Rising Stars: Meet Pansy St. Battie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pansy St. Battie.

Hi Pansy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started modeling when I was 17. My parents bought me a pinup photoshoot experience and from there, I posted the pictures online. Photographers started talking to me and it started just doing local fun shoots and ended up branching away from pinup and turning into an entire career. At age 19, I started pursuing burlesque. I was always interested in it as an art form and watched a lot on YouTube as far back as I can remember. I’m really drawn to glamour and fantastical beauty, and burlesque offers a lot of that. In both careers, my investment in them comes from the fact I feel like they’re creative outlets. Modeling has allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with creators of all sorts, from designers to photographers to makeup artists, and of course, other models. I was actually very much indifferent to fashion until I actually started modeling, and I realized how much of an art form it was. With burlesque, I’ve always been in awe of the diversity in both the type of people that perform and the ways they interpret burlesque. I feel like it’s a medium that allows me to put my own spin on it. Aside, I really do love being and feeling sexy, and it’s a great opportunity for that.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s definitely been a lot of challenges. The fact that I lot of my work is in LA and I don’t live there yet has been a big one, so I’m really looking forward to moving there. On top of that, there are so many creators and friends there that I adore. Being a wheelchair user is another. Unfortunately, it’s still not something a lot of people consider acceptable even in creative open spaces. Although, I must say as fields both modeling and burlesque are still infinitely more accepting of hiring disabled people than many spaces in more conventional fields. One of the other big problems is that even when people are accepting and want to hire me, people struggle with wheelchair access. A lot of people’s studios and stages aren’t accessible and sometimes people are willing to have those conversations so we can problem-solve together, but often they just write me off because of it. I’ve also struggled being openly nonbinary and queer and a person of color. While I’ve never had someone explicitly say those were reasons they didn’t hire me, I see so many shows and companies that only work with all-white casts and cisgender women. These things along with my disability also mean the public visibility of my work renders me a target for bigotry. While I’ve built up a thick skin and it rarely derails me, I often wonder how much more I could do if I got all the time I’ve spent deleting hate comments from my social media back. Likewise, I’ve been yelled at and called names while exiting burlesque shows I’ve performed at or doing photoshoots on location.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work as a model and burlesque performer. I’m known for working and performing in a rhinestoned wheelchair as well as my overall sparkly colorful style. In modeling specifically, I’ve also been told I’m unique in my ability to bring different emotions and a lot of movement into my work which is something I’ve very proud of. I care a lot more about making interesting artistic pictures than looking pretty. I’m also known for what I have done to bring attention to ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and racism through social media and my work. While I don’t consider myself an activist, because I feel amiss calling myself that when I know so many people where social change is truly their life’s work day in and day out, I think speaking out is a big part of who I am and what matters to me. I think that’s also part of what draws people to my work and allows people to relate to me. That comes through a lot in my work as well because the acts and shoots I’m most passionate about tend to be the ones that allow me to bring my story and experiences to the table, whether in direct or subtle ways.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters to me most is access to security, creativity, and joy, both for myself and everyone else. I think for a lot of people being able to reach those things is made unnecessarily difficult. A lot of people are in spaces though aren’t safe enough to pursue joy and creativity. A lot of people are put in positions where they struggle to survive and therefore, are left with little time and energy to pursue things. A lot of people are shut down and told they don’t deserve those things or made to feel guilt or shame around them. Most of what I do in life in pursuit of finding those things for myself, and though I know I can’t magically make it possible for everyone, trying to do whatever small things I can think of to extend that to others.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: pansystbattie
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@pansystbattie?

Image Credits:
Milena Byrnes-Flores Shameless Photography Daniel J. Sliwa Ashley Wacker for Temple Ro Xenia Curdova for Ultra Cat