Honestly, my bookshelves are the only thing I miss about living in a house. 📚🤓📚 I took this self-portrait shortly before moving into my rig and it came up in my memories today so I wanted to share. ❤️ Who remembers taking classes from me with these shelves as the backdrop during the first year of C0vīd?
This includes yours. ❤️ This reminder feels extra important during the holidays, when many of us visit family who can be quick with criticisms or advice. I know negative messaging runs rampant this time of year, so let me share some beliefs of mine that might be helpful to hear: ✨ All bodies deserve respect, because human beings live in them. ✨ No one deserves to be ridiculed for their size, proportions, ability or any bodily feature. ✨All bodies are equally valuable. Aging bodies are not worth less than young ones, thin bodies are not worth more than fat ones. ✨If you don’t have access to someone’s medical records, you can’t draw conclusions about their health from their appearance. ✨ No one owes you health. No one owes you an attractive physical appearance that matches your preferences. ✨No one is obligated to change their body, even if that body is imperfect, even if their feelings about that body are complicated. ✨People are allowed to change their bodies if that’s what right for them. What they do with their body is unrelated to your body unless they push you to change, too. ✨Commenting on other people’s bodies in social situations is inappropriate. People know what they look like, and if they want your input, they will ask. “Concern” does not give you a hall pass to comment on other people’s bodies. ✨Shaming, body policing and joking/cruelty about bodies are not respectful. It is sane and reasonable to dislike being subject to this. ✨It is normal and healthy to set boundaries around body talk. People who resist these boundaries are often defending their “right” to treat you however they want. This is a sh*t dynamic. It’s okay to reject it. ✨ It’s fine to make it weird when people are inappropriate about your body (they have already made it weird for you, right?) ✨It’s okay to leave situations where you are not respected. You also have the power to tolerate non-ideal situations & avoid internalizing negative messages. You know what you need and you can find a way to handle your own family dynamics. ✨You deserve love and respect this holiday season. I hope it finds you, but even if it doesn’t— you still deserve it, and I’m holding out for next year. 💕
✨Let the sun shine…✨Just finished a glorious extended winter holiday in the desert, and now I’m booking spring dates in the Southwest and up the West coast. Holler if you want me in your city… I’d just love to dance for you. 💕 Photo by the talented @boudoirbynomi.
In this age of data obsession, it’s understandable that we’ve come to view our bodies analytically & critically. In our lives, constant updates are a matter of course. Download the update. Get toned, beat wrinkles. Upgrade your phone. Crush your personal best. We have been encouraged to believe our bodies can be optimized & improved the way we update modern technology: filter, photoshop, control alt delete. We reboot our diets the way we’d reboot a hung program. And what is plastic (or bariatric) surgery if not the literal bodily equivalent of “cut and paste?” But our bodies— they are not modern technical wonders. They are not new & improved. They are, in fact, ancient, made of repurposed stardust & water (which we can never drink enough of, no matter how we optimize.) I actually don’t even think the optimizing itself is an issue. Wanting improvement is normal. The problem is that “fixing” our bodies has become obligatory, and judging bodies based on how successfully they match the cultural standard du jour is the norm. (TW: ED, self-harm, next paragraph only) People talk to me about their bodies a lot, & one confession comes up constantly: they tell me how they have often fantasized about snipping fat or other ‘problem’ parts away with scissors to perfect their bodies. The fantasy of the optimized body is so powerful they can’t even register the horror of scissors slicing into skin. But as we talk, it becomes apparent that what most of these people desire is simply to be treated better: to be loved more easily, to avoid cruelty. The problem is not with the bodies we fantasize about harming, but with a culture that refuses to value them. A culture that invites us to harm them. Our human bodies do not exist to be optimized. Our bodies exist for love & joy & long naps & sunrises & swingsets, & holding toddlers on the perfect curve of our hip. Our bodies are not made to be analyzed, improved, streamlined. Our bodies do what they need to do to keep us alive. Your body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: it’s letting you exist, imperfectly & beautifully. If you want, you can let your body exist imperfectly & beautifully, too. ❤️
✨soft✨ Lately I’m thinking a lot about what it means to be soft but strong, resolute but resilient, to trust and love and also honor yourself and your instincts. We have to walk a fine balance and know what requires standing our ground. and where we must go with the flow. Sometimes I’m resistant to change, but lately I’m trying to be softer. A work in progress, always. 📸: @boudoirbynomi
Sometimes you change your outfit, sometimes you change your oil. 🔧 Working on lots of bus projects at VanAid (follow @lovejez for bus stuff) and getting the bus all tuned up for some Arizona shows in early March… I’ll be announcing them very soon!
