I have to say, all of this drama over the photos of the 2010 Miss USA, Rima Fakih, has me more than just mildly irritated! The press and people of society have made far too much of this. I am left to wonder if they understand the English language and definition of “stripper” & “striptease”? As a “stripper” myself, 2010 Miss Nude United States Performer of the Year & 2010 Miss Burlesque United States along with other titles, I can assure you that I know a lot about the definition of the word “stripper”. I have made an entire career out of striptease,  & these photos simply do not qualify Miss Rima Fakih as a stripper or even an amateur stripper.

As much as society wants to “ham up” the Miss USA pageant, it has been marketed as a beauty pageant. If all the pageant & society is concerned with are the brains of these women then they may as well run the pageant similar to The Dating Game. The contestants would be put behind a screen, hidden from the audience, & the judges could ask them questions. Obviously, Miss USA is marketed as a beauty pageant though… which means that part of the pageant is visual consumption of the flesh! How quaint, right? If people just wanted a pretty face the pageant could post a portrait of each contestant’s face on the screen. However that is not what the pageant or society wants… they want the whole woman – brains & looks! Part of the “looks” include showing off their curves in evening gowns & swimwear.

Showing off curves is where the Miss USA pageant owes a great deal to strippers. There is a very good chance that without strippers the pageant itself would have never become acceptable or as popular as it did, after all  it was strippers and dancers who paved the way of future fashion & the visible consumption of human flesh in the United States! All a person has to do is delve a bit into the history of dance  & striptease to know that. When Madame Francisque Hutin first appeared in 1827 wearing sheer tights & showing her ankles on the New York’s Bowery Theatre stage to perform ballet she left many in the audience blushing, while others protested by walking out. As Rachel Shteir wrote in her book Striptease: The Untold Girlie Show, “showing the ankles & such was left to prostitutes and saloon girls”… not to mention can-can dancers. Revealing & form fitting clothing was simply not an acceptable way of dress for respectable women in society, nor on stage. After Miss Hutin though America saw a surge in skin as burlesque & striptease began to take over the stages across the country. Women, & sometimes men, would appear onstage in layers of fashionable costumes and slowly shed these layers to appear in a state of partial or full nudity. This act of removing clothing onstage slowly to tease the audience in anticipation became known as a striptease, and those who performed it were known as “strippers”, “striptease artists” or “burlesque dancers”. Obviously, from the pictures shown of Miss USA 2010, Miss Rima Fakih, she did not remove clothing to appear in a state of full or partial nudity… therefore it only stands to reason that she is not a stripper.

In regards to the staple of the Miss USA Pageant, the swimsuit category, striptease did change the pageant in a considerable way. First, the Miss USA Pageant would not even exist if wearing a swimsuit for publicity photos in 1951 had not been thought of as questionable. To the 1951 Miss America it seems to have been offensive, given that she refused to pose for them. As a result the pageant sponsor, Catalina Swimwear, created the Miss USA Pageant as a rival to the Miss America pageant. As one could imagine the swimwear category became an integral part of the Miss USA Pageant. As society became more comfortable with skin (partially thanks to striptease), fashion began to change – & so would the fashions in the Miss USA pageant.

Skirts became shorter & ankles were shown… & that lack of concern rolled over to the attitudes of swimwear as well.  After much legal debate one piece maillots became popular by 1915. The maillot was a single piece of clothing similar to a tank top with short like or high cut bottoms. By today’s standards they weren’t very sexy. Hollywood was beginning to allow starlets to appear in two piece swimwear for films in the ’40′s, which showed the ribcage but still covered the belly button. In 1946 two men from France both came up with two piece swimsuits which were much more risqué… to the point that the French models refused to model them. One of the designers, Louis Reard whom created “lé bikini”, enlisted none other than… a stripper to model his “bikini” design!  The bikini made headlines around the world, and became popular on the beaches of the French Riviera.  A 1957 article in Modern Girl, while referring to the bikini, still claimed that “it is inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing”. Note that the word “ever” was used, referring even to modern times. Modern Girl could not have been anymore wrong though. In 1960 the bikini became the hottest thing in American fashion!
[Read more from Slate on swimwear history]

From what I’ve been able to find online though contestants for the Miss USA pageant wore one piece swimwear up until the 1992 swimsuit competition when the bikini was finally seen. Luckily the swimsuit pageants before that didn’t have the contestants wearing short cut maillots all the way up until 1992, but you might say the Miss USA pageant was behind in the times. Strippers, pin-up models and women of the French Riviera helped make the bikini popular around the world & in the US, to the point that it probably seemed odd for the Miss USA contestants to continue wearing only single piece swimwear. My guess is as good as yours, but I bet that the television ratings sky rocketed the year contestants first wore bikinis in the pageant.

At any rate, I believe that “behind in the times” is the way that the press & certain members of society could be described currently regarding the photos of Miss Rima Fakih against the pole. Yes, she was participating in a “ladies night out”, as well as a form of entertainment & aerobic exercise that has become very popular amongst women of all ages. From the photos I’ve seen though, I would not even describe what she was doing as pole dancing, pole sport, or pole gymnastics. While she was leaning up against the pole, the photos of her dancing look no worse that women of her age who can be found dancing for fun in mainstream nightclubs. To be certain there was no sexual teasing of men during the dance, which we all know is seen in mainstream nightclubs free of charge! In my mind that alone makes these photos more tame that photos you might see of women dancing in mainstream nightclubs.

Here is what I find ironic about this entire episode though. People who promote pole as a form of fitness & sport around the world are working to break a stigma related to  the pole in order to get the pole into the Olympics. I support this 100% because I have seen with my own eyes that the pole does not have to be sexualized, you can read more about my feeling on this topic in my March 3rd blog entry. In addition, its not like any person with experience in pole dancing takes the Peek-a-boo poles (shown with Rima Fakih in a photo) serious, since they are spring loaded and downright dangerous. As a professional to the striptease & pole industry I wouldn’t even recommend doing an invert on a Peek-a-boo pole! Obviously this night was all in simple fun for Miss Fakih and many other women.

If anything people should be thankful for what Miss Fakih has done. She helped a group of women to have fun together, & encouraged them to explore their own sexuality, which they may use in their personal live… leading to more men staying home to watch their wives rather than professionals. Most of these women will never step foot in a strip club, & if any do they probably would have done it anyhow. Miss Fakih may have helped allow these women to explore pole dancing for fitness & personal growth… giving more dance studios teaching this style a new group of students. Those new students need instructors, & many times those instructors are either professional strippers looking to retire or a part time worker. By allowing these women the opportunity to explore fitness in a new way, &  the press publicizing it – which shows popularity, she is helping to create jobs. I don’t see any issue with this at all.

My understanding is that Miss Rima Fakih will remain on as Miss USA 2010, & I believe she should. She has done nothing to harm the integrity of the pageant, & is keeping up with modern times. Personally, I think she is a fantastic representation of current American women, & I wish her the best of luck!

Fun fact: The criteria for Miss Nude USA 1979 included “taste in clothing”.

On a similar note, the Gentlemen’s Club Expo is usually held at Mandalay Bay in August. This year the Miss Universe pageant will be at Mandalay Bay on August 23rd, while the Gentlemen’s Club Expo tradeshow will be  August 24th & 25th at the Mirage Hotel & Casino. August would be a great time to come out to Vegas and show your support for some of the most beautiful women in America from mainstream & adult entertainment!