This Weekend in Nerdlesque: Scully, Sex and Strong Female Characters
As I am pushing myself into a weekend of promotion for my next show, The Burl-X Files, and generally bouncing around the Internet and off the walls, I offer excerpts from a few articles that have decided to run amok in my brain.
“In an entertainment world where women are disappearing from multiplexes, where men bulk up as superheroes while women don’t eat but sip pink drinks, we need to remember that there was once a very short heroine who hunted monsters and talked about Einstein, who kicked ass and questioned her faith, who went to work with a man she loved but didn’t rip his shirt off over lunch, who didn’t want to believe, but opened herself nonetheless to possibility. We need Scully back, even for a moment.” – Salon.com
“It’s hard to think of another skeptical, professional, socially and physically capable, M.D. awarded, female character who had sex appeal without it being a defining aspect of their character who has appeared since, in television or movies, and even if you can name a few, it’s only a few.” – TheMarySue.com
Scully was my hero as a young adult. She’s very dear to me, perhaps too dear. I wouldn’t necessarily say saint-like but probably the closest thing I’ve got. By involving her in a burlesque show, am I making Scully slutty? As geek girls strive to not be seen as mere sexual objects, as young women newly discover Agent Scully, are we sullying her memory by amplifying her sexuality?
My current answer is…I don’t know. My gut says no. It’s worthy of further discussion, though. In the weeks to come, I’m sure I’ll think on it more than a sane person should. I’ll also interview the fantastically talented the Shanghai Pearl, a professional performer who I was lucky enough to cast as Agent Scully.
Unlike these folks, I don’t believe that burlesque is inherently demeaning to women. We use the word empowerment in burlesque a lot but don’t often explore how and why. I am willing to entertain the notion that it can be problematic. Even Miss Astrid briefly touched upon the topic of the potential contradictions with burlesque and feminism in her 2011 BurlyCon “State of the Union” address. While I’m still articulating my thoughts, I’ll let some other ladies speak:
Miss Splenda Sugarbottom says:
“While casting Scully as the lead in a burlesque show may appear at odds with the understated sexuality of her character, bringing it to the forefront (even if just for one night) is about owning that sexuality. And that is something totally in character for Dana Scully.”
Sailor St Claire says:
“My first reaction to this is to argue that we’re returning Agent Scully’s sexuality to her, which is something that she’s denied throughout most of the series (even her copulation with Mulder takes place off screen, and the few times she has relationships they don’t go well — talking tattoos and whatnot). She’s a feminist icon to be sure because she fulfills the late 80s/early 90s archetype of the career woman, but her work is so serious that she doesn’t get to have a full experience of her femaleness. I don’t think we’re making her a sexual object, but acknowledging that sexuality is a healthy part of femininity and that we’re making her whole by giving her something she didn’t get to have.”
(Sailor is one of the few people I know, besides Dana Scully, who can toss out the word “copulation” without batting an eye)
Check back in a few weeks for my interview with the Shanghai Pearl and her thoughts on whether or not Scully should rip of Mulder’s shirt over lunch (or over a desk or an autopsy table or a hammock or maybe a rock in the middle of a lake). 
