Monica Key
Monica Kay is a Los Angeles based performer, choreographer and fitness coach. When she is not teaching pole dancing classes, she is making faux feather burlesque fans and raising awareness of the suffering of birds in entertainment and fashion with her feather boycott campaign, Feather Phase Out. The goal of Feather Phase Out is to phase the usage of bird feathers out of entertainment by 2025, with the focus primarily on burlesque. Burlesque fans and costumes often include feather decorations on headdresses, gloves, boas, robes and dance fans- many entertainers and consumers mistakenly believe that the feathers on these costumes are from birds that have molted or that the feathers don't come from birds and are made of plastic. Feather Phase Out is dispelling those misunderstandings by testing participants on their feather identification skills with fun instagram quizzes, sharing videos explaining why and how birds are exploited in burlesque, as well as showcasing the faux feather items from members of the burlesque community. Feather Phase Out also offers a free tutorial on how to create faux feather burlesque fans using faux pampas and bamboo staves.
