Modern Minstrelsy, Drag and Burlesque - Oh My!
A special guest post from Harlem Nyte
Following Friday’s guest post, we have an impassioned, instructive essay from the woman who reignited discussions about blackface in burlesque this week after a deeply troubling experience at a recent festival. Harlem Nyte has spoken up bravely and eloquently on multiple occasions in the name of fairness and ethical conduct, and I’m pleased and privileged to host her latest work here. HM
It’s time to have a very serious conversation.
This past weekend at the Panama Burlesque Festival, a participant performed an act that included movement and aesthetic choices historically rooted in anti-Blackness, racism, fatphobia and body shaming.
The act made a mockery of larger breasted bodies, wore a Black woman’s vintage hairstyle, all while performing to a song that is sung by a Black woman who is visibly plus sized as well (Queen Latifah). Minstrel performances are not limited to ‘blackface makeup’ and include the physical exaggeration of breasts and buttocks to mimic the Black body. To say I was both shocked and offended is an understatement.
Admittedly, I addressed the performer in a very direct way and asked what the motivation was behind this choice. I asked why she thought it was appropriate to mock a particular body type in her act. The performer’s response and the overall energy of those defending her choices made it clear that there’s a severe lack of empathy, understanding and respect for diverse bodies and cultures in burlesque, specifically as it relates to the Black femme.
Yes, there are many cultures that uphold racist and fatphobic practices - this doesn’t mean it’s right, or inoffensive. I actually DO know and understand why an entire culture believes it’s acceptable to engage in such harmful practices, which is why I made the decision to draft this essay.
Above: Harlem Nyte by lyric newbern
Before we take this dive, allow me to briefly educate or refresh folks on what a ‘Minstrel Show’ is: the exaggeration and/or mockery of a racial group’s identity, culture and/or traits for entertaining, stage show, marketing, commercialization, etc.
This form of ‘performance’ is rooted directly in racism and the dehumanizing way in which Black people and other persons of color have been depicted since colonization. Widely known ethnic groups that have been mocked in these shows include Asians, Indians, Indigenous North and South Americans.
Historically, Minstrel Shows were often performed in cabaret revues, variety shows and sideshow acts - the very same stages that embraced and welcomed peep shows, risqué dancers and - you guessed it - BURLESQUE. It is well documented that shows in the Vaudeville included minstrel performers.
As it correlates to historically Black caricaturization, minstrel performers were white or white-passing men and (some) women who painted their faces with greasepaint -literally black in color, with exaggerated lips (sometimes painted red) and bulging or sad expressive eyes. This is where the term ‘blackface’ originates from.
Those depicting Black women would often wear padded suits that exaggerated the breasts and buttocks of the Black woman. These minstrel ‘characters’ depicted Black people in negative tropes of docile servitude, not limited to but often the ‘mammy’ or ‘butler’ character. The other characters often seen in these tropes is the ‘Jezebel’ or ‘Mandingo’. These two tropes depict Black people and their bodies in a grossly overt, sexual way, reducing us down to animalistic behaviors with no self control or impulse.
Though these ‘obvious’ minstrel and blackface practices are now considered controversial across the global majority, Minstrelsy and modern blackface are still (yes, in 2026) being practiced today and we need not be silent about its harm and how it impacts the burlesque community on a global scale.
Modern blackface - what is it?
With the digital age and Al now pushing to dominate how media is consumed, many of the practices that are found in historical accounts of minstrelsy have evolved right along with it. While it’s not common to see the very obvious display I witnessed this past weekend, modern blackface comes in the form of mocking mannerisms assumed to be characteristics of ‘all’ Black people. Wearing hairstyles - specifically ones rooted in Black culture, dancing to music performed by Black artists in a way that mocks our culture, twerking and ‘performing Blackness’ as a costume - all of these (and more) fall under the category of modern Blackface and can be found in many burlesque, drag and variety acts performed globally.
‘Normalizing’ these things does not negate the harmful and dehumanizing impact that modern blackface and minstrel performance has had. Speaking as a Black woman, I can see in first-person perspective how dances like twerking, bumping and grinding have been colonized, when at one point it was deemed appalling to dance this way publicly.
Black American cultural signifiers held sacred in the community have been commodified and commercialized to appeal to the Eurocentric gaze, while simultaneously silencing the very people who originated these practices.
Why is this important? The quick answer? Because regardless of how much one denies it - burlesque is political. Black bodies have been deemed political. Existing as a Black, queer woman in an art form ROOTED in politics means I cannot and will not allow myself or my people to be depicted or treated in such a way, and altogether dismissed when addressing these topics.
Time and again, the Black femme across the entire diaspora has had her body mocked, violated and objectified. In an art form that deems itself to be inclusive and diverse, it’s high time non-Black people begin to unpack their biases and dismantle their internalized racism and anti-Blackness - the roots from which ableism, fatphobia and classism all stem from.
How can YOU make an impact?
Start by asking yourself the following:
Does the music I’ve selected for this act resonate with me, or am I picking what I believe is popular?
Do I understand what this song means to Black folks?
Can I perform my act in a room full of Black strangers confidently?
Would the Black people I care about be comfortable watching me do this?
Where did I draw inspiration for this costume/hair/act/wow-factor?
Did I thoroughly research this prior to making a firm decision? Is this me coming through?
Is this my talent, or am I just regurgitating what I’ve seen in previous situations?
Do Your Research!
Minstrel shows and the objectification of Black/POC bodies is very researchable and there’s a ton of books that break many of my points down even further. Here are just three:
Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus by Clifton Crais.
Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth Century America by Robert C. Toll.
From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, and Gender by Jannette L. Dates and Mia Moody Ramirez.
These are all strong starting points, but are not the end-all. If we claim to want to do and be better, then we simply cannot keep ignoring, overlooking and silencing those who are doing the work within these spaces.
Body diversity is so much more than checking off description boxes. Inclusion is intentional and requires work. If we can fight the discomfort of being scantily clad in front of strangers, we can absolutely do the internal work to ensure these same bodies are celebrated and - most importantly - respected.
With solidarity and sparkle,
Harlem Nyte
Harlem Nyte (she/her) is a Chicago by-way-of New York City based burlesque performer, choreographer, emcee/host and producer. Since stepping on stage just shy of four years ago, Miss Nyte has performed in more than 100 US cities and on five international stages.
Notable performances include: Chicago PrideFest, Milwaukee Pride Festival, New Orleans Teaser Fest, The inaugural Black Burlesque Festival (London, UK), Lincoln Center (NYC), Steppenwolf Theater and the Ohio International Burlesque Festival where, after debuting in ‘23, Harlem was invited back the following year as a featured act. In 2024, Harlem was awarded the Silver Tusk Award for Outstanding Burlesque Newcomer.
In 2023, Harlem founded Nytes In Harlem Production Company with the mission to curate shows and events that are not only inclusive, but center performers who exist in marginalized bodies, specifically those at the intersections of being Black, Queer and Fat. Her signature production ‘R & Burlesque’ combines burlesque, drag and variety acts with the art of storytelling, all set to the soundtrack of R&B music, a genre created specifically by and for Black people. The show is quickly growing into a staple in the Chicago fringe arts community, and has had the honor of hosting multiple performers who were previously and/or currently on the Burlesque Top 50.