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These gorgeous portraits of badass, body-positive burlesque dancers are a must-see.

These gorgeous portraits of badass, body-positive burlesque dancers are a must-see.

Trend after trend comes and goes, but one thing that seems to remain timelessly classic is burlesque’s retro glamour.

No matter the event, if you want to turn heads without adorning yourself in recent trends, retro glam is it. And who else does it with more va-va-VOOM and straight-up sex appeal than burlesque artists?

While retro glam may be the classic dress code, many curvy burlesque performers are making the art new and exciting. Take "nerdlesque," for example, in which the performers celebrate their love of different fandoms like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who. Others are using the stage to make a political statement and queering the craft by centering LGBTQ identities.

Burlesque is one of the few art forms where the public embraces curves rather than fights against them.

While fatphobia and racism still exist in the burlesque community, brilliant art is being created from a variety of marginalized groups in a way that's easy to consume, even for the less enlightened.

Burlesque is more than just gorgeous outfits and fun music. Burlesque allows the artists to toy with sensuality, sexuality, humor, raw emotion, politics, and pop culture all in one. Need another reason to love it? Here are 17. Check out these incredible curvy and plus-size burlesque artists that you need to know.

1. Magnoliah Black

Jill-of-all-trades Magnoliah Black is the queer performance star that the world doesn’t know it desperately needs. The Southern-born, Bay Area-based artist sings and dances as well as being a devastatingly brilliant writer, potent healer, and much needed black and fat activist.  

2. Harlow Holiday

Photo by Sweetheart Pinup, used with permission.

Harlow Holiday, an indigenous performance artist based in Syracuse, brings her own gorgeous brand of glamour to the stage.  

3. Noella DeVille

Ohio-based burlesque performer Noella DeVille knows how to entertain! From glamour to nerd, DeVille delves into pop culture references and creates a gorgeously exciting and entertaining show for all.

4 and 5. Keena ButtahLove and Sepia Jewel

Photo by Vixen Photography, used with permission.

San Diego’s premiere plus size Burlesque queen ButtahLove hosts a must-see revue. In this photo, the luminescent burlesque stars Keena ButtahLove and Sepia Jewel (co-hosts of the podcast Showgirl Sunday Dinner) shine together. Do not miss their incredible podcast!

6. Rosie Bourgeoisie

Burlesque artist Rosie Bourgeoisie sweeps Quebecois stages in Montreal in a flurry of style and queer sensuality. For a combination of modern queer meets glorious retro kitsch, it’s hard to beat Bourgeoisie.

7. Ms. Briq House

Ms. Briq House creates POC-centered and unapologetically black entertainment in the Pacific Northwest. Check out the all-POC burlesque revue: The Sunday Night Shuga Shaq.

8. Mila Macabre

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Saskatoon artist Mila Macabre brings gorgeously bold colors and sparkles to life on stage. Off-stage, the Romani dancer brings glamour into the lives of clients as a permanent makeup artist.

9. Moonbow Brite

SoCal performer Moonbow Brite is a beam of color in a dark night. Seriously — she’s awesome. Her dayglo energy radiates from stage and beyond as Moonbow dances for her audiences.

10. Rosie Reigns

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The self-proclaimed "Lioness of the South Bay," Rosie Reigns creates playfully sexy vignettes flavored with retro glamour and her great sense of humor — like this homage to Hilda!

11. Saffron St. James

Ottawa’s "Hoursglass and A Half." A writer, photographer, and musician, Canadian-based St. James produces the "Cabaret LIVE!" show.

12. Mone’t Ha-Sidi

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Mone’t Ha-Sidi owns the room with her energetic (and amazing) Mr. T performance. Based in Sacramento, this hairstylist by day, stripper by night can be found also supporting local artists with Black Artists Matter and Jezebelle’s Army.

13. Kitty Devereaux

Philly-based Kitty Devereaux is changing burlesque. As the mama bear and co-producer of Sister Bear Burlesque, Devereaux is helping queer the idea of burlesque one stage at a time.

14. Catty Wompass

Iowa City’s Catty Wompass is a poet and academic in the world-renowned Iowa Writer’s Workshop by day and queer burlesque artist with a love of retro kitsch and camp by night. Don’t miss her Mrs. Potatohead routine or her heartachingly beautiful poetry.

15. Dottie Lux

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San Francisco’s Dottie Lux has taken many forms, but the most important is that of a lesbian burlesque faerie godmother hostessing many events throughout the Bay Area. As part of a collective of 18 queer activists, Lux has helped save San Francisco’s iconic gay bar STUD, making it a safe place for queer folks of all identities.

