Abstract
Sarah French examines the relationship between postfeminism, neoliberalism, and neo-burlesque, and suggests that the contemporary neo-burlesque revival can be read as a troubling example of the dual commodification of performance and the female body in neoliberal times. Reflecting the intersection of postfeminism and neoliberal discourses, neo-burlesque performances frequently create paradoxical representations of female subjectivity that promote sexual agency and abstract notions of empowerment at the expense of politics. However, French proposes that there is simultaneously a resistant feminist burlesque performance practice. Examining subversive gestures and moments of embodied intensity in the work of Australian performance artist Moira Finucane, French argues that Finucane intervenes in the smooth continuity of the neo-burlesque genre and works on a micro-political level to instigate an affective break with neoliberal ideology.
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French, S. (2017). Neoliberal Postfeminism, Neo-burlesque, and the Politics of Affect in the Performances of Moira Finucane. In: Diamond, E., Varney, D., Amich, C. (eds) Performance, Feminism and Affect in Neoliberal Times. Contemporary Performance InterActions. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59810-3_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59810-3_13
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