former dancer named Genevieve. She had been a headliner and worked with icons like Gypsy Rose Lee and Blaze Starr. But in her early sixties then, she had surpassed even the terms plus size and BBW. She wore huge, brightly colored, floral tents that she called dresses. Her make-up was equally outrageous with bright red lipstick and pink blush that combined with her clothes made her appear almost clownish.
Her role in the club was multi-faceted. First of all, as one of the dozens of topless bars that served the primarily military clientele, the club tried to distinguish itself from the others as more than strictly a strip joint. It billed itself as the last bastion of burlesque. Genevieve with her illustrious history was central to that strategy. Where the other strip clubs were simply about young women with firm bodies gyrating on stage and taking their clothes off as quickly as possible, our club was about those by-gone days of grandeur. At other clubs the dancer were on stage for less than ten minutes; two songs. The first song was fast paced thrusts and kicks culminating with the removal of everything above the waist. The second song slowed a bit until the clothing below joined the others in a pile by the stage door. But not for us, the minimum was five songs or over fifteen minutes. And it was about telling a story of teasing; just as Genevieve and those other greats of burlesque once had on stages in New Orleans, Las Vegas and across the country.
Another of her roles was as costume designer and choreographer. I know those words elicit images of Broadway productions more than dark, smoke-filled rooms that smelled of whiskey and sex. But Genevieve deserved those titles. Of course, Lucy Lust, who was the headliner for almost a decade, had the most elaborate costumes and dance routines. My favorite was the Bond girl with its gold lame trench coat and fedora. Genevieve had even painted a toy gun gold to match the costume. Each of Lucy's moves were carefully executed to tell a story; an erotic one. My own costumes and routines included a nurse, cheerleader, carnie girl and the ever popular sailor. And all of it was thanks to the knowledge and imagination of one person: Genevieve.