MESSY GIRL ARCHETYPES: “THE SHOWGIRL”

DESTRUCTION X DOLL
Feb 4
3 min read

Who IS “The Showgirl?!”

The Showgirl is to the world what the heartbeat is anatomically to the human body – keeping us moving even if we don’t think twice about it in our day to day lives. The Showgirl brings fantasy to the forefront and has the ability to make our every desires come true, even for just a sliver of a moment, within her art. She offers us into her world of glamour and exoticism through visual and performance, be it in grandiose gestures or acts of sensuality. Through visual and performance, The Showgirl allows us the emotional, spiritual, and physical pleasure to live in an idealistic realm of allure that blurs the lines between the realities we seek to get away from and the illusions we want to indulge ourselves further into -- whether she’s singing, dancing, acting on the big (or small) screen, serving face on an editorial or modeling on the runway, playing an instrument, voguing her ass off, or showing her regality to be crowned, to us, she represents the embodiment of liberation, glitz & glam, individuality, and resilience many of us wish we could attain ourselves. It is the act of living vicariously through the Showgirl that makes her appear all the more inaccessible and thus so fascinating that we continue to chase after her for our endowed fantasies.

It is no secret that she thrives the most onstage -- Often times than not, she is heavily multifaceted in more than one of these arenas of entertainment, broadening their skillset and publicizing their brand to the rest of the world. And lest we fail to mention how capable she is of being a complete curative, world builder. The Showgirl seeks to reach her arms out to as many in her intended audience as possible with her talents while continuously remaining true to herself, implementing her vision and bringing it to life for the sake of entertainment. Outside of being a true visionary in her own right, The Showgirl naturally takes lead while the rest of us follow. She commands the attention of every room she sets foot in. She sets the pace for shaping what the culture looks like —the ultimate trendsetter, originator, movement shaker!

THE TRUTH BEHIND "THE SHOWGIRL"

Yet behind the smoke and mirrors lies a woman that wrestles with the duality of facing the public with a glamorous mask vs. the reality of who the showgirl truly is. While primarily being put on a pedestal by the rest of the world, she may risk the dangers of such dilemmas as:

Exploitation

Losing herself in her public image, persona, performances, and work

Enduring losses, sacrifices, and heartbreak but still putting on a show to please others

Criticism, public scrutiny, and lack of privacy

Harsh working conditions within the industry

Rejection from brands, companies, and in some instances her own audience

Potential for over-exertion, burn out, and overworking one's self for appraisal and extended success

Forced competition amongst other women in similar or same spaces

and for some, the development of addiction / substance abuse due to the flow of drugs and alcohol within the industry

NONETHELESS, THE SHOWGIRL WILL NEVER SHY AWAY FROM HER BATTLES!

The odds are seemingly stacked against her, but The Showgirl is and will always be a fighter through and through. The strength it takes to transmute pain into gratification, to bare her soul into the [artistic] expressions of her craft, to cry, to laugh, to grieve, to celebrate, to display in subtlety an entirely different side to herself in which the rest of the public is unknowing of. Her willingness to remain persistent offstage where she is forced to confront the truths of which come with the territory of her livelihood, and onstage where she masquerades a theatrical, glamourized version of herself for our pure entertainment, exhibits the duality of this Messy Girl’s lifestyle that not many of us are willing to live. It is through these experiences that have given The Showgirl the power to master a nature of survivalism, discipline, structure, authority and control over her life and where she determines where to go next– all precedented characteristics in true Messy Girl philosophy!