16. Mx. Pucks A’Plenty

Seattle-based queer burlesque performer Mx. Pucks A’Plenty toys with gender as they light up the room from on stage.

17. Miss Meow

Montreal’s Miss Meow is the cat’s pajamas. This Canadian cutie commands the stage with a beautiful retro look that is not to be missed.

This article by Laurel Dickman originally appeared on Ravishly and has been republished with permission.

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Tory Burch Empowered Women
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This woman found out shelters in LA don't accept women with teen boys. So she made sure hers did.

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Judy Vaughan has spent most of her life helping other women, first as the director of House of Ruth, a safe haven for homeless families in East Los Angeles, and later as the Project Coordinator for Women for Guatemala, a solidarity organization committed to raising awareness about human rights abuses.

But in 1996, she decided to take things a step further. A house became available in the mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles and she was offered the opportunity to use it to help other women and children. So, in partnership with a group of 13 people who she knew from her years of activism, she decided to make it a transitional residence program for homeless women and their children. They called the program Alexandria House.

"I had learned from House of Ruth that families who are homeless are often isolated from the surrounding community," Judy says. "So we decided that as part of our mission, we would also be a neighborhood center and offer a number of resources and programs, including an after-school program and ESL classes."

She also decided that, unlike many other shelters in Los Angeles, she would accept mothers with their teenage boys.

"There are very few in Los Angeles [that do] due to what are considered liability issues," Judy explains. "Given the fact that there are (conservatively) 56,000 homeless people and only about 11,000 shelter beds on any one night, agencies can be selective on who they take."

Their Board of Directors had already determined that they should take families that would have difficulties finding a place. Some of these challenges include families with more than two children, immigrant families without legal documents, moms who are pregnant with other small children, families with a member who has a disability [and] families with service dogs.

"Being separated from your son or sons, especially in the early teen years, just adds to the stress that moms who are unhoused are already experiencing," Judy says.

"We were determined to offer women with teenage boys another choice."

Courtesy of Judy Vaughan

Alexandria House also doesn't kick boys out when they turn 18. For example, Judy says they currently have a mom with two daughters (21 and 2) and a son who just turned 18. The family had struggled to find a shelter that would take them all together, and once they found Alexandria House, they worried the boy would be kicked out on his 18th birthday. But, says Judy, "we were not going to ask him to leave because of his age."

Homelessness is a big issue in Los Angeles. "[It] is considered the homeless capital of the United States," Judy says. "The numbers have not changed significantly since 1984 when I was working at the House of Ruth." The COVID-19 pandemic has only compounded the problem. According to Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), over 66,000 people in the greater Los Angeles area were experiencing homelessness in 2020, representing a rise of 12.7% compared with the year before.

Each woman who comes to Alexandria House has her own unique story, but some common reasons for ending up homeless include fleeing from a domestic violence or human trafficking situation, aging out of foster care and having no place to go, being priced out of an apartment, losing a job, or experiencing a family emergency with no 'cushion' to pay the rent.

"Homelessness is not a definition; it is a situation that a person finds themselves in, and in fact, it can happen to almost anyone. There are many practices and policies that make it almost impossible to break out of poverty and move out of homelessness."

And that's why Alexandria House exists: to help them move out of it. How long that takes depends on the woman, but according to Judy, families stay an average of 10 months. During that time, the women meet with support staff to identify needs and goals and put a plan of action in place.

A number of services are provided, including free childcare, programs and mentoring for school-age children, free mental health counseling, financial literacy classes and a savings program. They have also started Step Up Sisterhood LA, an entrepreneurial program to support women's dreams of starting their own businesses. "We serve as a support system for as long as a family would like," Judy says, even after they have moved on.

And so far, the program is a resounding success.

92 percent of the 200 families who stayed at Alexandria House have found financial stability and permanent housing — not becoming homeless again.

Since founding Alexandria House 25 years ago, Judy has never lost sight of her mission to join with others and create a vision of a more just society and community. That is why she is one of Tory Burch's Empowered Women this year — and the donation she receives as a nominee will go to Alexandria House and will help grow the new Start-up Sisterhood LA program.

"Alexandria House is such an important part of my life," says Judy. "It has been amazing to watch the children grow up and the moms recreate their lives for themselves and for their families. I have witnessed resiliency, courage, and heroic acts of generosity."

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Fearless 6-year-old skater impresses, dropping into a 12-foot bowl in her pink party dress

It's one thing to see a little kid skateboarding. It's another to see a stereotype-defying little girl skateboarding. And it's entirely another to see Paige Tobin.

