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"Isn't That Like Stripping?" - Why They Ask - Page 2

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In this environment, an event known as the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition made its debut in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. This was a ground-breaking event in many ways. The notion of a "carnival" with "rides" and shows was introduced for the very first time, in the form of the Midway Plaisance, a section of the exposition dedicated to entertainment. This was where the American public experienced a Ferris Wheel for the first time. This was also where the very first technology for making "moving pictures" made its appearance.

One of the attractions on the Midway Plaisance at the fair was a series of acts portraying the music and dance of various countries, including those in North Africa.

Even though the Algerian dancers of the Moroccan pavilion were fully clothed from head to toe, wearing long-sleeved outfits, the fact that they moved their midriffs so easily was very disturbing to turn-of-the-century Americans. Soon a Senator was trying to shut down the act, and newspaper headlines were screaming about the scandal. This, of course, led people to be very curious, and they went to the fair to see what all the fuss was about. Fair promoters were delighted, and encouraged the scandal.

After the fair was over, many Vaudeville performers eagerly added the "hoochy koochy" (the name that arose for "belly" dancing) to their repertoires. Building on the scandal that originally made the dance famous, these all-American performers emphasized its sleaziness in a ploy to draw crowds. They succeeded.

Over the decades that followed, Vaudeville continued to evolve the "hoochy koochy" into the form of entertainment that came to be known as burlesque. Some performers like Mae West approached burlesque with elegance and a bit of cute naughtiness, while others took it to sleazy extremes. While sneering at what a low form of entertainment this was, Americans still filled the theaters to watch. Burlesque eventually evolved into stripping.

So you see, modern-day stripping in America has its origins in belly dancing, although today the two have diverged into very separate activities with very different goals. Americans took a healthy family-oriented dance form and twisted it into something very different and decidedly not family-oriented.

Colonialism and Orientalism

During the 1700's and 1800's, the major colonial powers of Europe raced to claim parts of Africa and South America as their own. Countries such as England, France, Belgium, and Spain considered their own white people to be superior to the darker-skinned native populations in just about every way. They enslaved the people, banned them from having a voice in their own government, and enforced an alien culture on them.

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