“This summer, I did my first striptease for a room full of strangers”

This past June, I signed up for an amateur strip competition where non-professionals can do their thing in front of a live audience. It’s something I’d been thinking about for a while. I’m a drag performer, but stripping and burlesque are out of my wheelhouse. It was a queer competition, which felt like a good place to experiment—the audience tends to be welcoming, plus no one is allowed to take photos or film you. If things go awry, at least there’s no evidence!

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The day of, I had a gig in the Village, and I wasn’t sure it would end in time for me to make it to the competition. Sure enough, just as my drag performance wrapped up, I got a call from a friend—it was my turn. I sprinted over, still wearing the heels I’d performed in. En route, I tried to think of things I could do onstage—I hadn’t really mapped out a number since I hadn’t known for sure that I would be going on. I wasn’t wearing a whole lot, just a bodysuit, my glasses and pumps, which didn’t leave much to strip. I started to worry about how I would burn through my four minutes onstage.

The host stalled until I arrived, and I had just enough time to borrow a couple of items from people in the audience: a pair of glasses, which I slipped over my own, and a jacket. It was a whirlwind entrance, but in a way, that worked in my favour. I didn’t have time to get nervous—within seconds I was onstage and “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base was playing.

I started by slowly removing the audience member’s glasses—offering up the surprise reveal of my own glasses underneath. That got a good laugh, and I immediately loosened up. Off came the second pair of glasses, then, eventually, the jacket. I was under the hot lights in just my bodysuit, which left my arms and legs exposed. Even though I’ve been onstage in drag a lot—sometimes wearing very little—doing a burlesque-style number made me feel surprisingly vulnerable. I was in new territory, and that was scary.

We were allowed to take off as little or as much as we wanted. Some competitors got fully naked. I wasn’t quite ready for that, so rather than take off my bodysuit, I playfully returned the glasses and jacket to their rightful owners and spent my remaining time dancing. I really got into it—I found it freeing to try something new in front of a supportive crowd that was hooting and hollering. At one point, I surprised myself by falling backward into a bridge position. I didn’t even know I was physically capable of it until that very moment.

Although I removed just three articles of clothing, the audience embraced me. I did not come close to winning, but I had a blast. A lot of the performers stayed back for drinks afterward, and it was amazing to get to know everyone. We started a group chat that’s still active more than six months later. It was an incredible experience to put my body out there and be so welcomed. I was definitely feeling myself up there—everyone should get to experience that at least once.