Quick backstage selfie, and a question for y’all! I’ll be announcing some new Spring burlesque classes this week. 🎉 Is there anything in particular you’d like me to teach? I’m taking notes! 💋 ✏️ PS for anyone new: All my burly-w & confidence classes are taught on Zoom, and they’re recorded so you can take them at home, on your own schedule. Let’s dance! 💃
Indulge me. 💋 (I wish the lighting was better but this was backstage & impromptu so it’s a miracle it got recorded at all.)
My Paint By Numbers dance, as immortalized by Luma Rouge ❤️ I gotta get this act out again… it’s so much fun (and so messy!)
Devil’s in the Details. ✨😈✨ So grateful @boudoirbynomi took these beautiful close-ups! I sometimes get focused on this costume’s complicated aspects (chain mail bra needs fixed constantly, etc) that I forget to step back and enjoy how beautiful it is! A good reminder for me which I’m sure I can apply to other parts of my life. (Maybe you too?)
Fun fact: I got mistaken for @sucrealacreme SO MANY TIMES at BHOF last year! 👯♀️ We don’t look (or perform) anything alike, but we do like to joke about it now, and we had to admit that we could kindaaaa see the resemblance at our show in Albany. I look forward to submitting my saxophone-based act to BHOF this year so people can stop her in the hallways to compliment her performance! 😉🎷✨
Hey babe wake up new tassel twirling class just dropped 🥰 As always comment if you have questions but full class description is below. ✨ TASSEL TWIRLING FOR TREMENDOUS TATAS MARCH 3, 1-2:30PM EASTERN TIME, $35 flex Join Jezebel Express for a tassel twirling overview designed to help you explore various twirling techniques in a supportive, encouraging environment that celebrates all bodies. Bodies and breasts/chests are all different, so finding the right technique for you and your body is our goal! In addition to trying out some twirling moves, we will also talk about choosing the best pastie size, pastie placement on the chest, different tassel attachment strategies, and making vs. buying pasties. If you are interested in twirling but do not have much (or any) breast tissue, that’s great: it’s actually a little easier to twirl with smaller breasts or an entirely flat chest than it is when dealing with a larger cup size! That said, if you are a person with large breasts, have no fear: we will be discussing pastie placement for larger chests, sourcing larger pasties, and finding a twirling rhythm that makes sense for bodies with more breast mass! Jez will be addressing some common questions, including: “What do I do if I have extra large or extra small areola?” “Can I twirl with pierced nips?” “What if my breast sizes are not the same, or I have only one breast?” ”What do I do if my nipples point down instead of out?” (The answer to all of these is “Twirl with what you’ve got, babe!” but we will go into loving and respectful detail on how to handle these situations in class.) EVERYONE is welcome in class, so long as they intend to participate. No observers are permitted (ie, your partner is not welcome to watch the class unless they have bought a ticket and intend to twirl with us— show them your moves at a later date, please!) NOTE ABOUT RECORDED CLASS: The recorded class will contain clear and detailed instruction on all tassel techniques. we cover in the live class, but the recording will not include demonstrations of topless tassel twirling. This is to protect the privacy of the teacher and class. Thank you for understanding!
