Shattering Stereotypes: A Journey of Healing, Resilience, and Determination

My journey has been an uphill battle, as I continue to face assumptions and stereotypes based on the profession I enjoyed for decades. My admiration for the women I worked with and the stage, still remains even though I have not performed on Big Daddy's stage since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated my world and threw me back home which sent me into a deep depression with PTSD. It took me ten+ years of soul-searching and introspection to heal myself and confront the demons that forced me to leave home at 14.
 
My journey of healing and self-discovery has led me to honor the strong women who helped make me whole and to challenge the social assumptions and stereotypes that have long dehumanized and marginalized us. For too long, I was told to forget about Big Daddy's, that it was trash, and that we were all just whores. These misconceptions could not be further from the truth, and it is time to shatter them once and for all. It is time to recognize and honor the resilience and strength of the women who dance on Bourbon Street.
 
I refuse to accept the notion that nobody cares about a bunch of dancers on Bourbon Street. Our experiences and journeys are real and deserving of recognition and respect. We found power on the stage, not in sex work. To call us whores is willfully ignorant and perpetuates harmful stereotypes. As Bourbon Street dancers, we were often dehumanized and marginalized by society. We are defined by our own experiences and journeys, not by the labels or categories that others assign to us.
 
Many of us have faced sexual, mental, and physical abuse, yet we found power on the stage. We were not sex workers, but dancers and entertainers who worked hard. It is time to reveal the truth about who we genuinely are - strong, powerful, and unbreakable. I want the history books to portray us as we truly are - the strong women that society discarded, but who are still standing tall and powerful.
 
As a recluse who dislikes being around people, probably due to the decades I spent dealing with drunk people on Bourbon Street, I pour my passion into creating the story of us through the virtual world, poetry, and art. This journey is one of resilience and determination, a battle against preconceptions and stereotypes. One that is mending my soul.