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 A town in the UK called Camden is insisting that burlesque shows need a "sexual encounter entertainment licence" to stage shows -- the same license that is required by strip joints and lap dancers.
"Under the proposed Policing and Crime Bill, clubs hosting burlesque nights might have to apply for a sexual encounter entertainment licence or shut down.
"Burlesque dancers fear clubs may stop hosting them to avoid the stigma that comes with a sex licence. Performers are planning protests to defend their work, saying it is performance art, not sex."
Read the full article from BBC News: Empower burlesque?
A similar article also appears in Time Out London. The Camden Council believes that the residents of Camden are concerned about antisocial behaviour, fear of crime, and safety of female residents....
Get Real
Of course, if any of them have actually been to a burlesque show they would know that this is ridiculous. Audiences at burlesque shows these days comprise of about 60% women, and most shows are produced by women not for the titilation of men, but for the celebration of beauty of all forms, humour, theatre, and good old-fashioned entertainment.
Have you ever been to a burlesque show and felt afraid for your safety? Have you ever seen a fight break out? Every show I've been to -- and that's many over the years -- has been more like a big love-in than it is anything seedy or dangerous. And it certainly isn't anti-social.
The Hampstead & Highgate Express newspaper reports that the Camden burlesque ban censors have never seen a burlesque show. No surprise there.
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