BOYS EXPOSED
Troy Brooks uncovers the comic and erotic world of Boylesque

Burlesque. Most people think of pink and powdered, robust, zaftig ladies spilling out of sprayed-on sequined dresses and twirling elbow-length gloves over their heads, all to the caterwauling of a salacious trombone. In actual fact burlesque has had a num ber of incarnations since it began way back in the 1840s. Burlesque’s current incarnation is a nostalgic underground culture capturing the zeitgeist of vaudeville, Weimar Berlin and the sexual revolution of the ’60s.

Men have long been a part of burlesque as the comic half-time show but as of late they are getting in on the business of being sexy, and every bit as outrageous as their female predecessors. If you’re thinking ripped gym bunnies and bulging muscle heads swinging their dicks in your face: think again. “It’s all in the tease,” says the Great Leifaroni Harmsini, who was discovered by burlesque performer Sauci Calla Horra during a painting party at Sky Gilbert’s house in Hamilton. “We all got drunk and the painting got done,” he says under a damp smile. “Sauci did a burlesque dance and wanted other people to participate and of course I was eager and she loved it.” Harmsini’s parents played a part in laying the groundwork on his path to public disrobing when they rolled him up in a Persian carpet at age 6 and had him unfurl to dance naked for everyone in the living room. “I was hooked,” he shrugs. Hold off on any preconceived notions. This performer has an MA in art history and is a truly gifted artist. Some of Leif Harmsen’s pieces are presently being shown in New York.

It takes more than beauty to be a success in burlesque. You need vision and style. A sense of humor is also essential. “For guy performers it’s more about the funny than it is the sexy,” says Sexy Mark Brown who is also a performer with Skin Tight Outta Sight. “I’m not trying to seduce the audience as much as I’m trying to make them laugh.” Early European burlesque was a rich source of music and comedy and the best of contemporary burlesque carries on that tradition. “The women also do a lot of comedy, but they’ve also got boobs to work with,” says Mark. “And a non-hairy ass.” Does cock size matter? “In burlesque,” says Sexy Mark Brown, “you never actually get to whip it out. So if you wanted, you could stuff your g-string to your heart’s content and make it whatever size you wanted.” However, as The Great Leifaroni Harmsini describes his fleshy prop, “It’s a great device to wow an audience.”

Many a drag queen laments boyfriends and dates who get uncomfortable with the fact that they dance around on stage wearing makeup and a dress. Does burlesque provoke a similar reaction from perspective dates? “I think it’s scared a few people off in the past,” says Shane MacKinnon of the Scandelles, Arthouse Cabaret and the late lamented Beefcake Boys. “But I’ve got a good one now.” Shameless is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. The Great Harmsini balks and spits acerbically, “Why would I be attracted to someone like that?”

For these guys, burlesque is a labour of love and, for the most part, it’s not how they make their living. For many of them, the appeal is in the back stage banter and the surreal moments that come from being involved with a group of fun, sexy and far out women. “Not the least of which,” says Sexy Mark Brown who is studying to be an elementary school teacher, “was stepping out of a mini-van into the middle of the California desert, in full costume, to perform at Miss Exotic World.”

Burlesque is an ever-evolving form and this new generation marks the beginning of a new age for men in the art form. There are just as many sexual archetypes for men to draw from so there’s lots of room to grow. If you like your full monty kept simple, bland and blatant stick to the strip clubs: these boylesque beauties are artistes and wouldn’t have you anyway.

Troy Brooks is a writer and artist, check out www.troybrooks.deviantart/gallery