This is Trixie Little. She is a queen. Literally in her artistic career, she was crowned the Queen of Burlesque, Miss Exotic World 2015. She also evokes the archetype Queen as she is a leader that commands her space in every endeavor, graceful and articulate when under fire, lion hearted as she calls her people into the action of her convictions.
Please follow this link to Trixie’s full length interview:
Trixie has recently gone on a journey deep into the shadow of loss. To paraphrase her words, loss in everything that gave her a sense of place and security in this world; her positive professional standing in a certain community of American professional burlesque, her home, her city, her partner, certain friends, social-political identity, being injured in a car accident. Trixie has endured a trial by fire, and again in her words, an online social media witch hunt in which her defense of a fellow member of the NYC cabaret and burlesque community sparked an immediate uproar of online attack on her personal character that led to an almost immediate expulsion from her performance community and loss of her career in NY.
I believe that Trixie herself can best explain her life experience and call to action that she is now compelled to act in response to this intensity. If you are interested in the details of this specific situation and how Trixie is activating her own artistic movement in response, please follow this link to a video that Trixie herself has published:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnxFSbULedw
I lived and photographed and performed in a circus/performance art community that overlapped with Trixie’s in New York and met and knew her briefly before life called me elsewhere and I left NY for New Orleans at the end of 2014. I had recently heard that Trixie had moved to Los Angeles and when I was spending some winter months in Palm Springs this past year, I thought of Trixie and what I had heard and seen online in social media of her life experience and I knew I wanted to interview her for The Nature Of Refuge when I came to LA. Trixie’s willingness to share her truth and her extreme vulnerability in her current life situation, impressed me deeply. To feel as if you have lost everything and to stand in front of the madding crowd and tell your story with an open vulnerable heart, that is a testament to great courage in my opinion. That bravery made me want to add Trixie’s voice to this specific project’s chorus of the effects of fear and what we as American women do with our fears. Whether we do or do not establish safety, for ourselves and others.
Another aspect that drew me to Trixie was the fact that she had created a truck-house as well and experienced it as a refuge – just like me! I was curious how another woman experienced living out of her truck and made it special and felt safe in that relatively exposed space. There is something very specific about living out of a vehicle for an extended period of time. Whether you find yourself in an urban or rural environment, you can never take any of your daily self care or truck care for granted; you have to be present to every action you take. Where are you going to brush your teeth, where are you going to poop, is it time for an oil change, is this a safe street to park on, should you bring your computer with you for safekeeping, where am you going to boil your breakfast eggs, dang your phone died! etc…. How did this other woman navigate all that stuff? I was curious and felt a kinship. Trixie doesn’t live in her truck anymore since arriving to LA six months ago but her truck is still her safe place, her “clubhouse” as Trixie says.
There are many things that intrigued me in hearing Trixie’s story but something that stood out strongly was the the legacy that we women have of bullying one another and playing at inclusion and ostracizing as power plays in our intro-personal dynamics. Who doesn’t remember those childhood feminine playground games of the sacrificial lamb that was temporarily cast out of the group, then invited back in to in turn, take part in the ostracization of a former tormentor. Or some variation of that power dynamic between female children. We learn it as a cruel tool at a young age as a function of the group balancing out power. We play it out as adults to devastating results. The online culture of trolling, shaming, and shunning through social media is one that is shared indiscriminately between genders and all self identification, and I personally find it disturbing and wonder at its value as a social phenomenon. To me, there is a difference between social debate and discourse to the verbal mob mentality that seems to catch fire so quickly between differences of opinion online these days.
I am interested in a revolution fueled by passionate, articulate, motivated Love. I believe in our collective social strength powered and empowered by compassion, empathy, and patience with one another. Taking the time to understand where the other is coming from so we can find common ground and rocket to a future together based on a commitment of inclusion and respect of all of our differences while acknowledgment that those differences exist and what makes us interesting to one another. A trick that we are all struggling with right now as Americans.
Trixie Little through her recent experiences in loss, has been galvanized into an artistic action in response to her cabaret/burlesque community based on the wild heart of love and risk that is the core of any self expression of truth of the human experience. I find Trixie’s journey of defining integrity and with it, creative power, to be empowering to witness.
I invite you to view the videos of Trixie Little’s exploration of vulnerability and self empowerment and find a connection to your own definition of integrity in the face of hardship.
This is the nature of refuge.