I trust that none of you doubt my commitment to sparkle motion! ✨ 📸 by @lynzmarie_photo at @grandburlesquepresents 💕
✨REMEMBER: CHANGE IS OPTIONAL✨ Happy New Year! I realize it’s January 8th, but I ignore the internet first week of the year because “new you” messaging is often super harmful, and I am just not interested in bringing that energy into 2024! I don’t do resolutions so much as offer vague advice to self, and this year I went with “Do your best (and also rest!)” I have trouble turning “off” and always feel like I could be doing more, so this framework feels both exciting to try out and like it might benefit me. Since “new year, new you” season is far from over, lemme just say: ✨Change is optional. You don’t owe anyone a “better” you. You deserve love and respect exactly as you exist in this moment. ✨Change is also fine. There’s nothing wrong with choosing to make different decisions, but think twice before positioning the “new” you as better than the old one. Of course some habits make us happier, but the “old” you got you this far, and she probably had reasons for making the choices she did. There is no need to abandon or humiliate her (especially since, if your resolutions don’t go as planned, you might stay her!) ✨ It is okay for it not to be the right time to make big changes (yes, even in January!) Sometimes we have circumstances or constraints that make change extra hard, and sometimes our finances or our health making change extra challenging. If you realize a big change isn’t the right move for you right now, try to practice compassion for yourself instead of beating yourself up or wallowing in shame. You are making the decision that is best for you right now, and that’s never something you have to be ashamed of. ✨ You always have the option of rejecting our culture’s belief in body hierarchies (ie, that some bodies are better than others). You can start today, actually. If you need a first step, follow people who live in bodies that you consider “less” valuable (no commenting.) Listen to them. See if watching them be actual humans helps to level the playing field in your head. ✨if your diet is bad for your mental health, your diet is bad for you. It is unhealthy for your diet to dominate your conversations and headspace. ✨Do your best… and also rest! ❤️🛌✨
Always happiest in a dance studio. ❤️ Taught six classes this week… I am so grateful for each and every one. 💃 thank you @soniarita.az for letting me teach at your amazing Bisbee studio and thank you @xo.mattfinish for letting me teach in YOUR amazing studio in Tucson!
Backstage ✨. Had a blast in Tucson & I will definitely be back! Headed back to NYC later this week for a private gig and a little time with friends, and then Vegas for a hot minute before I head back into the wilderness for some skoolie nature time 🚌🌱
Post class glow! If you missed our first session of Flirtinf with Burlesque, there’s still time to register: recordings of every class are offered so you can always catch up before next week! 💃
⛓️What’re YOU lookin at?⛓️ AZ Shows & classes done and dusted. What’s our next adventure?
✨HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY!✨ Don’t forget to send your favorite women a little monetary sign of your appreciation. 💸My tip links live in my bíò! 📸 by the incredible @lynzmarie_photo, taken last Saturday in Bisbee at @grandburlesquepresents! 💃💰✨
ARIZONA! I can’t wait to dance with you! I am doing shows and classes in Tucson and Bisbee, and would love to see you at either one. 🌵 Links with info are all available in my bio (except Bisbee classes since I’m still nailing down particulars there!) holler if you have questions! I do have a limited amount of feather fans for students to borrow so if you are interested in fan dance but don’t have big fans yet, this would be a great time to try them out! 💃
So thrilled to be joining @grandburlesquepresents for Rockabilly Reveal this SATURDAY March 2nd! 🎶 Tickets in bio… you know what to do 💋
✨My Feb & March series are live! ✨ These are all giftable so if you’ve been hunting for your perfect v-day gift for your loved one, you can stop now 💕. I am also offering the chance to sponsor a class for a stranger, so if you are financially stable and you would like to support me and my work while also making classes accessible for a dancer who needs a little boost, that would be a pretty sweet Valentine’s gift to me and to them. ❤️
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 😈😈 Had the best time in TUSCON last Friday night, and I wanna thank badass producer and all-around babe @thedesiredamour for including me in her show and being the best host. You really know how to show a girl a good time!! 💕
Backstage at Affaire D’Amour in Tucson! We normally cozy up a little more but ✨SOMEONE✨ was entirely covered in balloons so we had to go with the long shot. Thanks for a great first Arizona show— I had a blast! Now off to Bisbee for tonight’s striptease spectacular! 🚌
