Yellowface and cultural appropriation are NOT COOL, Burlesque Ball.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve done lots of research or you intended it to be positive or whatever other common excuse there is for stuff like this.
(since when did a maiko wear a corset?)
It’s still participating in and encouraging cultural imperialism, exoticism, and reducing huge groups of people to just certain stereotypes - making it harder for the rest of us to be taken as we are. It’s one of the reasons I kept getting introduced as the “Exotic Bollywood princess” against my will, why we don’t get taken seriously unless we’re super exotic or super sanitised.

How many Asians have there been in the Burlesque Ball?
…yeah, thought so.

I could recommend you two Asians in Australia that actually do burlesque.
But you probably wouldn’t want them - too political. And too hairy.

You want to claim that I’m “not encouraging positivity”? This is not encouraging positivity. This is alienating and annoying. 

Thanks for making it harder for the rest of us, Burlesque Ball. You’re the biggest event in the country, could have used that platform for something innovative and interesting, but no…just joining in with everyone else in Aussie Burlesque.
“oh you don’t have a sense of humour!”
What about a sense of respect? 

sigh.