Paige is a 6-year-old skateboarding wonder from Australia. A recent video of her dropping into a 12-foot bowl on her has gone viral, both for the feat itself and for the style with which she does it. Decked out in a pink party dress, a leopard-print helmet, and rainbow socks, she looks nothing like you'd expect a skater dropping into a 12-foot bowl to look. And yet, here she is, blowing people's minds all over the place.

For those who may not fully appreciate the impressiveness of this feat, here's some perspective. My adrenaline junkie brother, who has been skateboarding since childhood and who races down rugged mountain faces on a bike for fun, shared this video and commented, "If I dropped in to a bowl twice as deep as my age it would be my first and last time doing so...this fearless kid has a bright future!"

It's scarier than it looks, and it looks pretty darn scary.

Paige doesn't always dress like a princess when she skates, not that it matters. Her talent and skill with the board are what gets people's attention. (The rainbow socks are kind of her signature, however.)

Her Instagram feed is filled with photos and videos of her skateboarding and surfing, and the body coordination she's gained at such a young age is truly something.

Here she was at three years old:

And here she is at age four:


So, if she dropped into a 6-foot bowl at age three and a 12-foot bowl at age six—is there such a thing as an 18-foot bowl for her to tackle when she's nine?

Paige clearly enjoys skating and has high ambitions in the skating world. "I want to go to the Olympics, and I want to be a pro skater," she told Power of Positivity when she was five. She already seems to be well on her way toward that goal.

How did she get so good? Well, Paige's mom gave her a skateboard when she wasn't even preschool age yet, and she loved it. Her mom got her lessons, and she's spent the past three years skating almost daily. She practices at local skate parks and competes in local competitions.

She also naturally has her fair share of spills, some of which you can see on her Instagram channel. Falling is part of the sport—you can't learn if you don't fall. Conquering the fear of falling is the key, and the thing that's hardest for most people to get over.

Perhaps Paige started too young to let fear override her desire to skate. Perhaps she's been taught to manage her fears, or maybe she's just naturally less afraid than other people. Or maybe there's something magical about the rainbow socks. Whatever it is, it's clear that this girl doesn't let fear get in the way of her doing what she wants to do. An admirable quality in anyone, but particularly striking to see in someone so young.

Way to go, Paige. Your perseverance and courage are inspiring, as is your unique fashion sense. Can't wait to see what you do next.

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We asked three people about how vaccines have impacted their lives. Here’s what they said.

Images courtesy of John Scully, Walden University, Ingrid Scully
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Since March of 2020, over 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the CDC. Over 540,000 have died in the United States as this unprecedented pandemic has swept the globe. And yet, by the end of 2020, it looked like science was winning: vaccines had been developed.

In celebration of the power of science we spoke to three people: an individual, a medical provider, and a vaccine scientist about how vaccines have impacted them throughout their lives. Here are their answers:

John Scully, 79, resident of Florida

Photo courtesy of John Scully

When John Scully was born, America was in the midst of an epidemic: tens of thousands of children in the United States were falling ill with paralytic poliomyelitis — otherwise known as polio, a disease that attacks the central nervous system and often leaves its victims partially or fully paralyzed.

"As kids, we were all afraid of getting polio," he says, "because if you got polio, you could end up in the dreaded iron lung and we were all terrified of those." Iron lungs were respirators that enclosed most of a person's body; people with severe cases often would end up in these respirators as they fought for their lives.

John remembers going to see matinee showings of cowboy movies on Saturdays and, before the movie, shorts would run. "Usually they showed the news," he says, "but I just remember seeing this one clip warning us about polio and it just showed all these kids in iron lungs." If kids survived the iron lung, they'd often come back to school on crutches, in leg braces, or in wheelchairs.

"We all tried to be really careful in the summer — or, as we called it back then, 'polio season,''" John says. This was because every year around Memorial Day, major outbreaks would begin to emerge and they'd spike sometime around August. People weren't really sure how the disease spread at the time, but many believed it traveled through the water. There was no cure — and every child was susceptible to getting sick with it.

"We couldn't swim in hot weather," he remembers, "and the municipal outdoor pool would close down in August."

Then, in 1954 clinical trials began for Dr. Jonas Salk's vaccine against polio and within a year, his vaccine was announced safe. "I got that vaccine at school," John says. Within two years, U.S. polio cases had dropped 85-95 percent — even before a second vaccine was developed by Dr. Albert Sabin in the 1960s. "I remember how much better things got after the vaccines came out. They changed everything," John says.

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