Since the early 2000s, American Burlesque has experienced a revival as a means of personal expression and growth, often giving a voice to traditionally overlooked LGBTQ+ populations and multi-cultural communities. This new genre of performance art combines elements of traditional Burlesque with contemporary values of feminism and queer theory, challenging the status quo of hetero-normative social standards. Growing from a fringe entertainment into a mainstream performance art form and economic force, Burlesque encompasses a wide variety of contemporary interpretations.
With multi-cultural inclusivity as its guiding principle, people of all ages, sizes, gender identities, backgrounds, and physical abilities are participating in and reinventing Burlesque for the new millennium. This collection of oral histories from producers, creators, and performers documents the resurgence of Burlesque as a multi-cultural social movement across the state of Oregon.