Sex and Glita Burlesque 2007

Dirty, sexy, smart, satirical and utterly fabulous – who could it be but the “totally queer” duo from strip show Gurlesque?

Sex Intents and Glita Supernova have been dusting off their polka dot skirts and red sequined heels for their first show of the season at Arq.

Or, in the words of Sex and Glita, Gurlesque will be “opening her beautiful beef curtains and inviting you all back into her folds”.

The Gurlesque strip club “for women and trannies” has been captivating audiences since September 2000 when Sex and Glita catapulted onto the scene with a unique show.

Created as a means of providing a space for women to explore and interpret the art of striptease, Gurlesque has since entailed everything from “hilarious comedy and drag to seriously sexy, in your face, pussy strutting”.

Sex and Glita had been working as strippers in more conventional establishments when they came up with the idea for Gurlesque.

Women responded to the first show, Glita said, “totally awesomely”.

But the active feminists from local universities were a little less than kind, Sex added.

“They thought it was really wrong,” she said. “They said there was nothing empowering in striptease and told us we were setting women back.”

Undeterred, Sex and Glita rolled out their interpretation of striptease, challenging taboos and turning whatever society deemed “attractive and sexy” on its head.

Sex and Glita have hosted and performed at each Gurlesque show, backed up by special guest performers who Glita said are told to simply “operate free of censorship and our opinions”.

“We like performers to bring their version of sexual politics, and their sexual fantasies,” she said.

“Which means pretty much anyone can do what they want.”

When Gurlesque launched onto the scene, the art of burlesque was a largely undiscovered medium. Strip-tease artists had been performing their work alongside sex performance artists and sex cabaret acts.

And then the Gurlesque girls came along, quickly becoming innovators for their kinky and controversial style of burlesque performance.

Burlesque, albeit the more “refined” version, has since hit the mainstream, also largely attributable to the rise in popularity of celebrities such as Dita Von Teese.

Sex and Glita aim to keep their shows as bent and queer as possible, they have said, while welcoming women of all sexual persuasions.

“We want to empower ourselves and support each other as women, which is why the shows are for everyone, lesbians, mums and transgender … we don’t want the anti, straight people,” Sex said.

“We also want to break down the separation between butch and femme in the lesbian scene. We are women at the end of the day, we are just souls in bodies so let’s just get along – we are really not very different.”

Sex and Glita’s upcoming show will be slightly different from those before it, having moved from more casual bars to a nightclub.

The girls are excited about their journey to the “east-side”, claiming it feels like “Gurlesque is going to New York”.

Sex and Glita, Gypsy Wood, Vixen Noir, Lillian Star, Cxica BoomBoom, Sindy Ray, Wife and Feva will perform the shows – with the music being looked after by Sveta.

Just naming the performers was more information than was usually shared, Sex said, so all the other details “will be a surprise”.

See Gurlesque on Sunday 30 September at Arq, 16 Flinders St, Taylor Square. Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7.15pm sharp, and after 11pm, it’s Arq nightclub’s regular Sunday night. Tickets are $20 or $25 at the door.